Exploring the Best Content Matrix Templates and Examples

Great marketing starts with great content, and your content becomes great when it is given a purpose and direction and is published at the right time. This is what a content matrix does.

A content matrix is a powerful tool for digital marketers. It is often considered a content plan or, more casually, a social media calendar, however, it is much more than that. It makes creating content less stressful and more fun for content marketers.

In this article, we will understand what a content matrix tool is and its role in content marketing.

What Is a Content Matrix?

Posting content regularly, either on your website or social media page, is easier said than done. This is because after posting for a while, you will start feeling that you’re repeating yourself, and most often, you’ll find yourself confused about what to post next.

To avoid this, a content matrix can be developed. The content matrix is an important part of your content strategy. It helps you decide what content you need to produce, organizes your content, keeps it fresh and diverse, and puts your target audience first.

The social media or website content matrix is designed to put the right content before the right audience at the right time. It considers the natural journey of a digital visitor looking for a product. It helps you to ideate and craft content according to each user journey stage.

The content matrix for each sales funnel stage looks somewhat similar to the figure given below.

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With the right mix of content from the awareness to the conversion stage, your viewers could be convinced to buy more easily and at their own pace. Thus, a content matrix will strike the right balance between meeting your customers’ needs and achieving your own marketing goals.

Content Matrix Templates

A content matrix can be a scatter plot, a spreadsheet, or a graph based on a company’s marketing needs. Here are some popular content matrix templates to help you get started.

● Google sheets

This is the simplest option to create a detailed content matrix. The below example shows how you can utilize this matrix to identify pain points, determine solutions and shape them into ideas for creating content.

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● PowerPoint template

The PowerPoint template is a professional presentation containing editable PowerPoint icons. All properties of the icons, such as color, shape, size, effects, and position, can be edited. The icons can represent different content assets.

Such PowerPoint templates can be used for brainstorming sessions where the user can edit the slides and incorporate different ideas. It can also be used to compare each slide side by side. This kind of content matrix is more visually appealing for the users.

● Canva

Canva is a vertical step-by-step content matrix. It offers several templates which are easy to use. You just have to insert your data in the pre-made design.

● Miro

Miro is a drag-and-drop editor where a virtual board can be created with different stickers. It takes developing a content matrix to the next level with numerous templates for planning, insight-gathering, etc. One particularly useful tool within Miro’s offerings is the work breakdown template, which can be invaluable in project planning stages.

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Examples of Content Matrix

Let’s take a look at different content matrix examples of brands.

Community content matrix by Wetipp

WeTipp is an online platform that helps community-based organizations or groups to engage their members through the knowledge of their skills and interests. It is a tool for community engagement and membership management.

The community content matrix prepared by WeTipp has proved immensely useful for community managers to analyze and understand their communities. Content planning is an important part of a community manager’s work, and a community content matrix helps do that.

The content matrix can help you understand what mood you’re creating by posting certain types of content. For instance, case studies or guides are rational since people use them to understand topics. Similarly, comic or user-generated content is more towards the emotional side.

The matrix also guides the content strategy according to the position of leads in the marketing funnel. Different content would apply to newcomers and veterans.

Moreover, the matrix has four zones: Fun, Inspire, Learn, and Trust. Each zone has content catering to audiences at different stages of their journey with you. There is a balanced zone that has content for everyone.

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Content matrix by NinetyBlack

The content matrix by NinetyBlack is a useful tool to guide content marketing actions. The matrix can be divided into four areas: entertain, inspire, educate and convince. There are content types given for each area.

For example, you need fun and engaging content like games, competitions, and quizzes to entertain your audience.

To apply this content matrix, you need to consider whether the product or service you’re promoting is based on emotional or rational spending.

Next, think about what exactly you want to achieve from the content. Is it just to generate awareness or convince the lead to make the purchase. Using this information, you can determine the content-type based on the content matrix.

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Taking Advantage of Content Matrix

A content matrix is a life-saver for your digital marketing strategy since it helps you deliver more meaningful and structured content based on customer needs.

The chances are that your competitors are already using it. It’s never too late to do the right thing. So, if you have not yet leveraged this marketing tool, now is the time.

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