Why We Revisited Our Content Marketing Mission
In my experience, truly effective content marketing begins with clarity—about who you serve, what you offer, and why it matters. Without that clarity, your content risks drifting off course or, worse, adding to the noise out there. And hooey, is it noisy.
In other words, as your business evolves, so too should your content.
To reflect who you are now and where you’re heading, you need more than a content calendar. You need a content marketing mission: a clear, actionable north star to guide you and your team.
New services, new audiences: new content mission
As an agency, we’ve been around since 2013, focusing on serving purpose-led brands and larger organizations; in general we work with companies with $1M+ in revenue, and function either as an extension of their marketing teams or AS their marketing team, zeroing in on premium organic content and social media marketing that grows reach, trust, and authority.
But my ongoing involvement with communities like B Lab Vancouver, the Social Venture Institute at Hollyhock, Coralus, and Lean In Vancouver gave me, as Forge & Spark’s founder, pause for thought. I have met and gotten to know so many absolutely incredible inspiring founders, consultants, and solopreneurs, and startups setting out to make major positive social impact … who just don’t have the time or marketing budget to hire agencies like ours.
So last year, we made the business shift to launch a suite of new ‘quick-start’ services aimed at bringing our agency offerings to smaller purpose-led businesses and startups. These engagements bring us energy – and hope for a future where business truly can make a positive societal impact.
But because of this shift, I have recently realized that our old content plan just isn’t serving us – or these new audiences. So to ensure our content continues to reflect what we stand for, and to serve all the people who matter most to us, we set out to take a fresh look at our own content marketing mission.
Why a Content Marketing Mission Matters
In our line of business, which is all about helping people develop content truly representative of their brand while also helping to grow their business, a content marketing mission statement truly acts as a kind of North Star. It keeps you grounded in your brand and values and intentional in your strategy. It helps your team know what to create, who it’s for, and—critically—why your audience will care.
Unlike a typical company mission, which often centres on internal alignment, a content marketing mission is audience-first. It should clearly answer:
Who is your core audience?
What kind of content will you deliver?
What outcome or value will your audience receive?
When you clarify these elements, you’re not just defining your strategy—you’re shaping your voice. Every story, post, video, event, newsletter, resource, or campaign gets run through that lens. Essentially, if it doesn’t align with the mission, it shouldn’t get made.
Our Updated Content Marketing Mission Statement
When it came time to refresh our Content Marketing Mission Statement, we chose to use Andy Crestodina’s wonderfully simple formula as our guide:
“Our company is where [Audience X] finds [Content Y] for [Benefit Z].”
And so we asked ourselves three honest questions:
Who do we serve best?
What do we offer that’s unique and genuinely helpful?
How does it help our audience reach their goals?
Here’s where we first landed:
Forge & Spark is where purpose-driven founders, conscious marketers, and social impact organizations find thoughtful, real-world content on authentic content marketing—so they can grow with clarity, integrity, and ease.
The Process
Draft your own super honest answers to the questions above. That’s it.
Here’s what I came up with when I asked myself these questions—yes, typed messily into Perplexity first.
Audience X: Who do we serve best?
Values-driven/purpose-driven founders and organizational leaders, conscious marketers in b corps and purpose-led organizations like b corps and social impact companies. Our quick-start services help small companies get off the ground and grow, and our full agency offerings are designed to help companies $1M+ in revenue with small marketing teams build out their content.
Information Y: What do we offer that’s unique and genuinely helpful? Note that this answer should include reference to the topics and formats that we will publish. This should be, as Crestodina says, “the overlap between the topics that we know and can teach, and the topics that our audience wants.”
We publish our own thoughtful, high-quality, organic content rooted in thoughtfully developed messaging grounded in the company’s purpose and values—which shoes exactly what we do for clients. We publish educational blogs, social posts and videos; honest stories about what works and what doesn’t with content marketing; celebrations of/examples of our clients’ content marketing success; insights about b corp marketing, authenticity in marketing, using marketing to create social impact. Our content also shares and celebrates examples of our work for clients to provide examples and inspiration. Our content is designed to teach what we know about authentic and efficient content marketing.
Benefit Z: How does it help our audience reach their goals?
It confirms that content marketing with integrity doesn’t have to be complicated or hard, and that we are here to teach, share, guide, and actively help. It offers inspiring examples of authentic and purpose-driven marketing to show them what it looks like. and it presents a community of likeminded others..
Our team has then refined the statement to the point that it feels right, true, and actionable.
It’s now an effective reminder of who we’re here for: the B Corps, consultants, changemakers, and social impact startups committed to walking their talk. And it reminds us that our own content needs to do some expressive walking of its own.
Putting Mission Into Practice: The Know, Feel, Believe Framework
OK, so we all know that mission statements are nothing if you don’t actually use ‘em. And your content marketing mission is no different. It’s got to actually show up in the stories you tell and the content you create.
We’ve recently begun bringing our mission to life through what we call the Know, Feel, Believe framework, which I describe in my book, Content With Purpose. (You may have heard of this elsewhere as “Think, Feel, Do” or “Know, Feel, Do”—but we like the trust-building twist this version brings.)
KNOW: What do we want our audience to understand, or logically know about us?
We aim to deliver clear, practical insight into marketing with integrity—how to show up with consistency, strategy, and care. Think: guides, explainers, behind-the-scenes know-how.
FEEL: What do we want our audience to feel when they encounter a particular content item or story?
We want our readers to feel seen. Encouraged. Confident. We share stories that remind values-led leaders they’re not alone—and that they can build strong, authentic brands without compromising who they are.
BELIEVE: What do we want them to believe?
That integrity-based marketing works. That connection builds trust. And that yes—you can grow a business by leading with purpose. Through real-life stories, case studies, and thought leadership, we try to reflect that belief in everything we publish.
By mapping our content to this framework, we make sure it doesn’t just sound good—it does good.
Watch our blog next month for an in-depth walkthrough of the Know-Feel-Believe framework and how to apply it to a content marketing plan that piques your audience’s interest, encourages trust, and drives conversion.
What This Means for You
If you’re a purpose-driven leader, B Corp, consultant, or early-stage impact brand wondering how to show up with more clarity, consistency, and meaning in your content—this is your invitation.
Our mission is your guarantee: we’re here to help you grow with integrity, build trust through story, and create marketing that’s both strategic and sincere.
And if you’re crafting your own content strategy? Start here:
Who do you serve?
What do you deliver?
Why will it matter to them?
Once you’ve answered that, use the Know, Feel, Believe framework to shape content that informs, inspires, and earns trust.
If you’re shaping your own content mission, remember: clarity builds confidence. And content grounded in purpose builds trust.
Let’s make content that’s not just strategic—but truly meaningful.
Want help defining your content marketing mission? Explore our Foundational Brand Messaging Sprint or reach out to hello@forgeandspark.com to book a free call.
