We are constantly bombarded with 100 different bits of information telling us what we should be doing with content marketing.
In this article, we decided to focus on what you shouldn’t be doing – and why – when designing and implementing a content marketing plan.
1. You’re making it all about quantity.
No. no. no. no. no. no. no. If there is one critical point to remember when creating content. Quality is king. It’s Queen. And it’s everything in between. Do not focus on how much you can produce. It’s all about how good what you’re producing is. This impacts not only how much engagement that content will generate with your target audience but how Google decides to rank you in search as well.
2. You’re inconsistent.
Content that eventually generates return is content that is published regularly. Quality is important – yes. But consistency is crucial. Like any strategic marketing plan, getting the balance right takes time. And it takes practice. Key is to not give up easily. Work at it. Get through the slow and stagnant times because those too will arise but don’t quit.
3. You’ve let your content get stale and your audience is bored.
Producing content that appeals to the masses is a challenging task to say the least. But no matter how hard it feels sometimes – it should not come at the expense or compromise the quality of your content. So what do you do? Well, you could try some of the following tactics:
- Don’t stick to one medium to communicate what you have to say. Tired of blogging? Try an infographic, produce a white paper, make a video! There are endless formats to choose from, so try them all!
- Include graphics in your blog posts – make them visually appealing. People like pictures. A lot. So use them.
- Be authentic. People relate to people and this means you need to reach out to those people in a manner that is personable, relatable, genuine. Don’t forget, your audience is connecting with the personality behind your brand – not the bricks and mortar that surrounds it.
- Sometimes, all that’s needed is a question or a statement to prompt conversation or debate. So don’t overthink what to say all of the time. If you’re running short of ideas – simply start a discussion and get people engaged in the dialogue.
4. Talk about what you know, don’t sell what you do.
Your readers are interested in what they can learn from you, they want to be inspired and challenged. What they don’t want is to be sold to. This means you need to know your industry well enough to impart information about it that is useful, valuable and informative. And more than this. You need to deliver this information in a manner that makes for an easy read – not a complicated yawn fest. Aim to educate in the most appealing way as possible.
5. You’re creating the content but you aren’t doing anything to get people to see it.
Content needs to be marketed. How else will it be seen by anyone or be effective in bringing in potential customers? Getting content noticed is an art form in itself but by utilising the right channels in a strategic manner, according to a well devised marketing plan, you stand the chance of getting it seen by a global audience. The sky’s the limit – literally. And here’s how you do it:
- You need to leverage social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and – well – the list is endless. Find out where your target audience is and then make sure that’s where you are by sharing your content there. Do this according to a properly planned social media strategy. You will set yourself up for failure without a carefully thought out plan of action in place.
- Use email marketing. It’s great for building a subscriber base and your content is delivered directly into your reader’s inbox.
- As Jodi Harris of the Content Marketing Institute says, “Create Google AdWords campaigns: If you’re promoting a new white paper or e-book, create display campaigns to raise awareness and remarketing campaigns to retarget visitors who abandon your content before taking action”.
You can achieve success with content marketing but it will require consistent effort in order to see progress. By identifying where you are going wrong and then taking the steps to change your approach will see attaining your ultimate objectives for the foreseeable future.
Good luck!