You’ve spent days finalizing this week’s company blog post, and you’re moments away from clicking “Publish.”
That’s great! That in itself deserves a high five. Consistent blog posts aren’t easy to turn out. Writing the content often takes careful strategizing, considerable copywriting skill and a thorough understanding of your target audience’s interests and needs.
However, now that your carefully-crafted post is complete, are you certain you haven’t made a damaging mistake…one that even experienced marketing professionals often make? If you have, you’ll likely be disappointed with your content marketing strategy’s results.
Below is a list of common content marketing mistakes, accompanied by tips on how to fix them:
1.) Conducting Insufficient Topic and Audience Research
The info included in your content absolutely needs to be accurate and truthful. Marketers often incorporate stats into content to grab attention or to validate claims, but remember, information on the Internet can be outdated or completely false. Always verify your sources are reputable, and cite them within your content.
Beyond providing accurate information, it’s also important to conduct research into your target audience and their behavior. Your experience within your industry may provide some instinctive insight into their background and what they’re interested in, but it won’t compare to the information provided by tools like Facebook Ads Manager. Few things aggravate social media and Internet users more than being blasted with irrelevant content.
2.) Creating Content That’s 100% Focused on Selling
Content should be written with the purpose of educating the audience. Of course, part of the content should always pitch your products or services, but that info is most appropriately placed in the call-to-action. Quality blogs, videos and infographics are informational, emotive and designed to help answer questions or address common problems experienced by your target audience. This will help you build trust and loyalty with your readers or viewers.
3.) Prioritizing Quantity
With the rise in Internet content over the last decade, the web has become a crowded space. And while having an extensive library of articles and videos can make it much easier to distribute consistent content, quality should always be a top priority. Well-written content will always outperform “fluff.” Focus your efforts on developing resources that are of value to readers and viewers: articles and videos that are thought-provoking, engaging and—most importantly—shareworthy.
4.) Excluding Email Marketing from Your Strategy
If you really want to see some results from your content marketing, your strategy must be comprehensive, with all messaging in sync. If email marketing has been left out of the mix, you’re missing out on key opportunities to engage and convert current and prospective customers. Recent studies have found:
- For every $1 spent on email marketing, $44 is made in return, according to a study by Campaign Monitor. This positions email marketing as one of the most effective inbound marketing channels.
- 59% of B2B businesses say email is their most effective channel in terms of revenue generation.
- 80% of retail professionals indicate that email marketing is their greatest driver of customer retention.
5.) Forgetting a Call-to-Action
The “call-to-action” is a critical element of any content marketing initiative, but it’s often overlooked. Creating quality content is the first step, but if you don’t direct the reader on what to do next, they’ll simply close the tab or email. Content without a strong call-to-action significantly decreases the likelihood of converting a reader or viewer. Some examples of call-to-actions include:
- Download your free________
- Sign up for free!
- Get your free report today!
- Order now and receive a free gift!
- Discover your best life
Know that passable content can still be written while making some of these mistakes, but it won’t position your company as an industry expert. It won’t lead to conversions, and it definitely won’t increase revenue. You’ll be wasting your time and money on an effort that is ultimately pointless.
Thankfully, most of these mistakes, once recognized, take little effort to address. Once mended, you’ll find your audience more engaged and likely to take action.
What are the most common content marketing mistakes that you come across? Let us know on Facebook!
