Content Marketing has gained huge prominence in the recent past. Owing to its obvious merits, it’s no secret to see a majority of businesses today investing in some form of Content Marketing. However, rewards are not that easy to come by. As is the case with most practices, Content Marketing always has its fair share of Do’s and Dont’s. Most businesses lose their patience with it in early stages and end up doing a whole bunch of things that are only detrimental to their cause. This blog is about pinpointing those warning signs in Content Marketing that are indicative that you might be headed in the wrong direction. Read on to find out which one applies to you:
1. You Think Marketing Is A Closed-Affair
The most successful content marketing campaigns are those that take a holistic approach. That is, everyone has a say in what the company means and what are its most important values. This way an active and cohesive participation of the whole staff can be guaranteed. On the contrary, companies, where marketing departments work independently that same sort of involvement, is hard to come by. So, if you’re really serious about making your marketing successful, then get everyone on board first. You’ll be surprised by the flood of new and imaginative ideas that follow soon after.
2. You Think SEO Is Not Worthwhile
If your content marketing doesn’t have a place for SEO in it, you are already doing your efforts a disservice. As well as ensuring that your content finds its way to the target audience, SEO ensures that your website’s ranking goes up in the search results – a definite sign of your content credibility. So, if you really want your audience to read and enjoy that amazing piece of content you’ve created recently, take a moment to optimize it for SEO. If your content is great and it reaches your target audience, they’re going to come back to your website, again and again, to check out what’s new and thereby contribute to your popularity online.
3. You Don’t Research Enough
Ever wondered you’re doing your best and yet not getting the desired results? Well, that might just be pointing to a flaw in your content marketing research. You have to do a thoroughgoing analysis of your target audience. Learn about the type of content they like to read, topics that interest them the most, the kind of social media platforms they’re most active on and accordingly come up with a strategy to create high quality and meaningful content for them to read and share. Blogging is a powerful tool but only if implemented with utmost care and the right direction. Do your best research to make your audience appreciate your content.
4. You’re Too Secretive To Share
Content Marketing gives you an opportunity to express what you do, to people who matter the most to your business. So, you shouldn’t be shy of being judged or misunderstood all the time. Look to impart as much information about your business as you feel would make your audience understand you better. Of course, you have to be surreptitious about some details. However, the aim should always be to create a personal connection with your audience and give them a sneak a peek into what goes behind doing all the stuff that you do. Your audience would appreciate that and it only goes to enhance the brand’s image.
Read More: 10 Steps To Market Your Biz Like A Pro
5. Herd Mentality
Herd mentality is not uncommon in content marketing. You see your competitor experiencing a lot of success by following a certain strategy and without thinking whether it’s a right fit for your business, you go headlessly into adopting it entirely. It’s all good to keep an eye on what your competitors are up to but not so much that you fall into the trap of doing what they’re doing. That’s just going to make you look like one of the many people doing the same thing. Instead, as highlighted earlier in the blog, understand your audience’s’ needs and then work out how you can offer them valuable content that will set you apart from your competition. Bring all your creativity into play and create something unique that your audience can identify you with.
6. No Door To Let The Customer In
Content Marketing lets you introduce yourself to your audience, but there’s an end to it – convert that audience into prospective buyers/clients. On a website, a call to action helps you do that. A call to action could be in the form of ‘subscribe to our newsletter’, or ‘get a quote’ or more commonly, if it’s a product based website, ‘shop’ or ‘buy now.’ Call to action is a way to help the website visitor complete the decision that he/she has settled upon. But, what if your website has no call to action? Well, in that case, you’re just closing the door on them to do nothing really. So, in case your website doesn’t have any CTA, be quick about setting up a few right away. It will allow your audience to engage with you in a quick and hassle-free manner.
Final Thoughts
Those are about the key mistakes that most amateur businesses commit in their content marketing campaigns. Rapidity in correcting the flaws as early as possible can ensure you don’t suffer the disappointment despite making all the best efforts. I hope this blog was useful to you. Are you also struggling to find the best content marketing strategy for your business? Have you made the aforementioned mistakes? How did you deal with them? Share your thoughts in the comments section below:
