Content marketing is one of the most effective strategies an organization can use as part of its digital strategy. It is a powerful tool every marketer will vouch for. Content has the ability to attract, engage and convert target customers. The purpose of content marketing is to create and share relevant, valuable content with your target customers to help them learn about your brand and its products.
According to HubSpot, 70% of marketers are investing in content marketing. With powerful and quality content your audience can see you as an expert in your industry. This can make it easier for them to trust your brand and invest in it. Since content strategy is so important for digital marketing, marketers should ensure that they adopt the best practices that can help them become more successful. Like any other marketing strategy, you are bound to make mistakes that can sometimes jeopardize your entire strategy.
Here are some content marketing mistakes you can avoid ensuring that you create a successful strategy with positive results.
Overlooking Your Audience’s Interests
When you create content, you need to remember your target audience is going to be the one reading it. Content strategy should be planned keeping your audience’s intent in mind. Research about what kind of topics your customers are looking for. Many marketers tend to focus on search engine rankings while writing content rather than considering their customer’s interest. Writing on topics just to rank better will not make your content strategy successful.
Consumers look for content that can help them solve a problem or educate them. If the content is not providing any value, they will not engage with it. Hence, research about topics that your audience cares about. Take a look at your buyer personas and find out which content will be relevant for them. You can always use social media as a tool to find out what your audience is interested in and talking about. Creating useful content that helps your audience should be the primary focus of your content strategy.
Not Measuring Your Results
Setting measurable goals early on is an important first step you should not skip. Goals could vary depending on your business. Maybe you want to create brand awareness or drive more quality traffic to your website. When you set goals that is when you can effectively measure your results. Measuring results will help you see how your content strategy is contributing to your brand.
Monitoring metrics that are relevant to your goals will help you see the profit your content strategy has brought in. If you are not seeing any positive changes, you can always improve your content strategy. Data can also give insights into the preferences of your audience. This gives you an opportunity to experiment with various content formats and elements to find out which works out best for you.
Not Personalizing Content to Buyer’s Journey
Buyer’s don’t always make an impulse decision to buy your product or service, especially in a B2B scenario. Every buyer goes through a purchase journey that helps them make their decision to invest in your brand or not. Content can help them reach that decision. To influence your buyer’s journey, you need to create content that is suitable for every stage. This is how you personalize your content as per your buyer’s needs.
Every buyer goes through three stages which are awareness, consideration and decision.
Awareness: a customer is looking for a solution to a particular problem.
Consideration: customers research about various products or services that can help them
Decision: in this stage a customer will decide which solution is best for him/her.
Content can be used to nurture your leads till they reach the final decision stage. If you are only creating content for a single stage, then you are missing out an opportunity to nurture your audience. For example, if a user shows interest in your content and downloads any resource on your website, you need to follow up with different content. You can send them emails or newsletters to keep them interested in your brand until they reach the decision stage. In the decision stage you can ask them for their review or testimonial. This is how you can create different content to help your leads convert.
Avoiding SEO
SEO or search engine optimization helps your content become more visible on search engine results pages. Without SEO your audiences won’t be able to see your content on the search results page. Keywords are a good place to start. Research about the relevant keywords your audience is looking for. Use these keywords in your title, headings and meta description. This will ensure that your page ranks well for those keywords.
When you create content ensure that it is structured well. Use proper heading and subheadings to organize the content. Also use relevant images to help keep your audience engaged. If you do not have a link building strategy in place, you can use internal links. These links can take your users to different pages on your website to provide them with more information. Create CTAs or call to action buttons that will encourage users to take certain actions. For example, if you wrote a blog about a certain service you are providing, you can insert a ‘Contact Us’ CTA. This will direct users to your contact information.
Using Same Content Format
Maintaining consistency in your content strategy is good. However, using different content formats will keep your audience engaged and curious. Using the same content format can sometimes make it redundant or dull. Along with regular blogs you can also create infographics or informative videos that can boost engagement. Sharing different types of posts in the form of images, videos or quality articles will encourage your followers to engage with your content. You can also create downloadable resources like whitepapers, eBooks or templates that can work as lead magnets. Sending newsletters can help you stay in touch with your audience through emails. Experimenting with different content formats will keep your audience’s attention and show you what works best.
If you are creating your content strategy, then avoid these mistakes to help you get the best results. On the other hand, if you already have a content strategy in place, ensure to review it to know if you are making these mistakes. Your content strategy may not always be perfect but avoiding these common errors can help you improve your strategy significantly.
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