Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that content marketing is the most popular kid on the block.
I won’t bore you with the same old facts about how amazing content marketing is. You know that already, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
What I am going to do is share the 5 biggest mistakes that so many marketing pros make, so you can start creating content that actually works.
1. You made it ALL about you
One of the biggest challenges that brands face today is publishing content that isn’t completely centered on them. The truth is, people don’t care about your grand history, or your next product that’s going to change the world. What they care about is their own problems and what you can do to solve them.
Your content should resonate with your readers and give them something useful to takeaway. The key here is to create a buyer persona using marketing research, so you can detail exactly whom you are targeting.
If you need help crafting your buyer persona, check out Hubspot’s free template.
2. You don’t have a defined strategy
Do you have a content plan, or are you just creating content because everyone else is doing it? Content marketing really will help improve your ROI, but you need to have a defined strategy to make it work.
What you may not realize is that different types of content will work better at different stages of the sales funnel. So for example, infographics are highly shareable and perfect for attracting strangers, where-as e-books are more educational pieces and great for lead generation.
Take a look at the graphic below to see what you should be creating at each stage:
(Source: Wyzowl)
3. You didn’t do any keyword research
You may roll your eyes at the very thought of keywords, but I’m not talking about stuffing your content with the same word every two sentences. Finding out what your buyers are typing into Google can really help you come up with ideas that are targeted to your audience.
Think about it like this. Your audience has a problem which they will be typing into Google to find the solution to that problem. You are their solution, so your content should be themed around that problem. And it should provide them with the answers they are looking for.
Take a look at this article from SEO experts, Moz, to find out more about keyword research.
4. You don’t encourage people to take action
So I mentioned above about creating shareable content during the top end of the funnel, but if you don’t include a CTA then you’ll never push them along to the conversion stage.
Whether you’ve created an infographic, video, e-book or blog post, you need to make sure that they all include a clear call to action, so they know exactly what they should do next.
Top tips:
- Close your blog posts with a question to help build an engaging community.
- Make it easy for readers to share your infographic by including social buttons.
- Remind them to sign up for your emails and receive free content like your e-books or how-to videos.
5. You only promote it on your blog
If you post your content on you blog then how do you expect to reach anybody? Creating content takes a lot of hard work, so don’t let your efforts go to waste by simply posting it on your blog and hoping for the best.
You should put together an outreach strategy so you can push your content on as many relevant channels as you can. It’s not just limited to social media either. There are plenty of bloggers and influencers out there looking for useful content to share, so what you need to do is convince them to share yours!
Once you start promoting your content on every channel you can, you’ll start to see a much higher ROI.
Takeaway
Bill Gates was right, content marketing really is king. But if you are making any of these mistakes then you’ll never see the benefits that it really can bring! Remember to think about your audience, create content for the sales funnel and don’t forget to get it in front of the world. Until next time; good luck!
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Walking the Walk: Content Marketing Do’s & Don’ts
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