Common content marketing mistakes you could be making - and how to avoid them

With more perils and pitfalls than the house in Home Alone, content marketing is no walk in the park.

Well executed content generates quality leads (3x more than outbound marketing), builds audience trust and loyalty, and increases traffic. Oh, and it's also 62% cheaper than outbound marketing. Get it right and it could be the most powerful tool in your digital toolbox – but getting it right isn’t easy. So how do you sidestep the traps and come out victorious?

If your content isn’t getting you the results you want, it’s likely you’re making at least one of these common mistakes. Let’s take a look at what they are – and how you can avoid them…

 

Want to take a more strategic approach to your content marketing and generate more leads? Find the solutions at our In-Person Content Marketing Masterclass.

 

Not investing enough in content

 

Ever heard the one about getting what you pay for?

If you want regular, high-quality, SEO powered content, you have to put your money where your mouth is. That means paying a content writer or marketer – or even investing in a piece of software – to produce it. And if content isn’t included in your budget, it’s time to invest.

Apart from all the obvious marketing benefits, the reality is this: it’s what customers expect these days. If you don’t offer your audience any unique brand content, can you even call yourself a business?

 

Not having clear goals

 

Content marketing is a highly effective inbound marketing tool – as long as it’s implemented to meet clear objectives.

Do you want to drive more traffic to your website? Do you want to position yourself as the trusted voice in your sector? Do you want to generate leads? Do you want to target and engage a specific demographic?

Without clear goals you can’t create a strategy – and, crucially, you can’t measure the effectiveness of your content.

As a guideline, clear goals should be:

 

• Realistic and attainable (if you’re expecting 20,000 unique visitors or 1000 x ROI, it’s time to have a rethink)
• Measurable – what metrics or KPIs will you use? (this should naturally correlate with whatever your goals are)
• Aligned – never lose sight of the bigger picture; your content marketing goals need to align with your overall marketing and business goals

 

 

Creating content without a strategy

 

Content might be king, but without a strategy its power is diminished.

If you don’t have a roadmap, your content will be nothing more than a shot in the dark – and you’ll waste precious resources along the way. Avoid this huge mistake and take the time to create a proper strategy.

A good strategy should include:

 

• The type of content you’ll be producing
• The frequency of publication/posting
• How your content aligns with the needs of your audience
• How your content aligns with your organisational goals

 

 

Trying to sell your product

 

If you’re using content to pitch your product, it isn’t content – it’s advertising. Customers can sniff out ‘salesy’ writing a mile off – and it will do more harm than good.

Readers won’t be ready to buy on their first interaction with your brand, and they won’t engage with a sales pitch; so if the content at the top of your funnel is promotional, you’ll lose people.

That doesn’t mean your content shouldn’t relate to your services or products in any way, it just means it shouldn't be a sales pitch. So what should it be?

 

 

Forgetting what content marketing is

 

Content should be informative. You’re not selling, you’re educating. Good content should address your customers’ pain points and offer ideas and solutions. In short, it needs to be of value to your readers.

Let’s say you’re an interior design company. Your content shouldn’t be telling your readers why you’re so great and why they should hire you. Instead it should address their problems – how to decorate a bathroom on a budget or how to select the right paint colours for a tiny space – and offer solutions. It’s about imparting your expertise – like this piece of content from Dulux.

This is how content marketing works. You engage your readers by giving them something useful, and you build trust. You show them that you understand their challenges, boost your brand credibility, and they may begin to consider using your services.

 

Not amplifying your content

 

We don’t need to tell you how noisy the internet is. Without amplification, publishing your content is the equivalent of playing an acoustic guitar at a thrash metal gig: nobody will hear you.

These days, SEO alone is unlikely to get you the reach you want – and while sharing and promoting on your social channels is ok, for the best ROI, you need to plug into channels that will give you greater amplification.

Here are some of the most common channels for amplifying your content:

 

• Paid Social Ads: Paying to promote your content on social platforms. This isn’t as expensive as you might think and you can set a clear budget limit.
• Paid Native Ads: Using a content advertising platform to promote your content so that it appears in feeds on social channels like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
• Fan advocacy: Tagging your biggest fans/ followers and asking them to share and promote your content on their personal accounts.
• Email: Emailing your content directly to your subscribers (bonus - it’s free!).

 

Forgetting about metrics

 

You’ve set your goals, built a strategy, paid someone to produce informative content, and amplified your reach – so what are the results?

Without proper metrics in place, you won’t have a clue. You might be able to see likes and shares – but what’s the ROI? How long did people spend reading your content? Where did the traffic come from? To know how well your strategy worked – and how you can make it better – you need to measure your outcomes with relevant KPIs, including:

• Numbers of unique visitors and returning visitors
• Conversions generated (did they sign up for your newsletter, did they download a white paper or eBook, did they register for a free trial or further info?)
• Engagement time (they might be clicking through but how long do they stay reading?)
• Open & click through rates
• Abandonment (when did they switch off and disengage?)
• Sharing, liking, and commenting on social channels

 

The best way to approach content marketing is the same as any type of marketing: You need a plan and you need a budget. With a clear framework in place for producing and promoting your content – and metrics to help you measure the outcomes – you stand a much better chance of avoiding the pitfalls and building a content strategy that really delivers.

 

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