It is a myth that content marketing doesn't work. Maybe you've wondered: Is content marketing worth it? We think so! We are also confident there are many advantages of putting in the effort. If your content marketing is not working for your brand, this article is for you...
So, content marketing is not working for your brand? Here's how to fix that.
Content marketing is one of the best ways to increase traffic to your website and improve sales ... when done RIGHT.
Approximately 70% of businesses currently use their own content marketing strategies in effort to increase sales. However, a large percentage of them may not be seeing a favorable return on investment. In short, their content marketing strategy is not effective. They are not implementing correctly.
If you have been engaged in content marketing for a while, and you have not seen the results you hoped for, you might be wondering why. If that is the case, this article covers some of the most common issues that can hinder efforts.
Let's explore five reasons content marketing is not working for your business and what you can do to change the trajectory.
1. No Clear Content Strategy
Many marketing teams make the mistake of thinking that all they need to do to be successful at content marketing is make a few fun posts to their social media pages each week and produce a blog post or two. Although doing both of those things may help keep your online presence active, it is certainly not all you need to do to convert customers.
If you want content marketing to work for your brand you must have a defined content strategy. This should be a written document or electronic file that includes:
- Target demographics
- Key performance indicators
- Intended traffic to your website
Once you have a clear idea of the type of content you should create you can calculate to hit the mark. Then you must measure using analytics. The ability to measure how well you are doing now, determines how you can improve your content marketing for the future.
2. Not Investing In Content Marketing
Although content marketing can certainly be less expensive than traditional forms of marketing, one thing that many businesses get wrong is not investing in it at all.
Yes, technically you can create all of your own content for free by writing your own blog posts and doing your own keyword research. But that takes your team away from their intended work. It is also unlikely the content will be as dynamic as pieces written by a professional copywriter or expert video editor.
Although you don’t need to spend a fortune on every single piece of content you produce, paying for important email marketing templates or a YouTube video resource series that will offer value to your target markets is a wise decision.
You must also consider the idea of paying to promote branded keystone content via social ads and other paid media spots. Your content will then be treated more favorably in online algorithms (more below).
3. Not Creating The Content Your Audience Wants
Is content marketing hard? For some.
Another mistake marketers make is simply not taking the time to find out what their customers actually want. Could it be your content marketing strategy does not speak to your intended target market? If you want people to find and click on your content, where you can persuade them to buy, then you need to know about their interests and what content most appeals to them.
For example, if you’re trying to do plumbing marketing, think about what people who need a plumber may be Googling. Chances are they will be asking questions about what to do if there is a leak. Or how they can locate their stop cock. If you are able to clearly answer these questions in a blog post or video, then they will be more likely to find you than if you simply make videos talking about your brand's awesomeness.
Think like a customer. Research common searches within your niche. Create content that delivers what your target audience will be looking for, and you will see a far better success rate.
4. Not Promoting Your Content
Say you create the most beautifully crafted blog post or the funniest youtube video. If you simply post it and then do nothing more than hope the right people see it and like it, you're doing it wrong.
Once you have created value-rich branded content, you also need to promote it:
- Tweet about it
- Post it on Facebook
- Send it out to your email list subscribers
- Convince other blogs and websites in your niche to link to it
- Use social ads to attract your target markets
The more you amplify it, the more people will view it and share it. Hopefully they will become a customer as a result.
5. Huge Competitor
Sometimes, it isn’t anything you are doing wrong, per se. If one of your direct competitors is a huge company with a big budget for advertising that is hard to compete with. Alternately, they have a really great content marketing strategy that exceeds expectations. That can be de-motivating despite doing everything right.
If you think this is the main reason why content marketing is not working for you, instead of trying to directly compete with the behemoth in your niche, you may have greater success from doing something completely different.
Start answering the questions they aren’t approaching. Or instead of trying to be the most informative, be the most amusing. Basically, find an area of their weakness and engage that audience. At first, your numbers might not be as high, but eventually your followers should become loyal and encourage others to choose your brand too.
Your Content Marketing Is Not Working ... Final Thoughts
Is content marketing dead? No.
If you are doing any of the above, and you aren’t seeing the results you expect, then it may be time to:
- Tweak your content marketing strategy
- Implement necessary changes
Then, hopefully you will start to see the level of results that are possible.
