Are you at a loss as to why your current content marketing strategy is not getting the results you expected?
If yes, then you have come to the right place.
Content marketing is a complex process and, if you want your campaigns to be a success, you need to make sure that you are doing everything right when it comes to satisfying both your readers and the search engines.
Unfortunately, even businesses that have a clear and concise strategy in place could be falling victim to the common pitfalls of content marketing that SEO experts know how to avoid.
Within the below guide, we have collated the top five reasons why content marketing strategies end up failing, plus, how what steps you need to take to correct them.
1. You do not have a clear strategy
Roughly 70% of businesses use content marketing strategies, but this does not necessarily mean that they are creating effective ones. According to the Content Marketing Institute, only 5% of B2C marketers consider their content marketing efforts to be “very effective”, a worryingly low number.
So, why is this?
One of the main reasons is that businesses are not creating and documenting a clear and concise content marketing strategy. As little as 16% of unsuccessful B2B marketers have a documented strategy and only 18% of B2C ones.
It is even better to have a bad content marketing strategy than not have one at all because at least then you can see where you are going wrong and make the necessary changes. However, without a clear strategy in place, you effectively shoot in the dark when it comes to creating and promoting content.
Top tips for creating a content marketing strategy include:
- Setting clear KPIs
- Enlisting the help of a professional content writer if needed
- Discussing audience, revenue, profit, branding
- Tracking your efforts
2. Your content lacks focus
As you would expect, the content you create plays a huge role in your content marketing strategy’s overall success. However, many businesses make the mistake of simply creating content without first identifying what they want to achieve from it.
Google is not a fan of vague, wishy-washy content which lacks any real value. Instead, they are looking for content that specifically matches searcher intent. Therefore, if you want your content to help you rise in the ranks of Google and actually provide use to your readers, it needs to be focused.
The simplest way to create well-defined content is always to know the intent of each piece. Whether you are looking to sell a product or service, build an emotional connection with your target audience or make consumers aware of your store’s physical location.
Other ways in which your content may be hindering your content marketing strategy include:
- Your writer is inexperienced
- Your content is unoriginal and uninspiring
- You are stuck for fresh content ideas
3. You are not tracking your efforts
How can you expect to have a successful content marketing strategy if you do not know what is and what isn’t currently working for you and your business?
One of the main issues that marketers face when it comes to content marketing is that the world of content marketing is constantly evolving. For many months, something that was highly effective might suddenly be no longer relevant, either to the searchers themselves or the search engines. Therefore, you need to be tracking your efforts if you want to have long-term success with content marketing.
If you are sure what you should be tracking, the answer is everything. You need to know your click-through rates for your email marketing, the percentage of emails opened, your conversion rate for your content, the number of shares each piece of content gets on social media, and anything else related to your overall content marketing strategy.
Do not also forget to perform A/B testing on everything so that you can see what your customers like and then provide them with more of the same.
4. You are collecting the wrong metrics
Tracking the metrics that matter is key to your content marketing strategy’s success, enabling you to focus on what is important, making a profit. For example, if you are tracking your website views, you could become too focused on increasing website visits rather than converting these visits into sales. Or if you become preoccupied with producing a set number of articles each month regardless of quality, your customer engagement will suffer as well as your rankings on SERPs.
Instead, turn your attention to the metrics that can help your business grow and thrive in the year ahead, such as click-through rates and conversions. Did you know that doubling your conversion rate of existing traffic has a higher ROI than doubling your number of site visitors at the risk of a lower conversion rate?
If you are not sure what metrics you should be tracking and improving upon, consider seeking the advice of professional SEO experts who will be able to help you make the most of your content marketing strategy.
5. You are not promoting your content
There is no point in taking the time and effort to create great content if only a handful of people see it. Content promotion should be a key part of every content marketing strategy, with this process being equally as important as the content creation itself.
Many businesses do not do enough to promote their content, wrongly believing that their organic traffic will increase simply because they have written high-quality content.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. You need to actively find ways to put your great content in front of your target audience.
Not sure how to promote your content? Here are a handful of tried and tested ways that are guaranteed to deliver:
- Email newsletter
- Marketing email to a landing page
- Tweets and retweets
- Posting on Facebook
- Sharing on LinkedIn
- Pitching to influencers within your niche who can share your content
- Pitching to bloggers who can share your content
- Mentioning your content on other relevant sites and blogs
Conclusion
Creating an effective content marketing strategy is not a quick and simple process. It takes time and effort and a certain amount of knowledge about creating and promoting great content. As with any strategy for your business, you need to start by clearly defining your goals and then outlining a plan detailing how you are going to achieve them.
Do not forget the importance of tracking your efforts to adjust your strategy accordingly and do not be afraid to ask for help when needed; whether that be to assist you in collating the right metrics or reaching out to an influencer.
