Content is the most important part of digital marketing because it helps companies attract, acquire and retain customers. Careful content planning, creation, and distribution pay off well in the end. However, with the passage of time, content isn’t just restricted to content marketing only; it has expanded to advertising, CRM, PR, and digital search as well. As a result, it has become a pivotal part of how do we plan, perform and optimize marketing strategies. That’s why; it’s really inevitable to heed strategically about how to benefit from the content.
Likewise, businesses and brands are failing to take advantage of the content that they produce. Therefore, I’ve outlined three crucial reasons why their content marketing is failing – they are easy – to- understand, well-defined and fully-researched to help you get rid of problems and start converting prospects into loyal clients.
Let’s start!
1- You’re Producing Mediocre or Insufficient Content
To succeed at content marketing, you need to produce as much content as possible because Content is key and it is indispensable. Certainly, a well-researched and audience-centered content does add value for your targeted audience. They will get first-hand solutions to their important issues. Plain simple, good content is an impeccable connector between you and your prospect. Because, it informs, persuades, satisfies and converts. Remember: a content cycle flops. Yes, it does – Only and only, if you’re producing mediocre or insufficient content.
Wondering how to judge either a content is mediocre or just does OKAY? – It’s pretty simple: If you can’t conclude the client’s problems with optimal solutions – you’re going to end up in anonymity because people will not come to you to feel entertained by your copy, they want a permanent solution- instant and reliable.
It’s really important to get ahead of the game of content marketing with realistic, value-driven and focused content because the digital world is already smashed heavily with Content Shock: The emerging marketing epoch defined when exponentially increasing volumes of content intersect our limited human capacity to consume it. Given the current scenario, it fits true that big part of the content produced today goes unread, ignored or unshared, and an abundance of run-of-the-mill content is actually the factor. Even major social networking sites i.e. Facebook suffered a shocking decline in organic searches and caused digital marketing strategies of brands worldwide to fall apart.
So, if you’re content marketing is failing, it’s just because you’re producing mediocre and insufficient content.
Another way to measure the authenticity of your content is by ‘Social Sharing.’ If your content is worthy, it will be shared everywhere across social media and vice versa. Buzzsumo (An online research and monitoring tool) describes clearly this entire availability of a plethora of content but zero sharing in the chart provided below:
Image Credit: Buzzsumo
Never embark on your quest of content marketing with average/Okay content, you will definitely end up being fatigued, failed and out-classed. Always produce ‘Great’ content and your content marketing will thrive.
As a content marketer, you should produce content that’s 10 times better, informative and well-researched for any specific keyword. So that you could stand out in the competition. Evaluate, plan, research keywords and add a juice of storytelling in your content.
What is 10x Content?
| Inbound.org explains 10x Content as: – ‘A Content that is worthy of attention, consumable and has gravitas.’
This term ‘10x Content’ simply means a way for content marketers to articulate the need to go above and beyond. |
Great content starts with a quality mindset instead of quantity mindset; with the following practice in place, you will start producing first-rate content without compromising on the quality:
1- Keyword Research – Good content begins with a complete understanding of what does your targeted audience need and what are they looking for?
2- Work on your User Experience – Make sure your content is completely readable and highly optimized for multiple devices and eases up interaction.
3- Build Relationships with Clients – Not only your own content but also share other people’s findings and researched matter across the internet – make sure that your content is relevant and reliable. Engage with customers, influencers and brand strategists across different social media platforms to create empathy and rapport.
2- Your Content and SEO are Completely Separated
In many organizational structure departments i.e. Content Marketing, SEO, PR, and eCommerce, etc., work differently. This thing creates silos in business that further lead to decrease inefficiencies and so much more.
Although, SEO and content marketing can be managed separately, however, there are few similarities between the two – As it can be seen by a snapshot of search interest between ‘Content Marketing’ and ‘SEO.’
It is important for digital marketers to leverage the power of content marketing to increase the organic search for ultimate benefit. Following are the techniques a content marketer should use to benefit from both (content marketing and SEO) collaboratively:
A – Keyword research
Commonly, content is driven solely by SEO objectives, and it’s made to cater needs of search engines for quick ranking. In reality, your content should be for humans, not for an algorithm, or for a search engine. If your content marketing is failing; it is just because you’re not answering questions of people, you’re not sharing valuable ideas and your copies are deprived of a quick solution – Think for ultimate users and you’ll definitely start making a shift from nowhere to everywhere with great content.
Ask the following question during a content planning process, and your results will escalate for sure:
a- What type of audience am I aiming for?
b- Which content is favorable for my targeted audience?
c- What data should I drive from keyword research to create impressive and useful content?
B – Put SEO and Content Marketing Together in your Editorial Calendar
Content marketing and SEO should go hand-in-hand, and they require long-term planning to ensure all activities are fully aligned throughout the period. Understandably, there are going to be seasonal consistencies industry-wide with specified focuses on business. However, they (SEO and Content Marketing) should be added to your content plan together.
Likewise, you must benefit from keyword research smartly that gives you a good indication of phrases and top terms that people search for when they’re looking for something and they can be massively advantageous for you while designing editorial calendar.
3- You Don’t Create Content for Every Phase of the Buyer’s Journey
An effective content marketing strategy isn’t just about creating content for only one type of buyer – It is for all types of buyers. Likewise, an experienced content marketer just doesn’t build content for those on the top of the sales funnel.
So, you shouldn’t just create content to help brand new people. Brainstorm, plan and strategize to publish content for helping those people as well that are in the middle of the buying journey. Perhaps, some are over the edges to finalize their buying decision.
Be smart. Plan like a professional and creative content for existing customers, but don’t overlook new ones as well. You will enjoy more conversions of clients as they will grow through your content.
Beyond a question – this error-free planning will help you get rid of ‘mediocrity’, and you will become more strategic, productive, planned and smart to create audience-centered content.
The graph below shows how different content formats are appropriate for different phases of the buyer’s journey.
Final Words: 3 Reasons Your Content Marketing is Failing
All-in-all, failing in content marketing isn’t a bad thing. But, not improving one’s mistakes is the worst thing. Content can be improved over time. However, if you want to make most out of your content marketing – Don’t fall victims of three reasons for why your content marketing is failing and you will start flourishing: a- Don’t create mediocre content, always build great content, b- Don’t keep Content Marketing and SEO isolated, they are connected and inevitable, c- Create content for every phase of the buyer’s journey, be versatile and genuine problem-solver.
Links:
https://www.smartinsights.com/content-management/content-marketing-strategy/the-content-marketing-matrix-new-infographic/
https://buzzsumo.com/blog/research-create-evergreen-content/
https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2019/10/content-disappoints-audience/
3 Reasons Your Content Marketing is Failing
