Ever gotten frustrated because your content strategy was not bringing in any leads?
If the answer is yes, then you are in good company.
The content you put out is supposed to draw in your audience, capture their attention, improve engagement, and create top of mind awareness. But it doesn’t seem to be doing all these and that’s why you’re here – basically, your content strategy is not working.
57% of content marketers don’t have a documented content strategy and some of the ones who do still struggle with execution.
If you belong to this 57%, it is probably because you are making 7 common mistakes with your content strategy. But we are here to fix that by telling you these deadly sins and providing you with insight on how to fix it.
Let’s dive in:
1. Not properly documenting your content strategy
Writing down what you need to achieve is most times the biggest difference between success and failure.
You may think that you have a good idea of what your content strategy is, so you don’t need to write it down but that is very far from the truth because 65% of the most successful marketers have a well-documented content strategy.
No matter how small your team is, you need to document your strategy. We understand that you might be busy with other marketing activities and not have time to create yet another document, but it is important because it provides you with direction.
A good content strategy document should contain the following:
- Message – What is the information we are trying to pass across?
- Purpose – Why are we creating this content and how does it help?
- Medium – What channel are we publishing the content on?
- Goals – What metrics are you tracking after this content has been published?
Every business should have a content strategy document because without one you run the risk of doing things without direction and never knowing if it failed or succeeded.
2. Putting out content without data to back it up
To avoid wasting resources, you need to make data-backed decisions.
Data gives you insight into your audience and allows you to know what channel to reach them on. Further, it allows you to identify relevant topics that your audience is interested in.
How do you know if your audience is not engaging with your content? You look at the data.
Having a data-driven content strategy helps you figure out engagement by letting you know what you need to fix and what you need to focus on.
The best part is that it informs every decision you make e.g you know when to drop an underperforming social media channel in order to focus your efforts on the most engaging ones.
3. Not defining your audience
If you want to create content that resonates, you need to know exactly who your audience is.
- What value do they need?
- Which things do they care about?
- What motivates them?
- What are their interests?
If you don’t know who they are, then you can not create content that they will connect with.
Knowing your audience helps you figure out what kind of content to put out, and the appropriate tone and voice for your message.
To understand your audience, you need to ask and listen. Find out what kind of language they use, what their everyday struggles are, what they love and what they absolutely hate then you will be able to offer them the perfect content.
READ: 3 mistakes content writers make and how to avoid them
4. Not diversifying your content
People get bored easily. It is important that you find various ways to keep your audience interested and engaged.
Diversifying your content helps you cater to different individuals and the way they consume content. Some prefer long blog posts while others want to watch a short video.
So you have to consider publishing other kinds of content.
Here are some you can consider:
- Podcasts: The average weekly podcast listener spends 6 hours and 39 minutes listening each week. This tells you that if done right, podcasts are a great way to reach people.
- Infographics: Up to 41.5% of marketers say infographics are the most engaging form of content and it can be a good way to reach some of your audience.
- Short videos: You can hardly go wrong with videos. 74% of marketers say video has a better return on investment than static imagery so if you are looking for a content type that reaches more people. You have got it with video.
- Ebooks: Books are still a very powerful communication channel. In fact, 50% of content marketers say ebooks/whitepapers are the most effective types of content and how will you know if it works or not if you don’t try it.
- Slideshows: Slideshows are a great form of visual content and using high-quality visual ones can have a huge impact on your business – in fact, almost 50% of people have shared visual content online, which means it’s a medium that is not only seen but one that engages as well.
- Slideshows: Slideshows are a great form of visual content and using high-quality visual ones can have a huge impact on your business – in fact, almost 50% of people have shared visual content online, which means it’s a medium that is not only seen but one that engages as well
5. Not publishing relevant content
Your content needs to solve a problem or answer a question.
And not just any question, but a question that is being asked frequently. If you don’t, another brand will, and then you will be leaving money on the table.
To publish relevant content, you need to go where conversations are happening (Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, etc.) and glean from it. Try to understand why these conversations are happening and what people are saying.
Then, you will be able to publish relevant content.
Creating relevant content gets you noticed and tells your audience that you understand their needs and wants.
6. Not using CTAs where necessary
CTA is short for Call to action. CTAs are important because it motivates your audience to take real steps toward becoming a customer or client.
They can be placed anywhere within your content and direct a prospect to the next step of the sales funnel.
When creating CTAs, make sure to do the following
- Use action-focused words like “download”, “register” or “start”
- Add a sense of urgency.
- Include what people should expect
When you don’t include CTAs you miss an opportunity to let your audience know about your brand and that’s money you are potentially giving away to competitors
7. Not conducting SEO/Keyword research
SEO research in content marketing is very important. It is as important as water to a human being.
It helps prospective customers reach you rather than your competitors when they search.
When you research and select the most appropriate target keywords, you create the opportunity to rank well in search engines for that specific topic.
When researching, ask yourself questions like
- What keywords are people searching for?
- Will the people who find my site using these keywords find the answers to their questions?
- Will this traffic help me reach my goals?
If you can answer these questions well, then you are on your way to ranking high on search engines.
Conclusion
It helps people relate to and learn from your brand.
We know that correcting these mistakes can be harder than imagined sometimes. But that’s why we are here. We help you create content that makes it easier to acquire leads, increase sales, and reach larger audiences.
We have worked with over 24 startups to drive conversions through increased community presence and relevant blog posts that we help distribute. To understand our process, book a 15 - 30 minutes meeting with us.
[…] Content creation is the more common option for startups because it allows them to publish their own material without having any budget constraints or restrictions. However, this also means that they need to be really creative in order for their audience to find them online and read what they have written about anyway! If you want more information on how this works, check out our post on “7 Deadly Sins to Avoid When Creating a Content Strategy.” […]