Content marketing, when done well, can really benefit your company in terms of visibility and authority. However, it’s all too common to see that initial passion for creating great content gradually wane as you get a feel for what a commitment it is. In the most extreme cases the content stops completely.
Don’t let content creation get the better of you!
So what are the most common pitfalls as a content creator and how can you overcome them?
1. Consistency
Content marketing works best when the content is being published consistently. This frequency is something that you set so be realistic with the time and resources available to you. If you’re starting out, it is far better to be conservative with the content schedule than taking on too much and having to pull the plug. Once you’ve got this plan, stick to it. Only after several months to a year will you have a real idea of how sustainable it is. The important point is to deliver on the expectation you have created with your audience.
2. Quality
If you’re not creating something of value then this isn’t going to work. The emphasis must be on the quality over quantity. Quantity is something you may choose to increase as you have more resources, but that does not mean that the quality suffers. In fact, your aim should always be to deliver better content and dig deeper into your subject. If there’s no growth in your content marketing then you may find that others in your niche will surpass you.
3. Focus
The best content marketers are those who really target a specific person and don’t get swayed off course. It’s surprisingly easy for your content to drift if you do not have the focus of getting inside the mind of your audience and considering exactly what it is that they want to know.
With traditional media the emphasis is always about getting to a mass audience. That’s not what you want online. In fact the smaller and more defined the niche is, the better. Your core community is what’s important as they will be loyal and will spread the word.
4. The Content Isn’t Cross Platform
You need to be where your audience is and these days that has moved beyond the blog. It’s not saying give up the blog, but realise that more and more people are consuming audio podcasts and videos on YouTube. There are other platforms where a presence would be nice as well, but these three forms will take you a long way. Again, if you’re in the early days of content marketing it’s probably best to get to grips with one platform before developing the next.
5. The Headlines Aren’t Drawing the Crowds
It’s a sad fact that you can have the best content in the world and perhaps nobody is finding it. Headlines and titles do make a difference. Internet users have to make numerous decisions so if they don’t like your title, they won’t be coming any further.
Optimising SEO and choosing the right keywords is also essential to getting in front of your audience, so make sure you allocate enough time for this.
6. The Content Doesn’t Progress
Covering the fundamentals of a subject is one thing but you have to keep on going. Your audience needs to know the basic stuff but to keep them they want to deepen their knowledge so that is where your content must be going too. If you always cater for the beginners then you are neglecting the purpose of your archive. The content must move on. If you feel uncomfortable about a piece of content, that may actually be a good sign that you’re pushing boundaries!
7. Sharing the Content is Difficult
If people love your content and want to share it, then that is a very powerful thing. However, if the process hasn’t been made simple for them, they may just give up. So avoid this pitfall by making life really easy for your reader, viewer or listener – provide share icons in the right place, simple URLs for podcast listeners to check out and interactive links in your YouTube videos.
What mistakes have you tried to avoid with your content marketing? Do you have any tips for doing better content marketing?
