Putting strong content on your website and social media pages are vital to growing your business. Maybe you’re an individual building your personal brand. Perhaps you work for a major corporation looking for more market share. Either way, an effective content marketing strategy is a must.
Yet we see individuals and companies alike making the same mistakes over and over again. If your content is not generating the results you want, there’s a good chance you’re making some as well.
Ready to notch up your content marketing strategy by several degrees? Here are the five biggest content marketing mistakes to avoid.
By avoiding these common content marketing mistakes and implementing the suggested strategies, you can enhance your brand's online presence and success.
There is absolutely no point in generating content unless you understand your audience. And that’s because you need to understand who they are to determine what kind of content they want.
Whether your customer base is very niche and narrow or very broad, it’s essential that you identify who your content is for.
What are your audience demographics? What kind of content and information keeps them interested and engaged? What content format turns clicks into likes, shares, or purchases? You need to ask yourself questions and have a definitive picture of who you’re selling to in mind.
If you’re a fashion brand selling to women in their 30s, your content will be very different than if you’re a gaming platform appealing to teenage boys.
Before you post yet another piece of content, make sure you have a complete understanding of who you’re posting it for.
You need to know your audience to put out relevant content. But just because it’s relevant doesn’t mean it’s okay. Adding weak, dull, or ineffectual content to your website and social media pages is the quickest way to lose customers.
But there are some easy ways to ensure that your content is interesting and engaging.
One way is to mix things up and include various types of content across your platforms. That includes blog articles, social media posts, images, videos, and infographics. Sharing unique content in different formats will keep people engaged with your site longer.
Having different types of content also makes your site more visually attractive. And if it’s not pleasing to look at, no one will want to view your page.
For example, having long paragraphs of written content is a surefire way to turn people away. Instead, mix up your written content with images, videos, or infographics to make it visually appealing. The better it appears, the more likely people are to stick around.
Having a great piece of content is how you’ll attract people to your site. But you’ll need a CTA (a call to action) to tell your audience what to do next.
So ask yourself this question: what precisely do you want them to do?
Do you want your audience to share a post? Do you want them to make a purchase? Do you want them to subscribe to your monthly newsletter?
Decide what it is you want your visitors to do, and then include a CTA that tells them to do it.
Here are some basic and effective CTAs that clearly indicate your customer’s next step:
Without an encouraging CTA, your great content may never convert into actual results.
If you’re not paying attention to SEO, you’re making a significant mistake.
You absolutely must optimise your content to get higher placement in search results. And this doesn’t merely mean stuffing your content with the right keywords.
Yes, keywords are essential, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
You must make sure you’re putting out high-quality content. You need content that’s fresh, relevant, and up to date. You need to create content that understands the searcher’s intent and provides them with the answers they’re looking for. You need to include meta-descriptions and title tags that state what your page is about.
Before you start churning out content:
Just keep in mind that SEO best practices are always changing and evolving, so there’s always more to learn.
While creating engaging and diverse content is crucial, it's equally important to ensure that your content is discoverable through search engines. This is where expert SEO services come into play as, with them helping you to optimise your content with the right keywords, meta-descriptions, and understand searcher intent, you can significantly improve your content's visibility and ranking. Don't let your valuable content go unnoticed; make SEO a cornerstone of your strategy.
You can improve your content marketing strategy by avoiding the mistakes discussed above. But the only way to make it truly successful is to spend some time analysing your results.
What pages, posts, or ads are attracting the most attention and visitors? Which platforms and channels have the most conversions? Knowing what works is as important as understanding what’s not working. Only then can you tailor your content to produce better results.
You‘re serious about improving your content but don’t have the time or know-how to do your own data analysis. Then it’s time to hire a professional. Professional content marketing firms can do an in-depth review of your content strategy. They can also help you make your content output better.
Keep in mind that whether you conduct your own analysis or hire an expert to do it for you, it takes time to see results. A complete revamp of your content strategy today will not produce results tomorrow. Or even next week or next month. You’ll need to be patient and have realistic expectations.
It takes time, as well as trial and error, to improve upon content marketing. But you can improve your brand’s success by not making the most common mistakes others do, namely:
The faster you stop making these mistakes, the easier it will be to propel your brand forward!
Author bio: Dominique Daniels has 5 years of Property Management experience working primarily in high-end apartment community living. Her ability to consistently deliver white-glove service to her residents and prospects has propelled her in a successful career that now finds her leading the team at 15th Street Flats.
Cover Image || Mikael Blomkvist || Pexels
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