5 Common Content Marketing Mistakes

We all make mistakes. That’s just a part of life, right? The key is to learn from them! Content marketing isn’t any different. Sure, you may have made a few of the mistakes listed below (we have!), but it’s only a problem if you don’t adapt.

Once you know the most common mistakes, it’s easy to correct and adjust. Watch for these content marketing mistakes and fix them before they effect your content marketing strategy.

1. Quantity Rather Than Quality

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – focus on quality vs. quanity! It’s better to create one or two great pieces of content a week instead of daily, mediocre posts, be it a blog or tweet. Make it interesting, entertaining and educate your audience. People will begin following you and seeking out what you have to say.

Need help? Never create content that:

  • Doesn’t solve a need for your target audience
  • Is carelessly created to fill a hole in the content calendar
  • Isn’t unique to you or your business

Keep it unique. Keep it compelling. Stand out.

TIP: Brainstorm ideas with everyone in your organization. Ask the sales team, marketing team and others. What are the most common questions people ask? Create a headline for each one and put it on your content calendar.

2. Inconsistency

More and more professionals are understanding that content is “fuel for business.” But are you consistent? Publishing at the same time monthly, weekly or daily? Pushing through those rough patches when you have writer’s block? Checking in on your social media feeds when you’re traveling or are too busy with project X, Y and even Z? Keep it together. One of the first mistakes people make is giving up too early. You think your content marketing isn’t working, so you slow down or stop altogether. Nice strategy if you want to kill all of your efforts to date.

You can do it! Don’t just create content, post it consistently so your target audience has a chance to regularly engage with your company. Stay fresh. Stay interesting. Stay relevant. Stay on a schedule.
TIP: Set up a content calendar. Schedule when each piece should go live. Start small and build. You can get started by downloading our FREE content calendar template. We create a content calendar like this for every client we work with. It’s part of our DNA. And it works.

3. No Marketing! Really?

So you have your content. And it’s fantastic! You’re posting to your blog regularly. People are even commenting about your interesting ideas and thought leadership. But after you post your content, what do you do? Do you just, leave it?  Let it wither on the vine? We know you would never do that, but it is one of the biggest mistakes in content marketing – forgetting about the marketing part! After you create content, you still have to distribute. It’s not okay to just put it on Twitter once and forget it exists. Schedule reposts. Link to relevant content when it makes sense (see the link to Quality vs. Quantity that we used in No. 2? That’s remarketing of our best content.) Remember to share it. Mulitiple times!

TIP: Create a social media strategy. Write it down, and work it. Once you get your content spreading through your communities, your followers will help you out. Watch your audience grow. And remember, one post in social won’t move the needle. It’s okay to even repost your best stuff. Not everyone following you sees it the first time.

4. Forgetting the CTA 

That means “call to action.” It’s the “small get” when you “give generously” to your audience. Now that you have engaged your audience with targeted, relevant and useful content, you can ask them for something in return to help with your own digital marketing efforts. Encourage them to sign up to be part of your community. Offer a monthly newsletter. Or a downloadable “ultimate guide” that provides solutions to their most pressing problems.  It would even be helpful tools, like our FREE content calendar download or meaty topics like 5 Hot Content Trends, which we packaged into an easy to scan SlideShare. They will be willing to “opt in” to your offfer if you can deliver more of what they are looking for. That’s how to build a list to share your content. Otherwise, publishing content without a CTA is like throwing a pebble into the Grand Canyon.

TIP: To get started, create something specifically to use in a CTA, like an ebook, SlideShare, checklist or guide. Aim for 6-10 tools to routinely share in your CTAs, and measure which ones have the most impact. Then, create more of the ones your audience loves!

5. Not Measuring Once, Twice, Three Times

Maybe your content efforts are gaining traction. Maybe they are not.  Do you know what is and isn’t working? There is only one way to figure it out. Measure! Check out the metrics, and keep a close eye on them. There are many ways to measure what is being looked at in your digital channels, understand what people are clicking on, tallying how many people are even seeing your content. You have to find the tools that work for you and religiously measure. You can’t, and wouldn’t want to, adjust your strategy without knowing the numbers.

TIP: Analyze and you will start to see patterns in your web traffic, what your audience engages with and what they may want more of. There are many metrics tools available for digital marketing, but that is a blog for us to tackle in the future.

BONUS: Forgetting to Keep the Conversation Alive 

Oh, and one more “must do.” ENGAGE with your community. Even as you put these common mistakes behind you, you must always continue to answer questions and have a conversation with your audience. After all, content marketing is about more than just content. You need to follow it up with real interactions for your community to thrive and grow.

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