Regardless of what type of business you’re running, the chances are that you’re doing some sort of content marketing. After all, it’s a fairly ambiguous term that covers a lot of territory. But while you may be doing content marketing, are you confident that it’s working? Numerous surveys have suggested that many businesses are uncertain if their content marketing strategies are effective. There are all sorts of problems and issues that can hamper your content marketing efforts. But these often come down to the same old problems, most of which are mentioned below so you can avoid them.
Lack of Good Keyword Research
Many businesses make the mistake of just jumping into content marketing without properly planning out a strategy. Sure, you can pump out lots of content and share it all over the web. But if that content is not optimized with the keyword phrases your targeted audience is using to find your products and/or services, all your work will be in vain. A good content marketing strategy begins with proper keyword planning. Google’s keyword planner is a tool you should consider using as it allows you to see how your list of potential keywords and keyword phrases might perform. It can even create a new keyword list for you by multiplying several lists of keywords together.
Choosing the Wrong Social Platforms for Sharing Content
Just because there are several social media platforms to choose from doesn’t necessarily mean your business should be sharing content on them all. Some businesses put forth a whole lot of time and effort blasting their content across every social platform they can find only to discover that most of their efforts were in vain because their targeted audience did not use most of those social channels. Before you get your brand on any social media platform, first be sure that your targeted audience actually uses that platform.
Not Focusing Much on Titles
If you find your content is not performing as well as you had hoped, it could be that you are not focusing properly on writing titles. Even if your piece of content is nothing short of spectacular and loaded with information you know your targeted audience will love, if the title is weak or dull, most people who run across that piece of content will just move on without a second glance. Your content’s titles should be persuasive enough to prompt readers to read the entire piece. Something as simple as getting the title wrong on a good piece of content can end up costing you hundreds or even thousands of visitors which would do serious damage to your conversion rate.
Readers tend to respond well to numbers, top 10 lists, questions and catchy adjectives. They also show preference toward titles that create a sense of mystique such as “Little Known Ways to….”, and “The Secret of….”. When you consistently write catchy headlines and titles, you’ll do a better job of attracting readers in numbers, many of whom you can convert into paying customers.
Failure to Make a Connection with Your Audience
Far too many businesses create content that sounds good to them. Instead of writing with their audience in mind, they focus only on topics that cover their own interests. In order for your content to draw your audience in, it has to speak to them about the issues and problems they’re actually facing. If you don’t know what your readers want, find out. Read consumer reviews, social media & blog comments and visit industry forums to see what your audience is all about and what they’re interested in. What types of questions are they asking? What are the problems and issues they’re discussing? Once you are able to identify your targeted audience’s needs and wants, tailoring your content marketing strategy to suit them will be much easier to do.
