Content Marketing Mistakes

Now that you know all about the history of content marketing, gotten all the creative content development tools and even discovered how to make an effective creative content marking plan. What we have not covered is all the things that can go wrong in developing your content marketing. Joe Pulizzi says that your content needs to be better than everyone else’s. Better than your competition, or even the media or other publishers that cover your topics. He asks how can you expect be the authority, if you’re not the best?¹

1. Not setting Goals

As with any marketing task, if you don’t have a game plan, you’re never going to achieve what you want, because you do not really know what that is. It’s like driving somewhere but not actually having a destination. You’ll never get to where you need to go.

In order to maximize your content marketing you need to have a set strategy.

Determine your audience
Define your exact message
Build your brand

Once you have everything outlined, it will not only improve your content marketing, it will make your job that much easier.

2. Collaboration

If you are not pushing the same message across all facets of your company, you are missing the big picture. You will wind up confusing your readers and diluting what you are trying to say. Make sure everyone is on the same page and that all marketing efforts are following the same editorial calendar. Consistency across the board is key. But, as Compendium advises, do not feel like your calendar is set in stone, make sure you can be flexible to give you reader what they want or what is timely.2

3. Not using graphics or video

People, people, people. Content is not just words. There are so many different forms of content, that if you limit yourself to just text, you are missing a huge portion of your audience. And the sharability of images, graphics and video is much greater than an entire blog worth of text. Do not just tell the story, show it. Let the reader experience it.

4. Only randomly posting

Once you have established loyal readers, they expect to get your content on a regular basis. Can you image if the 11pm news was only on a few days a week, and maybe not even the same days every week? Would you trust it? Would you feel loyalty to it? According to Sprout Content, If you do not consistently update your blog you will never gain a regular readership, and those that were reading your content will move on.3

5. Only posting to your blog

Sure, your blog is a great platform to put your content out. But there are so many other ways to reach your target audience. Make sure you are posting to other social networks, even if it is similar content. If you make a video, get it on YouTube and Instagram video. Cool Infographic? what about Twitter and Pinterest. And contribute to other’s blogs. Leverage their readership and let them post on your blog so it can be mutually beneficial.

1. http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/05/reasons-content-marketing-might-fail/
2. http://www.compendium.com/blog/corporate-blogging-and-brand-awareness/editorial-calendar-nightmares-tips-for-avoiding-content-marketing-mistakes
3. http://www.sproutcontent.com/blog/bid/104542/Top-Content-Marketing-Mistakes-Many-Businesses-Make

Content Marketing Mistakes