10 Common Content Marketing Mistakes

10 Common Content Marketing Mistakes was co-authored by Sharon Hurley Hall and Christina Strickland.

10 common content marketing mistakes

Promoting your business with content is an excellent strategy for raising awareness of your brand and getting your customers’ attention. But some businesses don’t get the benefits they should, because of easily avoidable errors. Here are some common content marketing mistakes you should avoid.

10 Common Content Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

 

Common Content Marketing Mistake #1: No Strategy

Believe it or not, some companies approach content marketing piecemeal and don’t have a strategic game plan. Newsflash! No matter how much content marketing you are doing and how many pieces of the puzzle you have in place, you won’t get the benefit unless you know:

  • What you want to achieve with content marketing
  • How content marketing fits into your overall business strategy

That’s why the starting point for content marketing is working out how content can serve your key business goals. Only then can you start to work out who your audience is and what types of content will suit them best.

Common Content Marketing Mistake #2: No USP

As part of your strategy, think about what you bring to the table that’s completely new – your unique selling point or sales proposition (USP). Identify yours and you have a focus for your content marketing strategy. Think about the problem you set up your business to solve and how your approach is different from that of your competitors.

Common Content Marketing Mistake #3: Thinking a Blog is Enough

Similarly, some businesses buy into the “blog it and they will come” myth. In other words, if you have a company blog, that means you have a complete content marketing strategy. It’s true that companies that blog get better web traffic, leads and ROI, but they still need to be strategic to be successful.

How can you use your blog strategically? Here are a few ideas:

  • Think of the questions your customers usually ask and answer them on the blog.
  • Repurpose your blog content for different media, creating everything from podcasts to presentations.
  • Share and discuss your blog content anywhere your customers are likely to hang out (forums, social media sites and more).

Do this, and your blog will fulfill its potential and start to work to market your business.

Common Content Marketing Mistake #4: You’re Only Broadcasting

We get it – it can be hard to move out of the old marketing mindset, where you created information and sent it out, without getting much back. But those days are gone and your audience expects to interact with you. Broadcasting is out; communication is in.

Instead of making it all about you, include discussion starters for social media sites in your content marketing plan. Take part in Twitter chats. Create some images for Pinterest and Instagram and get to know the value of hashtags. Do some social listening to figure out what your customers really want instead of what you think they want. Put it all together by being responsive – it will transform your business (in a good way!)

Common Content Marketing Mistake #5: No Personality

You business may not interest everyone, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Stuffy corporate voices are offputting and unrelatable, but find the spark you can focus on and you can make your content marketing truly special. Don’t believe me? General Electric has got creative in showcasing its business, and shipping company Maersk has made a big splash (not literally) on social media. Somehow, those companies have found the fun which helps them connect with customers. You can too.

Common Content Marketing Mistake #6: You’re Not Mobile

When was the last time you checked your content to see how it looked on mobile devices? There are more people using mobile devices than desktop computers, so you can’t ignore this sector. And with Google’s April 2015 mobile algorithm update, mobile friendliness has become an SEO ranking signal for mobile devices users. In other words, if your content isn’t mobile-friendly, people may not even be able to find it. Find out how to integrate mobile into your marketing mix here.

Common Content Marketing Mistake #7: Not Enough Content

You may hear a good deal of debate about just how often you should post content for your business, especially blog posts. Some people are of the mind that it really doesn’t matter how often you post as long as you do so regularly. For example, these people believe your readers need to know when to expect new material from you, such as every Wednesday or every other Wednesday. Others assert that you’ll get the best results by posting several times each week. For example, some research shows that posting 20 times a month to your blog will get you significantly more traffic and leads. However, for Facebook, posting more than once per day seems to put a bit of a damper on engagement, according to Track Social.

Common Content Marketing Mistake #8: No Variety

Since your readers are only human, they can get bored. And though you work to provide meaty, interesting content, seeing the same types of posts all the time can get to be monotonous for your audience. You can liven things up by adding other types of posts to the mix, such as videos, webinars, and infographics. Slideshows and tutorial posts can add variety and make your content much more interesting as well. Of course, you’ll still want to create traditional posts. Just mix things up a little.

Common Content Marketing Mistake #9: Omitting the Call to Action

Content marketing may fall a bit flat if you don’t remember to include calls to action. While you don’t want to make your content too salesy, you do want to nudge your readers in a particular direction. As such, it’s important to include a call to action. This could be a call to action for requesting your informational content, as your readers are interested in what you have to say already. This means they’re apt to take an interest in your free eBook, webinar, or newsletter. It can also mean including premium offers that help move your readers along towards making a decision and taking advantage of the solutions or products you provide.

Common Content Marketing Mistake #10: It’s an Afterthought

Finally, one of the biggest content marketing mistakes there is, is to make it an afterthought. You’d be surprised how many people create a strategy but don’t take the time or allocate the resources to execute it so they get real ROI. The right content allows your customers to see you as an expert with a human personality rather than a faceless company. That’s even more important as millennials become a more influential consumer segment.

Don’t make these mistakes. If you need help with your creating and delivering a content marketing strategy, get in touch with the Crackerjack Marketing team.

10 Common Content Marketing Mistakes

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6 replies
  1. Samar Altaf
    Samar Altaf says:

    Hi
    Author
    Thank you for writing this amazing article.
    I have read your article “10 COMMON CONTENT MARKETING MISTAKES” and I found that you have covered a huge gap in the field of “Content Marketing”. This informative article will significantly contribute in this niche. I want to mention here that I have blog on the same niche http://www.tribunefox.com. I frequently write blogs for “Content Marketing”. I would love if you visit my blog and give value to my work.
    Thank you and looking forward. :)

  2. Brij Bhushan
    Brij Bhushan says:

    Hey Christina, The informative you presented here was awesome. i want to say that you are a very good writer. Everything in this blog regarding google analytics is great… Thanks for sharing!!!

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