It’s easier to get lost in content marketing. Creating content is a fun and creative process, but content marketing is different compared to crafting content. There is a larger purpose for what you are creating. It may be for more engagement or possibly for an increase in sales. These goals can’t be achieved if you fall into these simple content marketing mistakes.
Fake News
When someone clicks to watch your videos, open up an infographic or even reads an article they are already judging the validity of your point-of-view. It may not be their immediate goal, but these judgements happen subconsciously. Does this person, personality or company have my best interests? What are they trying to sell me? What’s the end goal for this piece of content?
With the tired term “fake news” floating around the world, everyone is looking to cling to a trusted source. Sharing any news which is later found out to be untrue will hurt your character. It can be tough and even the largest media companies in the world will make the mistake of reporting without all the facts. So, before you begin reporting figures, retweeting reality stars or fueling fires take a look at your own sources, then research a few more.
This is the IFLA guide to spotting fake news.
Infrequent Posting
This is a problem even the best of us can have, and it’s probably the biggest failure of most small business owners when it comes to designing their own content. You need a frequent schedule when it comes to posting, as all social media posts have an average shelf-life. The general consensus is that Tweets reach their majority of engagement after just 18 minutes. Followed by Facebook’s 30 minutes. Fortunately, LinkedIn has a relatively longer timeframe with 24 hours. Therefore you want to be posting every day in order to maximise your reach across all the platforms.
Posting frequently can be time-consuming which is why many fail to do so, and the reason why social media managers can be seen popping up everywhere in larger companies and freelance workspaces. If you want to do your own posting, but have limited time you need to be smarter with your approach. This means planning ahead. Get a schedule together, think weeks ahead and generate a working system.
The Aggressive Sell
Think about why you follow an account on social media. What was it that made you click on that like, subscribe or follow button? When I follow an account I think of what I will see from that account each day. If I follow a twitter account called “daily lizards” I know I’m about to see some lizards every day in my newsfeed. If I follow a company, I expect to see their content and insights each day. I want to know their professional opinions and news about their company, the industry and plans moving forwards. If I see them trying to sell their products to me every day, I’m going to leave. There is a reason ad-blockers exist. After years of advertising, people are sick of getting their lives interrupted by aggressive sales tactics.
Ditch the daily pitch and consider what content you can create that will make you appealing to follow. Maybe a long-running series that people are excited to see each week, or maybe some interesting and discussion provoking stats only your company could generate. It’s all about the value your content could bring to them. Not the sale. Which is why your sales posts fail. Marketing isn’t sales.
Content Marketing is one large branch of the social selling process. It can be easy to make mistakes. As it’s such an important element in the process, ensure you take the time to think it through. It’s tempting to rush into the sale because that’s the exciting part. But, don’t give in to instant gratification. Play the long game, develop a great content plan and generate a real social selling strategy that will grow your business.
