Content is a vital part of any marketing strategy. In fact, a study showed that nearly 77% of companies have a content marketing strategy. It takes time, energy and sometimes even money to produce quality content, with a study showing that companies spend 46% of their budget on content creation. So, you’ve posted what you think is a riveting piece of content that your audience will love, but the clock keeps ticking and the engagement doesn’t keep coming. There might as well be a piece of tumbleweed and some cricket noises in the background. You’ve fallen for one of these content pitfalls..but where did you go wrong?
Oops, Wrong Audience
Knowing your audience is absolutely key to your content’s success. You don’t need to know how many sugars they have in their tea or what their grandma’s name is, but you need to know your demographic and what they’d like to see. If you’re promoting a vegetarian cookbook, but you post about how much you love bacon sandwiches, chances are your audience aren’t going to be interested. You want your content to capture the attention of your audience, but unless you understand what is relevant to them, what they want to see or what could add value to their lives, how will you know what to post? So, if your content isn’t getting any engagement, this could be the content pitfall. Make sure you do your research, create customer profiles if necessary and establish who you want to target.
Keep It Simple
When it comes to selling your product or service, you’re offering something to people that will solve a problem for them. If your vegetarian cookbook is aimed at people who struggle to get all the nutrition they need through a vegetarian diet, you’re offering them a solution with your recipes. It’s important to refer back to this and always keep in mind the problem you’re trying to solve for your audience. If your message becomes messy and doesn’t fulfil what your customers actually need, you could lose their attention. An important content pitfall: Don’t focus on the product, focus on your buyers’ needs. Your content needs to reflect that in a way that doesn’t send them to sleep or confuse them, keep it simple and know what you’re trying to say!
Stand Out From The Crowd
There’s no shortage of content out there and I’d be lying if I said you weren’t stepping into a competitive market. However, it’s time to get your game face on and be ready to push your way to the front of the crowd. Your content can be anything you want, as long as it has some relevance to it, is helpful to your audience in some way and entertains them. Don’t be afraid to take some risks, as one of my favourite quotes says, ‘No one ever achieved greatness by playing it safe’. If you blend in with the crowd, you’re not going to achieve the engagement you desire. There are so many places you can find content, you can use images, videos, texts and articles, the opportunities are endless!
Map Out The Journey
One thing you have to be careful of is trying to speed up the process and overwhelming your audience with information. As soon as they hit the “follow” button, they’re on a journey, getting to know your brand and product. You want to consider their buying journey when mapping out your content, you wouldn’t meet a potential prospect for the first time and shove a contract in their face before getting acquainted, would you? Do your research on what your buyers’ journey should look like and what content audiences might prefer to start with. In the initial stage when they’re just browsing, you need to have the appropriate content to help them gather information. Chances are, they aren’t going to be ready to buy from the get-go, it’s a marathon, not a sprint!
If you work on avoiding these content pitfalls, you’ll be sweeping up the tumbleweed and saying goodbye to the crickets in no time. Building up your engagement takes time and dedication, but it’s worth it in the end.
