7 Content Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Content marketing is a challenging task, even at the best of times. Developing a strategy that works and will deliver in terms of your goals is tough but not impossible. To ensure optimum success, below are seven content marketing mistakes to avoid.

1. Failing to Do Research

Failing to do research falls into the camp of your target audience. If you haven’t done any market research into who your audience is, what they’re interested in, what social media platforms they’re using, and what content they engage with, then you are likely to sink your ship.

Doing research ahead of time allows you to determine what kind of content to produce and how to create value. Without it, you’ll produce poor content that isn’t well-targeted.

2. Not Understanding Your Goals

Not having a clear plan is a no-no in nearly anything when it comes to business. But when it comes to content marketing particularly, you’ll want to have crystal clear goals. Goals enable you to gain insight into what content is successful and what isn’t, and they allow you to refine your marketing personas. Without clear and measurable goals, your content marketing plan could fall flat on its face.

3. Producing Poor-Quality Content

This one is a no-brainer, but it’s surprising how many businesses actually get this wrong. Poor-quality content doesn’t necessarily mean poorly written. You could have a ton of well-written and well-researched content, but if it doesn’t meet the needs of your audience and add value, then you won’t attract the attention you want.

To ensure you’re creating high-quality content, you’ll need to narrow down your niche and get to know your target audience. Only then can you target and refine your content accordingly.

4. Lacking Variety

While it can be tempting to create the same kind of content regularly, a lack of variety can hinder your campaign. For instance, if you only produce blog posts, you’re missing out on a variety of other formats that could reach more people. For example, consider turning your blog topic into one of the following:

• Video (YouTube, Vlog)
• Infographic
• PDF
• Newsletter
• Webinar
• Podcast

Variety also includes the type of social media platforms you use to distribute content. As well as the big platforms, why not also try:

• Quora
• Reddit
• SlideShare

5. Not Managing Your SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vitally important when it comes to finding your content and showing up in search results. To ensure you’re optimizing your SEO, you should be adding keywords, creating structured content with headings and sub-headings, and adding high-quality images.

6. Not Measuring Your Progress

Not measuring your progress is another fatal mistake. If you’re not keeping an eye on your metrics to see what your audience is engaging with, you’re steering your ship without a sail.

Find out which content is under-performing and why. Build on content that is performing well and use that model going forward. Measuring your progress allows you to continually improve and meet the needs of your audience. For more information on content marketing metrics, see https://webpresence.digital/uk-blog/content-marketing-metrics/.

7. Giving Up Too Early

This one is less of a technique and more of a mindset. Many businesses expect their content to go viral or be a huge overnight success. The truth is that content takes time to gain momentum, so don’t give up if you don’t see results straight away. Stick to your goals, keep evaluating your progress, and research solutions.