Several years ago all you had to do was publish content on your site and you’d reap quick SEO rankings, traffic, and sales.
These days, however, things are different.
Content marketing’s rise in popularity has led to what Mark Schaefer coins ‘content shock.’ Content is no longer a unique asset. It’s everywhere, being churned out left and right.
If you’ve tried content marketing and failed to see the results you hoped for, you know what I’m talking about.
The fact is, content marketing just isn’t as easy as it used to be.
Consider this a good thing. Most businesses and marketing firms are treating content marketing like an assembly line warehouse. They’re neglecting strategy and execution, opting for quantity instead of quality.
Herein lies your opportunity to shine. As Paul Roetzer says, “the greater the value of your content, the greater the return on your investment.”
Avoid the following three most common mistakes and ensure your content marketing is as optimized for lead generation as possible.
Mistake #1. Serving Up a Dish With No Style
Imagine going to a restaurant and being served a splattered mix of ingredients on a flimsy paper plate. Probably wouldn’t be too excited if they offered you desert, would you?
Presentation and style is just as important with content marketing as it’s always been for advertising.
Far too often I see those new to content marketing launch blogs or article sections devoid of any personality or style.
The facts alone just aren’t enough to get you by in the content marketing world.
Content is everywhere.
Do you want your content to be the high school teacher reading straight from a textbook or the teacher that actually inspires their students to greatness?
Every organization has a personality. No doubt your business, comprised of people, has its own personality too.
Fusing the personality your business is known for into every piece of content you produce is an easy way to build upon an already established persona.
As Bryan Kramer states in Shareology, “You’re a brand champion if your tone and content are consistently in strong alignment with your brand’s value and message.”
Combine this with in-depth target audience profiles and you’ll have content that not only has style, but vibes with target audience.
Mistake #2. Serving Up the Same Dish Every Time
“The more you talk about yourself and your products, the less that content is spread and engaged.”
Joe Pulizzi, Epic Content Marketing
We all want the destination content marketing promises - more leads and sales. Direct response, however, has its time and place. Crafting pitchy, sales-oriented content 100% of the time is a surefire way to shoot yourself in the foot.
You may generate increased sales at first, but gradually you’ll find engagement and readership drop off.
Promotional content is important, no doubt. It serves an integral part of moving passive readers into active leads.
It’s for this reason that I recommend following a similar approach to the ‘balanced diet’ Kristina Mand-Lakhiani of MindValley Russian recommends for email marketing.
Create a mix of content types:
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Engagement oriented
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Heavily content based
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Promotional
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Semi-promotional
This mix of content not only prevents getting known as overly promotional, but also allows you to keep things fresh.
Mistake #3. Letting Politics Rule the Content Kitchen
As you know, businesses run through a hierarchy of power and authority where the top ranked executive dictates what activities to execute.
This process can flow into content marketing for decisions such as what content to produce. Naturally, this can cause some issues.
Often times the topics we’re interested in can be biased towards the key features we value about our business. These key features, however, may not be popular enough to create the buzz and traffic we expect.
As Jason Miller states, “Producing information carelessly just to build your content library won’t help your marketing efforts. In fact, that practice will only dilute your core points and distract your audience.”
Avoid this common mistake by basing your content output on a comprehensive consumer and competitor research process.
Which content gets the most traction in your industry? Which doesn’t?
Arming yourself with this industry insight allows you to create content that both resonates with your audience and widens your reach.
Summing Up
These are just three common content marketing mistakes that can hamper our lead generation efforts. Consider it a blessing that so many marketers are blindly producing content and use these errors as an opportunity to shine.