Marketing your service or product online involves a lot of factors.
Content marketing is one of the most powerful ways to get noticed, but a lot can also go wrong. The key is to have all the elements of your marketing come together in the right way.
It’s not an easy task. There’re many technical errors a person can make, as well as mistakes when it comes to things like timing. Getting any of these elements wrong means you’re losing out. But when everything is clicking at the same time, lots of good things happen.
Here are some common mistakes that content marketers make, and what you can do to avoid them!
Confusing and Lackluster Headlines
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Don't be like her[/caption]
This may be the most important element of all when it comes to marketing. People won’t care what your article or blog post contains unless your headline grabs them. Period. That’s just a fact of life. A confusing or corny headline is going to reflect badly on your campaign. Not every title has to be some ultra-ironic, humorous tagline, but clarity is the least you can aim for.
If your content marketing isn’t working, check your headlines first. Are they boring? Confusing? Corny?
More people read these headlines than any other aspect of your content. They’ll read on only if the title grabs their attention. If it doesn’t pique their interest, they won’t bother clicking on it.
Not Using Social Media in Content Marketing
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Pretty much the reaction you want[/caption]
The point of advertising and marketing is to create a connection between you and your audience. One major advantage of marketing online is that promoters can make use of social media. On Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Periscope, etc. is where your audience now hangs out and exchange content for much of the day.
Not sharing your content through these networks means you’re waiting for them to stumble upon your stuff some other way. It’s not a very realistic approach. And you’re missing out BIG TIME.
Promoting your work is just as important as putting together the content. There are
plenty of social media content managing platforms out there. So don’t miss out!
Bad Grammar and Typos
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Nope. Not what you want. At all.[/caption]
Okay. So you create a lot of content and mistakes do happen. But that’s no excuse to have tons of grammatical or spelling errors in your work. We live in the era of spellcheck and lots of other tools that can help you get things right.
A piece of content littered with typos and other mistakes is an unprofessional piece of content. Your audience will see this as a reflection of your overall operation. That’s the last thing you want. The Internet is filled with information. Chances are there are plenty of people out there trying to compete with you for attention. You need every edge you can get, and bad spelling just hurts your chances.
Hire a copywriter if you need to. Or use special software if you’re a really terrible speller. But don’t make a habit out of making silly mistakes that are easily avoided.
Not Enough Photos or Graphics
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When your audience sees photos. Yup.[/caption]
All people are visual creatures to some extent. Some more so than others, but it’s a lot easier to look at a graphic or photo than it is to read something wordy. That’s just how the brain works. It loves images. The more appropriate imagery you have, the more engaging your content will be.
Make your images diverse and relevant to the content you’re writing. Gifs are useful too, especially when you’re trying to inject some humor into your work. Your audience can read a few hundred words and still be confused as to what you’re trying to tell them. But a single, clear graphic or photo may be all they need to understand where you’re coming from.
So there you have it.
Content marketing may seem like a hazardous thing with many chances to blow it, but it’s not rocket science. Follow these basic rules and avoid silly errors. Your stuff may be high quality, but it’s no use if no one sees it. That’s why content marketing will always be relevant and important. You simply can’t afford to avoid it.
