Businesses are increasingly aiming to prove their value via inbound marketing efforts.
Did you know?
In 2017, 89% of B2B marketers are using content marketing.
While compelling, value-driven content is best practice, it's creating increasing competition for marketers. So even if everyone is doing content, leveraging this tool for driving incremental sales can sometimes fall flat. If your content is not yielding the results you hoped it would, take a step back and pinpoint why your content strategy isn't working.
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Let's cover some common reasons and find solutions.
5 Reasons Why Your Content Strategy Isn't Working
1. Your Strategy Should Change Over Time
Simply publishing content is not strategy. Gauge your KPI's (key performance indicators) and the strength of your page views, shares, click-through rates, traffic, conversions, etc. Tracking these numbers will help you to identify weak spots and without a doubt, change your content strategy accordingly.
Your content is like clay - it needs to be molded and formed until it produces the right effect.
2. You're Not Promoting Your Content
...or you're not promoting it enough. There's a big difference between sharing your freshly written blog post on social media just one time, and utilizing multiple platforms continually to get your content seen and clicked on. Again, it all boils down to strategy.
According to a survey conducted by Content Marketing Institute, 66% of the successful B2B marketers have a documented content strategy, and of the unsuccessful marketers, only 11% have a documented content strategy.
When it comes to promoting your content, it's like a machine you need to feed regularly. Here are a few easy ways to ensure that most of the promotional surface is covered:
- Social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram - whichever is right for your industry. Be sure to repost several times a week on multiple channels, especially on Twitter. Be thoughtful and compelling with your messages.
- Email newsletters.
- Mention an influencer on social media with a large following and who can share your content.
- Make it easy for readers to share your content; add a Click to Tweet in your blog posts.
- Add a Pin It button so your readers can share your images to Pinterest.
- Submit your blog posts or videos to community groups or niche forums like LinkedIn.
- Guest blog for another website with a similar audience, but with a bigger reach.
- Tailor pitches to media and bloggers (outreach/PR).
- Paid promotion, such as Facebook ads.
3. Your Content Is...Blah
Remember that your content marketing is a direct representation of your brand and image, so you can't afford to churn out less than average content. Before your fingers touch the keyboard, plan your content out thoughtfully, whether it's blog post, landing page, or email blast. Make it relevant, helpful, focused, engaging, and well-written for your target audience. In our previous blog, we outline awesome tips to help you sprinkle some color to your articles and win clicks.
4. You Have Poor SEO
Your SEO techniques might need refining. To boost your website ranking in organic search results and make your brand, product, or service stand out, there's a slew of tactics for improving your SEO. Here's a helpful checklist to maximize your on-page SEO. Another way you can produce content with confidence us by consulting with an inbound marketing agency, like Responsive Inbound Marketing.
5. You Haven't Waited Long Enough to See Any Results
We're all impatient. But don't expect results to happen overnight, or in a few weeks or even a few months for that matter. You need to not only give your content some time to gain traffic, but keep producing quality content and work at your content strategy. Try adding videos, webinars, and infographics to attract interest faster. People have to enjoy your content before they're ready to reach out to you.
Make Marketing Magic the Easy Way
Wondering what inbound marketing specialists can do for you? For starters, hiring a marketing agency means you don't have to invest in a full-time salary, benefits and other overhead. It also means that your business gets a wide-range of strategic and technology skills. Need more information? Our free guide provides a complete overview of an in-house marketer vs. the right marketing agency, and how the two compare.
