Top Marketers Share The Biggest Mistakes Companies Make When It Comes To Content Marketing

February 5, 2020 7 min read

Content marketing is tough. We know it. You can write the best and the most high-quality content, but chances are that it won’t do you any good if you aren’t promoting the content. Now, there are many approaches to promoting content. This includes building backlinks, guest posting, influencer outreach, link submission sites, community groups etc. , but yes we know that it requires a lot of manual work and there are a lot of mistakes that can occur.

One of the most beautiful things about content marketing and content promotion is that the game is always changing.

We deliver amazing results for our clients daily by implementing high-quality content creation/writing alongside with a powerful content marketing/promotion strategy, BUT there is never a day where we aren’t learning something new. The landscape of content marketing is ALWAYS changing and that’s the challenge that we love.

In this article, we’ll share with you some of the biggest mistakes that companies make when it comes to content marketing and content promotion.

Content Marketing Mistakes from the experts

1. Christoph Trappe (AuthenticStorytelling)

Probably when companies forget to throw the content a parade. Let me explain. In a traditional advertising model we would run specific campaigns for specific networks. That was fine when there was only one network or one ad or one TV commercial. But today they are just too many channels. For example, I just did a podcast on how companies should use TikTok and we came to the conclusion that they probably should simply run ads on the network.

Even Super Bowl advertisers now throw their content a parade and release teasers for the beginning of the storyline online before the actual game. Then the storylines can continue after the game.

Today we need to find a way to be highly efficient with what we create and then find the best channels. In my opinion that includes a mix of all the channels-podcasts, which are now indexed for search, articles, multimedia and of course paid campaigns that pull off those content assets.

Another thing that’s often forgotten is to optimize the user journey when it comes to conversion. I have seen ads that don’t convert anybody but don’t even have a call to action. And when they have a call to action the landing page is in horrible shape. So don’t just make sure to promote your content but also make sure to optimize the journey for users who can and want to convert to something else. That something else of course could be a subscription to content or the purchase of something else or even a download.

2. Jemma (ProfitForPassion)

The biggest mistake made by companies when promoting content is being too general and not focusing on a specific niche.The aim when creating should be to educate you’re the ideal client and position the company as the go to industry expert.It is crucial to have content that is tailored to the niche and is promoted with strong messaging. I headline and CTA can make huge impact on the promotion results.By strategically planning promotions you will set up for greater success.

3. Anne Madaline

Focus is on the product, not the customer

Companies sometimes focus on the features or capabilities of the product and do not relate them to the customer problem. Customers arent looking for a product; they are looking for solutions to their problems. Focusing on customer pain points and how you can make their lives easier will create higher demand. Make sure to test messaging and avenues for promotion to find out which is resonating best with each customer persona.

Quantity over quality

It’s better to test and continuously evaluate content to have the most relevant material on your website rather than focus on sheer volume. A higher-quality piece of content can be more impactful when indirectly addresses a customer’s pain point, and it gathers more backlinks and shares. Spend the time and energy to create something impactful with details, data points, links to other materials in a clear, easy to understand way.

4. David Scott (Envato)

The biggest mistake is not promoting content at all! It’s not enough that it’s ‘discoverable’ or keyword optimized. Don’t just expect it will ‘find an audience’. You have to nudge it along in the communities you and your brand engage in, whether that’s customer forums, social media, email marketing lists or etc. Pull the levers available to you and see what works best.

Conversely, don’t “spray and pray” with your promotion.

Make sure you take the time to consider whether the content you’re trying to get engagement with actually fits or resonates with the audiences you want buy-in from. There’s nothing sadder than seeing a wonderfully crafted blog post, vlog or otherwise just sink without a trace because not enough effort was taken to identify the right audience and tailor the promotion to suit their consumption habits, or topics of interest.

5. Christina Hager (Overflow Storytelling Labs)

There are 2 big mistakes I see surrounding companies promoting their content and content marketing:

1. No optimization on a dead channel
All content is not created equal. You can’t just post a link to a blog and hope someone will click on it. In order for people to read your blogs or download your whitepaper, your channels FIRST need to be active, engaging their community, posting often and inconsistent ways, and using strategies to help people see those channels, such as searchable keywords, hashtags, etc. So when you share a blog post or white paper, tag the author or expert you quoted (and ask them to re-share with their network!), use key hashtags, and make sure that the content is optimized for the particular channel you are sharing it on.

2. Ignoring the content distribution cycle.
This is a huge point. A lot of times companies publish the blog post or piece of content, and then it just sits there. Instead, give you content a cycle of life by re-publishing it 30 days later as a LinkedIn article or long-form status update. You can take the same piece of content and re-distribute it with updated information, new graphics, a different title–as long as it is 30 days later, Google will re-crawl it. Perhaps this time you include a video introduction or a different set of copy that goes with it across social media.
Create a cycle with key individuals in your organization where they are sharing it on their channels, in emails, etc. This should create a “ripple effect” where your content is seen again and again.
Finding ways to keep your content “alive” across digital is key to getting the most eyes on it..

6. Nicole (Eatlivetraveldrink – Food blogger)

One of the biggest mistakes companies make when promoting content is not understand who their audience is and how to promote it. For example: If you are a company promoting a blog or article about your luxury hotel, you need to consider who this article is going to appeal to. 18 year olds are most likely not going to pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars per night for a room. You never want to be in a situation where you are just promoting for likes or comments, you want a return on your investment. A big issue is when people promote their content to children in countries in Asia or South America, who are more than likely not their target audience when their product is based in America – but they will engage your content.

There is a stigma that no engagement means failure, but it is quite the opposite. Plenty of people don’t engage who see your content and buy from you. You just have to market the right crowd.

7. Kristi Piehl (Media Minefield)

Mistake #1 – Not Utilizing Social Media

“Social media is your best friend when it comes to promoting company content. An earned media interview may only be three minutes of TV time with a few thousand viewers, but it can live forever in front of the entire world on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn! The same goes for a well-written blog. Sharing content on social media is the best way to get your message in front of a large number of people.”

Mistake #2 – Only Sharing Content Once

“Who says you can only share good content once on your social platforms? If it’s a great message that you want your customers, employees or partners to hear, then share it periodically throughout the year. There are #ThrowbackThursdays and #FlashbackFridays for a reason.”

8. Stefania

When it comes down to content marketing, everybody is doing it. But like in the old days, companies still assume that as long as they promote their latest piece, users will come, become leads and with tailored remarketing will finally become customers. However, the difference between the ideal scenario and what truly happens can sometimes be staggering. And often for two reasons. The first one is not understanding that just because a channel exists, it’s the right outlet.

Companies too often promote all their content to all the available channels without any consideration if the channel is relevant to their market segment and if it is if their prospective customers are at the right stage of their buying cycle for noticing such piece of content. I’ve seen companies spending thousands of pounds on social media to promote products for senior citizens, simply because “Everybody is not Facebook” or running PPC campaigns targeting non-technical personnel with highly-technical content.

The second mistake is to ignore such alarm bells. Rather than focusing on the influence that a piece of content had on the decision of a website visitor to become a customer, companies focus on the top of the funnel (aka vanity) metrics such as impressions, likes, or mere traffic. While interrupting a campaign at an early stage can be a mistake, content marketing becomes a mere practical exercise if it doesn’t contribute to the buying process. So, ask yourself, did the customer than consumed your content have a higher ROI compared to those that didn’t?

9. Samantha Russell (Twenty Over Ten)

Not including a CTA (call to action): This is by far the easiest thing to incorporate into your content yet so many companies still forget to incorporate CTAs. Without telling visitors what you want them to do next, what their next action item is your content can’t be full-circle. Whether it’s to sign up for a free trial, schedule a complimentary introductory call or download an ebook help them apply what you’ve shared through your content.

Forgetting to repurpose: A lot of marketers get stuck in the trap of thinking that they have to create hundreds of different pieces of content to fill their content pipelines but actually if you can create one keystone piece of content and repurpose it into 10 different pieces of content like I discuss in a video, you can actually increase your content production without having to churn and burn hundreds of different blog posts. In marketing, the rule of 7 states that a person needs to view your content seven times before they truly notice your offering. And while that may seem like a lot, it’s important you establish a content strategy that allows you to disseminate your content across multiple channels in an efficient way.

Neglecting your analytics: Not taking a look at your analytics and performance of previous content is a huge mistake. Using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console offer a treasure trove of information that marketers can use to their advantage to determine top-performing content and also generate new content ideas from impressionable keywords.

10. Becky (Mombeach.com)

The biggest mistake companies make when promoting content is targeting the wrong audience. This leads to less people being interested in their content and products. If they are promoting using Facebook ads, then targeting the right audience is even more crucial. Money is wasted on the ads if they are poorly targeted.

Another mistake is not promoting at all. Using the “post and pray” approach doesn’t help your content at all. Companies must reach out to other media outlets and get backlinks to their content. Using HARO (Help a Reporter Out) is a great resource for this. If no backlinks are built to the content, then it will rank low in Google.

Putting it together

There you go folks! As you can tell from the responses, most marketing experts would say that one of the biggest mistakes when it comes to content marketing and promotion is not having a good strategy in place! Make sure you understand who you are writing the content for and what are the values behind it.

If you’re looking for good results with a powerful content marketing / promotion campaign done for you, then reach out to us! We’ll take good care of you 🙂

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