Content marketing can be a huge time sink when you are writing blog post after blog post to generate nothing in return. With everyone creating content it is easy to think that you can just jump in and start. But seriously, you need to plan this before you end up costing your business time, money and sales. Check out the following checklist of warnings before you venture into content marketing!
1. Are you planning on putting a significant amount of time aside every week for a long time??
Unfortunately, generating results from content marketing takes a while. If you start, and give up in a couple of months because “it’s not workingggg”, then you have just wasted a lot of effort. Content marketing isn’t like Adwords, you can’t switch on and off whenever you feel like it. Be warned. Do it well, or don’t bother.
2. Do you have the right skills?
Content marketing is not just writing blogs, and it most definitely isn’t writing bad blogs. Not only do you have to be a good writer, you need to understand how to use keywords effectively, how to create content that generates engagement as well as how social media plays an integral part to content success. Are you a whizz in these areas?
3.Content alone is not enough
Say you have all these skills (contact us if you do, we like you), do you understand how to create a strategy that can actually achieve your goals?
So you can write great blogs… and you know how to use keywords and social media to help get your kick-ass blog get found.
First issue, are the people that are reading your amaze-balls blog post your target buyers? Even so, your target buyer reads your super-duper blog post, says thank you very much, and disappears. Bummer. So close, but yet so far.
An awesome content strategy will address this using various different tactics. If your buyer isn’t quite ready to buy anything, you still want their details right? Content is used to get found, convert, and pull people through their sales funnel so they actually give you some dollar.
In my humble opinion, this is the bit that a lot of medium sized companies struggle with. Even if they have mastered content creation.
4. It requires commitment from rest of company
Whether you are a CEO who believes that content/inbound marketing is the future or a marketing director who is excited by the prospect of this. You need total buy in from everyone involved. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing an opportunity and falling flat at every hurdle because other people involved in the process put a stop to it.
5. It isn’t free
Even though it is one of the best things in life. BUT, it is worth it. Namely, a 62% reduction in cost per lead (Hubspot) and highly measurable ROI make this very entertaining to anyone managing a budget! This means you get more bang for your buck than outbound marketing.
6. It's hard to stray from ‘the way you do things’
It is a big change, and change is scary, but if we never changed... great things wouldn't happen. Nuff said.
The Verdict
Content creation is actually the easy bit, well, easIER bit. The bit that determines whether or not you achieve your goals is in the strategy and planning. THIS is where you need to be spending your time and effort to start with. After this, there are numerous ways of generating content which can save you time and money. Many of which are mentioned in another blog post I wrote here.
If you need some help with your content strategy we have an eBook you will definitely enjoy! Download your copy here:
