We get a lot of questions about content marketing. As my mentor and co-worker, Shari Voigt, pointed out so well in her post to Express Marketing Memo, it’s the many ways you present your company interactively online. Useful information is in constant demand, and quite frankly, it’s hard for most businesses to offer content effectively and still do the day-to-day activities involved with running a business. Many companies choose to outsource that function, but you can do it yourself.
Shari and I were talking about the difficulties beginners face when it comes to content marketing. As we mulled it over, we started talking about what doesn’t work. Basically, there are businesses we would never respond to because of their annoyance factor or the poor presentation. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that to be you.
Let’s hit on those issues so you’re better prepared when you hit the online world.
Blogging:
Don’t be disconnected.
Your title should reflect the material being covered in the blog. Links should be helpful and serve to support statements you’ve made. If your topic and post are essentially discussing two different things, blogging won’t help you. Get your message straight first.
Newsletters:
Don’t take too long to get to the point.
Is your newsletter just a sales page invitation for an expensive program that I have to purchase to know whatever the heck you’re talking about in the first place? An opening bait title question should be answered without having to read an entire, meaningless newsletter that when finished, still has not answered the question. Hint: If your title asks a question, answer it and please do it quickly.
Social Marketing:
Obnoxious doesn’t work for anybody.
This is an important component to your content marketing strategy. Its effective, fun, and time-consuming. When I’m interacting with other businesses and potential clients, getting constant machine-gun style rapid fire updates on your next teleseminar, countdown to it, or repetitive quotes that are obviously automated, I don’t see who on earth would respond to that. Those type of updates don’t make me say to myself, “OOH! OOH! I’m dying to talk to YOU, obviously you have what I’m looking for!” I agree that creating a sense of urgency is good, but there are tasteful ways to do it.
These are only three types of content you can use to promote your brand online, but they’re the most common areas to miss the mark.
ALLRIGHTEE then. Enough about that from me, any of you agree with me? Love to hear it, comment below!
Photo Credit: Chris Friese on Flickr
Related Posts: What Is Content Marketing?
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