Content marketing: 16 mistakes not to make

 The effectiveness of content marketing is no longer in doubt , and this is pushing more and more companies to create their own content.

However, this cannot be improvised and certain fundamental errors are still too often made. In themselves, these are not very serious, especially if they serve to progress by not renewing them.

To help you better understand the implementation of your future content marketing strategy, here is a presentation of the 8 mistakes not to make and a bunch of advice to prevent you from wasting your content marketing.

1. Not strategizing

Having a content strategy is essential! Behind content marketing must hide a real long-term vision which involves both objectives (notoriety, reputation, sales, etc.) and promotional means (shares on social networks, newsletters, etc.).

Without a strategy, you publish content with less consistency and you don't make it as well known.

2. Not planning an editorial calendar

The editorial calendar constitutes a major element of your content marketing strategy. It is in fact a tool contributing to better management of the production and distribution of your content and therefore to the perfect implementation of your long-term strategy.

A good editorial calendar must respond to each of your issues at that moment. Without it, your strategy is not structured, your content is not published regularly and you do not have an overall vision of your subjects. In other words, your content marketing strategy is far from effective.

You will have understood: if you haven't already done so, create your editorial calendar immediately!

3. Disregarding search engine suggestions

Many content creators believe they are better placed than search engines to know what customers want from their brand. Also, rather than being interested in them, they decide on their own what will interest their audience, which is a real mistake.

The suggestions from search engines are rich in information and provide insight into the problems encountered by the public. By creating content that provides them with the response they so desire, you are sure to seduce them!

4. Only think about SEO

It is undeniable that web content has a major interest in the natural referencing of a site, and SEO optimization should in no case be neglected. However, content marketing is not only used to help you gain places in Google search results: above all, it allows you to offer interesting and useful content to Internet users.

What's the point of being well referenced if your texts are boring or uninteresting? Remember that it is essential for your business to convey an expert image in the eyes of your readers. It is therefore essential not to focus only on the SEO optimization of your content, but also on its quality and relevance!

5. Wanting to deal with everything… and nothing

Some companies present in several sectors of activity sometimes dare to create catch-all blogs with content dealing with very different themes. This is a big misstep since it will be impossible to retain your customers and develop an expert image with such content.

To remedy this, if you still want to cover several themes, the solution is to create several blogs in order to found several communities around your brand.

6. Prioritize quantity over quality

This error is extremely common and some content creators do not want to admit its existence. However, there is no point in multiplying posts on a website or on social networks if they are not of quality! Conversely, a single quality content can be enough to satisfy your entire audience.

If your strategy is mainly based on textual content, do not hesitate to call on a professional editor accustomed to designing qualitative articles that meet the needs of Internet users.

7. Make virality a goal

Trying to create buzz at all costs is very rarely a good initiative. Also, don't make the mistake of designing your content so that it goes viral.

Virality can be a positive thing, but tell yourself that your content will go viral naturally if you “hit the nail on the head” by imagining the content that members of your audience were waiting for.

8. Not thinking about conversion

Writing quality content, whether informative, funny or surprising, is essential. But what's the point of writing the best text in the world if it doesn't generate any conversions?

Let's agree: under no circumstances should you overuse self-promotion. But a blog post or other content must contain a minimum of incentives for your readers, including calls to action to invite them to take an action:

• Subscribe to a newsletter;
• Download a white paper ;
• Make a purchase…

9. Chasing multiple goals

It often happens that poor communication within the marketing team leads to the development of content aimed at achieving the wrong objectives. In this specific situation, it is difficult to think that your content marketing campaign will be effective.

To avoid such a mishap, clearly set the campaign objectives and the objective of each content. Everyone must contribute in their own way to the general objectives but their aim must be clear and precise.

10. Not having a target audience

One of the keys to the success of your web content is reaching the right people (and at the right time).

It's tempting to think that being widely read on the web is a good thing. But is this really the case if only 1% of your readers are potential customers?

Don't set your sights on the wrong target and don't cast your net too wide, otherwise you risk never seeing your efforts rewarded in a concrete way.

11. Flooding your audience with information that is not always useful

Creating a close connection with your audience does not mean inundating them with information all day long. Even if you produce a lot of daily content, be sure to segment your database.

Perfect knowledge of your customer base should allow you to provide each customer with only the information that interests them. He will then have the feeling of having a special relationship with your brand.

12. Omitting Boundary Setting

Because a content marketing strategy relies on the work of several collaborators, it is fundamental that everyone contributes to its success.

To do this, the manager must be inflexible on content production deadlines and their quality. Otherwise, your strategy risks being a disaster since without clear planning , it will become illegible.

It is best to work with professionals for each type of content: writers for articles, editors for multimedia content, photographers for content intended for Instagram, graphic designers for infographics, etc. These will be best suited to meet the needs of your strategy.

13. Limit yourself to textual content

Even if textual content is undoubtedly one of the bases of a content marketing strategy, relying solely on it will not allow you to optimize its performance.

Numerous studies have shown in recent years that young people are more inclined to watch a video than to read an article, particularly on social networks. So think about the production of multimedia content, even if it means outsourcing it if you do not have in-house specialists.

14. Not diversifying your content

Blog posts and web pages are certainly the foundation of content marketing, but that doesn't mean you have to settle for them.

The possibilities are numerous:

• Infographics
• Videos
• Slides
• Drawings…

So many formats that can bring a little variety to your marketing content and pique the interest of your audience.

Another good practice is to reuse your content in another form: an effective way to save time or bring obsolete elements up to date.

15. Create duplicate content

In other words, you are almost certain to find the subject that interests you on Google. And this is where a difficulty arises. It is of course accepted and acceptable to draw inspiration from existing content when writing a blog article, for example. However, it is strictly forbidden to plagiarize content, or in other words, to copy/paste text without modifying the sentences, words, expressions, etc.

Creating duplicate content on your site or blog can have serious consequences for your SEO, initially. But it can also destroy your credibility with Internet users. To flee, therefore!

16. Not wanting to outsource

It can be tempting to take charge of creating your content yourself, especially when you have just launched your business or project and funds are limited.

Despite everything, this can be costly to your content marketing for at least two reasons:

• On the one hand, taking care of several different tasks simultaneously is tiring and can force you to rush writing your content;
• On the other hand, you don't improvise as a web editor: it's a job that requires real writing skills and a good sense of synthesis.

Our tip

A content marketing strategy is complex to implement and many pitfalls exist. After reading this article, you should be able to eliminate the main ones. For the rest, never lose sight of the fact that content is king and that it must correspond to what your customers and prospects expect.

As long as you respect this, you will only have to learn from your small mistakes to continuously improve the performance of your strategies.

Are you having trouble quantifying your needs? Submit your quote request directly on our platform to support you in your web writing project.