So you’ve invested heavily in content, posted it on your website and company social channels, and then… nothing. Why aren't you being flooded with inquiries?
Here are some general reasons why your content isn’t working:
You’re ‘constant marketing’ not ‘content marketing’
Content marketing is more than developing some nice pieces of video, podcast or blog content and sharing it, hoping for the best. That’s ‘constant marketing’ - and it’s a common mistake many marketers fall into, especially in today’s fast-paced digital marketing environment.
There’s no overarching strategy
Producing a stream of marketing content with no strategic plan is like being on a hamster wheel going nowhere. Successful inbound content marketing needs to be informed by a high-level strategy, connect with your customers in an emotional way, and consistently tie into wider marketing campaigns.
Your content is too ‘salesy’
Content marketing is not an opportunity for a hard sell. Ask yourself whether your content is enriching your customers’ knowledge and showcasing you understand their pain points, or if it’s simply ‘telling them’ all the features of your product or service?
The content only addresses one aspect of the funnel
You can’t only address one area of the funnel with your content and expect this to work for you. Awareness isn’t intent, and engagement isn’t purchase. Your content must address all aspects of the funnel with different pieces of tailored content. This strategy also includes knowing your audience, understanding which types of content your customers expect at each stage of their buyer’s journey, and deciding which metrics to measure to improve ROI.
The content is poorly produced
Content is so easy to produce that anyone can do it, right? Wrong. If your content is poorly designed, video done on the cheap, or blog content filled with grammatical and spelling errors, no one will take it seriously – let alone consume it. Remember, good content costs money because it is a reflection of your business and brand. Don’t be cheap with content development. Invest in seasoned, specialist content producers who can tell your story in an engaging and relevant way.
You aren’t promoting it
Content is worthless if people don’t know it’s there. It can’t promote itself, so make sure your strategy is clear on distribution channels and promotion. As an example, at AZK Media, we have a global suite of third party media channels, media partnerships and industry association stakeholders that we tap into in order to share and amplify our clients’ content. On top of that, we create cohesive organic and paid social campaigns and email marketing streams to ensure that their marketing message stretches far and wide.
Your SEO is not quite right
SEO is a tricky beast, and Google is always moving the goalposts. Your content should have the keywords you’ve identified as being important to your brand. A basic rule of thumb is keeping your keywords to the most important search terms people might use when looking for your content – and then make sure your content is quality and delivers on those keyword promises. Most importantly, engaging content is far more effective than ‘keyword loaded’ content in any scenario.
You are not capturing your leads
Content marketing is a lost cause if you have no way to capture who is reading your content. Ensure your website is set up to capture these leads for your database, so you can retarget and nurture them.
Your content does need to have a call to action of some kind. So ensure you have backlinks to drive people where you want them to go, whether it’s your website, another piece of content, your blog, a podcast channel or a partner site for referral.
You haven’t waited long enough
Content marketing is a slow burn. It has to be strategised and then adjusted on an ongoing basis to discern what is, and isn’t, working. Think long term. As you build up and amplify your content, engagement will increase incrementally. Eventually, you will see a ‘snowball effect’, where your inbound content marketing will generate so much traffic and engagement that it will slash adspend, cut sales lead time and reduce outbound spend, aligning sales and marketing successfully together.
About AZK Media
AZK Media is an award-winning B2B media and marketing firm representing the technology, data, martech, adtech, health, tax and finance sectors. Founded in 2017, AZK Media services clients seeking to expand and grow across APAC, North America and UK/EMEA.
Leading organisations like Sisense, Wolters Kluwer, The CDP Institute and Cheetah Digital leverage AZK Media’s deep understanding of complex, emerging and innovative industries and capability to scale marketing and PR campaigns that drive measurable results.
AZK Media has been consistently recognised by B&T as leaders in public relations, marketing and entrepreneurship.
Find out more at www.azkmedia.com
This article was published on Little Black Book Online and Marketing Mag.
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