There are several reasons why so many companies see no direct connection between their content marketing and tangible business activity, such as lead generation and new client growth. Here are 4 reasons that may apply to your company:
1. Your firm doesn’t view marketing as a necessary management discipline. Too many companies view marketing as a part-time function that’s required only when revenue dips. It’s not assigned the same level of importance or consistent focus as other corporate functions, such as operations, IT or finance. Few companies make a serious commitment to marketing or content marketing. Very few companies assign the resources necessary for marketing to succeed.
2. You aren’t working from a meaningful plan. Too often, marketing consists of a hodge-podge of tactics…and content marketing is no different. At many firms, content marketing means throwing editorial garbage on the wall – ranging from holiday greetings, to photos of your employee mud run – and hoping that some of it sticks. There is no editorial calendar, or even agreement on the core messaging the company must communicate through its content…to reinforce its value proposition, distinguish the firm from competitors, or support its sales strategy.
3. You’re producing the wrong kind of content. Autopsies of companies that give up on content marketing show that their editorial efforts are self-serving, impossible to read, or of little interest to target audiences. Misled by marketers, some firms believe that pushing out a steady stream of “curated” (other people’s) content will keep them top-of-mind; which only serves to overstay a company’s welcome with their important audiences. And many company marketers have failed to convince senior management that content marketing is all about education, and that it’s not advertising.
4. You’re not merchandising your content. The saddest examples of failed content marketing programs involve companies that produce great content, but don’t make it work for them by gaining the market visibility and traction their content deserves. Content needs to be put to work through direct and indirect channels, for example, by repurposing your best recent blog posts, articles, videos and other content in a quarterly mailing to clients, prospects and referral sources. Hanging content on a website blog, or only posting it on social media, are tactics of limited value; particularly if nothing’s being done to generate website traffic or to raise online visibility.
There are many firms that have great success with content marketing, and their efforts are visible everywhere online. There are no secret formulas.
If your firm has given up on content, or is considering throwing your lemon away, take a close look at what those successful firms are doing, and be willing to start over by making a commitment to follow those best practices.