Your content marketing isn’t working, and you are not alone.
According to a 2016 study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, only 6 percent of B2B marketers rate their organization’s use of content marketing as “very effective.”
This is down from 9 percent in a similar 2014 study.
Neither result is particularly impressive. So what is happening here?
The Content Marketing Boom
A few years back, as businesses recognized the value of online content to establish authority in their industries, grow their readership, drive traffic to their websites and take buyers through the sales process, they invested much more time and energy into developing content. They wrote more blogs, whitepapers and emails; they expanded their websites, and they built a presence on social media.
This was all fine and good until there were so many businesses publishing so much content, for content’s sake…not for the consumer’s. Eventually, quantity overtook quality, and the effectiveness of content marketing declined.
Now that we have arrived at this point, many organizations are questioning why their content marketing isn’t working.
We have identified two major pitfalls that created the scenario we have today.
Lack of Online Content Strategy
For some businesses, putting out lots and lots of online content was the strategy. There was no consideration of how to develop information that readers actually wanted to consume, in order to gain more readers, in order to keep readers coming back for more, in order to move buyers along the sales process. The purpose simply was to keep a consistent flow of content moving through the website, email campaigns, social media, and other channels.
The issue here is the lack of content strategy – the plan for what type of content will attract, engage and keep readers, and eventually turn them into buyers. It’s a bit like going to the grocery store on an empty stomach; you end up buying a bunch of junk to satisfy your immediate hunger, instead of the good food you really need to sustain long-term health and wellness.
Without a content strategy, you are just putting out information because you heard it was a good thing to do, instead of planning how it actually helps your business grow.
Lack of Persistence
If we know one thing for sure, it’s that content marketing demands persistence. The success of content marketing is revealed over time.
Think of it as a tree that requires nourishment. Every so often, you must feed and water the tree, and make sure it gets the proper balance of rain and sunshine. To keep the tree healthy, you need to give it new content on a regular basis. But not just any content; your tree needs online content that is carefully planned and executed, so that new branches and leaves form each new season.
Over time, if you are persistent, your content marketing strategy will contain a library of valuable content that increases in value and abundance over the years.
Conclusion
While your content marketing may not be working right now, you can revive it with a serious content strategy and a commitment to maintaining that strategy.
If you need help reviving your content marketing, you can get expert advice from Sipep Design, a digital marketing firm specializing in online content strategy and implementation.
