The rocket has been fueled. The countdown has reached zero. You’ve flipped the ignition switch. All eyes are on the launchpad… and so is your content marketing program—still just idling. As the person who pushed for a content marketing strategy and even went so far as to guarantee its success, you find those eyes turning to you. And suddenly it feels very warm there at Mission Control.
Why has your program failed to launch? There are many possible reasons. The good news is, they can all be remedied. You just need to identify the specific failings that are holding you back and take action to correct them.
- Low-quality materials. Diving into content marketing and creating your first pieces of content is a heady experience. Sometimes that rush affects your vision and makes mediocre material appear to be Pulitzer Prize-worthy. Now that your lack of initial success has helped clear your vision a bit, take a fresh look at your content and see where it can be improved.
- Too little/too much content. Fail to produce content on a regular basis and you’ll fail to capture a loyal audience. Produce too much content, and your time-strapped audience will begin to tune you out in self-defense. Finding the right balance can be tricky. Sometimes the best approach is simply to ask your recipients how much content they desire. A marketing automation tool like HubSpot can also help you measure content consumption and make adjustments.
- Undifferentiated content. If the content you produce is no different than that of your competitors, your audience has no compelling reason to be loyal to you. There are a number of ways to achieve differentiation, including more eye-catching design, edgier writing, or just more research to unearth topics that others haven’t yet addressed.
- Wrong (or too few) channels. Every content consumer has his/her favorite “channel” or channels. If you are you only distributing content through, say, email blasts, you are completely missing out on people who want to hear from you on YouTube or SlideShare or Twitter or… Experiment with other content distribution methods and you will likely be pleasantly surprised.
- Lack of marketing. It seems a little odd at first that you must market the content that is, itself, marketing your offerings. But, if you don’t effectively and continually draw people’s’ attention to your materials, you will struggle to build an audience. Do your sales reps point out content to prospects in their emails and phone calls? Does your customer support team remind people of the valuable resources available to them? Do you cross-market your pieces, one to the other? (Helpful blog post: "Don't forget the "marketing" in content marketing.")
- No compelling CTA. While most of your content should not be overly self-promotional, it should have a call-to-action. Sure, it’s reasonable to assume that a reader will know to contact you if they want to engage, but sometimes they need a little nudge to get them moving.
So, if your content marketing program hasn’t exactly sent company results into the stratosphere, don’t be alarmed. First of all, our rocket example here is a little exaggerated. What you’re really looking for is steady growth in awareness of your offerings and interest from prospects.
And if that isn’t happening yet, it’s just a matter of fine tuning. Excellent content in the appropriate quantities, properly promoted on the right channels, will always produce results. Need an outside opinion on your program? Invite us inside and we’ll share our wealth of experience in helping clients in Colorado and around the country take their content marketing to new heights.
