As you may have guessed from our many blog posts on the topic of content marketing, we’re huge proponents. Not only has it delivered tremendous results for our clients, it has done the same for us. That said, it would be wrong to portray content marketing as all “unicorns and rainbows.” As one of the top inbound marketing agencies in Colorado, Missouri, and Washington, we are always honest with our clients nationwide about the fact that there are things about inbound that may make you uncomfortable at first.
Getting Comfortable with Your Inbound Marketing Discomfort
While none of the following are insurmountable obstacles, here are some aspects of content marketing that may be new to you and your team:
- Using data to measure your success. With traditional marketing, the gauge for whether your work is having a positive impact is often sales numbers. However, there are many factors contributing to whether those numbers are trending upward or downward. So, frankly, marketing efforts are typically under less direct scrutiny. With inbound marketing—especially if you use a powerful marketing automation tool like HubSpot—you can immediately see how your efforts are contributing to the company’s success. That can be intimidating. But the upside is that you can make immediate and effective course corrections!
- Constructive criticism. As noted above, one of the advantages of inbound marketing is that you can accurately measure content consumption and modify your materials so that they deliver the best results. Part of that process should be talking with stakeholders, both externally and internally, to see how a piece of content can be improved. In some cases, an item you thought was great will get picked apart. It comes with the territory.
- Deep social media engagement. Some companies are reluctant to use social media at all, and often those that do merely dip their toes, so to speak. To be successful at content marketing, you really need to have a robust social media strategy and a willingness to engage on a personal level with your audience.
- Content creation conflict. What words, images, and ideas will attract and engage your target personas? It’s likely that members of your marketing team will have differing opinions and that, in some cases, this will lead to conflict. Working through creative differences can be challenging, but it is a necessary part of the content marketing process.
- Owning your errors. Marketers make mistakes. We publish content that is unclear, confusing, or just plain incorrect. When that occurs, it’s important to address the issue immediately and in a forthright manner. Your audience will quickly lose faith in your organization if you aren’t truthful, even when it hurts.
Let’s Get You Comfortable with Inbound Marketing
The reason that 30dps is recognized as one of the top inbound and content marketing agencies is that we don’t sugarcoat things. Being successful with inbound marketing means getting outside your comfort zone a bit. However, once you’ve done that, you’ll understand why content marketing is so powerful. If you’ve got questions about how to make the switch from traditional marketing to inbound, our teams in Colorado Springs, CO, Olympia, WA, and Springfield, MO, have answers. Contact us at your convenience.
