5 Content Marketing Mistakes That Hurt Your Business

Content marketing has become a crucial strategy for many businesses to boost their organic traffic and generate leads for their business.

Today, it still remains as one of the best ways to increase inbound traffic and generate conversions.

However, you will not get the desired results until you have a proper content marketing strategy.

We know the power of content marketing, but a few marketers out there who know how to use that power.

In a survey of Content Marketing Institute they found, that only 30% marketers find their content marketing effective.

It isn't a bad thing to make mistakes. In fact, everyone does that, even I, myself, make mistakes. But, the bad thing is not being able to learn from these mistakes.

In this post, I am going to show you the top five content marketing mistakes that you aren't aware of making. Let’s see them:

1. Buyer Persona

A buyer persona is a crucial part of your content marketing strategy. It is a must if you are trying to target a particular audience.

It helps you to understand the purchasing behavior of your potential client and their demographics, psychographics, interests, and more. This information can be beneficial for your content and other marketing strategies as well.

A MarketingSherpa’s case study found the following results after creating a buyer persona:

• 900% increase in traffic.
• 171% increase in sales.
• 111% increase in email open rate.
• 100% increase in new visitors.

A buyer persona is critical to content marketing success. A detailed buyer persona will save you time and money. It allows you to create content that is specific to your target, which will be more likely to engage with your content.

Despite those benefits of creating a buyer persona, 80% of companies have no real data about their potential clients.

Here's how a buyer persona would look like:

Without a buyer persona, your content marketing campaign will be like a trip without a map.

After developing a successful buyer persona, you will be able to attain more qualified leads, visitors, and clients for your business.

2. You don’t have a Content Marketing Strategy

If you want to run a successful content marketing campaign, you'll need a content marketing strategy. Seems obvious, right?

A research conducted by Content Marketing Institute found, 68% successful B2B marketers documented content marketing strategy, but only 11% unsuccessful marketed their content strategy.

Although, on B2C, only 27% successful marketers recorded their content strategy, 50% of marketers did not have a content marketing strategy plan documented or any plan at all.

Like any objective or goal, a strategy or plan is needed for you to successfully achieve them.

With a bad plan, at least, you can find your mistakes and improve your plan to create a successful one. But, having no strategy is like shooting in the dark.

3. You don’t have a Call-to-Action

A call-to-action is necessary for driving conversions. However, many businesses forget to add these important messages in their content.

Without a proper call-to-action, you content marketing is simply just a piece of writing that isn't being optimized as a marketing or sales tool.

What is the use of creating content, if the readers don't engage with you after reading your post?

Call-to-action encourages readers to take action after reading a blog, whether they have to subscribe, comment or sign up for white papers.

Here's an example of a call-to-action that is snugged at the bottom of a piece of content.

Another type of call-to-action is to encourage readers to comment or engage. For example, you can ask readers to share their opinion at the end of your blog.

4. You're Picking the Wrong Channels

Choosing the wrong marketing channel can affect whether your content marketing strategy is successful.

There are several content marketing channels to implement for your business. You can pick the ones that will suit your audiences' needs the most.

Here are a few popular ways to create content:

• Blogging - one of the easiest way to start content marketing.
• Video marketing
• Podcast
• Speaking at conference
• Webinar

Your content doesn't have to be delivered through one way. Each of your readers digest information differently and on different platforms as well.

So, which marketing channel is right for you?

The best way to find the right marketing channel for your business is to ask these following questions to yourself:

1. Who and where is your audience?
2. How does it fit into your budget?
3. How will it connect to the other content?
4. Which channel fits your message best?

When you are using content marketing for business, it is vital for you to choose the right content distribution resource. Each resource has their own strengths and weaknesses.

5. Too Much Concentration on Self-Promotion

Remember that you are not creating content for yourself, you are creating them for your audience.

Your audience will stop reading your content if you only talk about your product and services.

Too much self-promotion can cause more harm than anything for your business.

I know you are excited about your product and services, but it doesn't mean that you can talk about whenever you have the opportunity to do so.

You have to keep a balance between creating content that is helpful and promotional.

Final Note

Making mistakes does mean that you are a failure. It just means that you are trying and learning. After all, everything is about learning and improving!

Many people are using content marketing for business growth, but it doesn't mean they are implementing it correctly.

Now, I'd like to know what content marketing mistakes you've made and what did you learn from them? Let me know in the comments below!