Why Your Content Marketing Doesn't Work (and How to Fix It)
So, the short answer is that content marketing is hard.
Just generating the content is resource-intensive, and that’s on top of developing and then implementing a strategy to make it work. Between writing blogs and whitepapers, filming videos, and recording podcasts, who even has the time to run their actual business?
It’s easier to just throw up a blog every now and then and be done with it.
But the long answer is that content marketing is even harder than that. Because everything we just described above? That’s the bare minimum. It’s literally the least you can possibly do and still claim to have a content marketing strategy. To really succeed, you need to figure out a way to overcome the biggest problem facing content marketing today: saturation.
That’s right. Content marketing is so effective that everyone is doing it, which just waters down everyone’s efforts. The internet is so flooded with middle-of-the-road content that material which would have risen to the top maybe two years ago now gets weighed down by loads and loads of similar material; when everyone is writing downloadable guides to bed bug removal, it might as well be that nobody is.
And the problem is self-perpetuating; the ROI gets watered down by the slowness with which most content generates leads that content teams need to generate more of it to cast an even wider net, often reducing quality in the process. The content arms race is dragging down the whole system – and overcoming it is your biggest challenge.
But it can be done. It just takes a little….creative thinking.'
Ok. If everyone is generating content – especially if everyone in your field is generating the same kinds of content – then you’re going to have a very hard time attracting attention. The key, then, is to focus on niche topics. That can mean targeting your content towards new demographic subsets who have picked up your product or started using your services – hipster exterminators! – or it can mean focusing on tailoring your content to meet long-tail keyword searches.
Too many content strategies depend on the most generic of topics, real Big Picture stuff like, to stick with the pest control example, “How to identify your pests.” While useful and in demand, it’s certainly not specific – and every single one of your competitors will have nigh-identical content hosted on their websites. Breaking out means doing something different – and getting, like, laser focused can get you there.
So let’s stick with the example. “How to eliminate bedbugs” might not stand out, but “how to remove bedbugs from antique furniture” might. Or “how to protect upholstered furniture from bedbugs.” Getting specific, getting niche, lets you zero in on particular audiences – and get their attention first.
Nothing separates the men from the boys, so to speak, like original research. Parroting numbers you found elsewhere is all well and good, but if you’ve got the goods – you’ve got something nobody else has, and you have it first.
Real numbers and real research sets you apart, and immediately identifies you as a thought leader; suddenly, you’re the one setting the terms of the discussion. While real numbers and analytics can be time-consuming and expensive, the investment is worth it; you’ll have real hard-hitting content that jumps to the front of the line.
This takes real commitment to your content marketing, but it’s a surefire way to get ahead. See, anyone can go googling around for numbers. But very few people are out there generating their own, which gives you authority that few else can offer. You suddenly become the sole source for this kind of industry analysis, especially considering the fact that you already have the data. Unless you’re a brand-new business, you’ve got years of sales data, customer forecasts, and more that you can transform into valuable content your ideal clients will really respond to.
Content won’t do you any good if you just let it sit there.
Google is great. It’s a powerful piece of engineering that can find anything. And if someone is looking specifically for your content, it’ll lead ‘em right to it. But the other side of this is that, because the content market is so saturated, it’s hard to float to the top – even when you’re the best out there. You need to make sure your content catches fire, which will help generate the initial enthusiasm that can propel it to Google’s page 1 results.
That can be done with a simple, ancient, tried and true method our ancestors have been using for thousands of years: pay-per-click advertising. Pay-per-click advertising can help move great content, building up a strong initial audience that will then make sure it spreads through their social networks both on and offline. This works especially well for B2B content, where professional expertise and development are highly sought after.
It’s a little bit of a cheat, sure, but only if you figure that content marketing ought to be solely dependent on organic growth. This kind of PPC boost can ignite real organic social growth, making the content you’ve invested so heavily in worth more than it already is.
See? Breaking the mold and getting ahead in your content marketing is really just a matter of trying new things. It’s like the old saying goes: sharks either keep sweeping or they die. And marketing is the same way. So always make sure you keep swimming.
