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4 Reasons Your Content Marketing Plan Will Fail You

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Content marketing has never been so important. The content you create could make or break your business because there is so much emphasis on search engine rankings these days. One of the most important things a small business can do is take the time to plan content well and make sure it speaks to and engages with their target audiences. But, there are so many times when content marketing plans fail because of simple mistakes. Here’s why your content marketing could be failing you.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article
Photo courtesy of Pexels

Content Marketing is a Temporary Fix

If you aren’t getting the sales and traffic you desire and you’re using content marketing as a quick fix, you may as well give up now. Content marketing is something that need to be used consistently and businesses have to make a long-term commitment. If you believe your business can survive by getting the custom you need from a few social media posts and blogs and then you’ll be able to stop, think again. You may be finding it difficult to invest the time a content plan needs. In that case, it’s wise to invest in the services of an internet marketing firm. If you want your business to flourish, you better have a 12-month content plan in place and refresh it every annum.

You Don’t Need to Know Your Audience

So, you think you can set-up a Facebook business page and advertise to anyone and everyone? Firstly, you’re unlikely to convert your audience into sales and secondly, your content won’t be specific enough to reach your target audience. Every business has a target audience and no business will survive without identifying it. When you know who your target audience is, you can design your content based on the information you have, and you’re more likely to attract the appropriate people.

Content Means Sales

Don’t make the mistake of looking for immediate results. Yes, content works, but it’s usually over a period of time. Think about the way you react to content marketing as a customer. One social media post is enough to get you interested, but it doesn’t mean you’ll automatically read the blog, visit the website or buy products. For many customers, the first engagement with a post is just the beginning. It may take several more posts before you convert that follower into a buyer. So, be patient and do your research so you can create a daily content plan.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article
Photo courtesy of Pexels

SEO isn’t a Big Deal

It would be nice to think that the quality of a business will outshine everything else, but ignoring SEO will just lead to unnecessary failure. If your potential customers can’t find you when they search for your niche, the quality of your work will have no voice at all. At the very least you need to do keyword research so your site will rank in searches, but it’s also important that you create content that can gain links and increase your visibility.

Sometimes it’s best to create a content marketing plan by asking yourself, ‘What could make this fail?’ and working from there.

The Critical Importance of Lead Validation in Internet Marketing

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Lead validation in Internet marketing is the process of separating sales leads from other phone and form inquiries generated from a company’s website. Created by Straight North, an organic SEO agency, The Critical Importance of Lead Validation in Internet Marketing study indicates that, on average, about 50 percent of a company’s website inquires are not sales leads. Those non-sales inquiries consist of things such as customer service inquiries, personal phone calls and sales solicitations.

Other eye-opening statistics discussed in the study include:

  • 19 percent of leads convert on Mondays and Tuesdays
  • 85 percent of visitors convert on the first visit. The number drops significantly — to 10 percent — on the second visit. After the second visit, the chance for a conversion plunges to single digits

Overall, if the marketing department judges the success of its campaigns (SEO, paid search advertising, email, etc.) on inquiries alone rather than on actual sales leads, their evaluations could be overly optimistic by half. By validating leads, marketers can judge their campaigns based on sales leads, giving them an accurate picture of how well each marketing campaign is performing.

For more insight into lead validation, see the presentation below:

The Importance of Lead Validation by Straight North.

About the Author

Aaron WittersheimAaron Wittersheim is an accomplished entrepreneur with more than 20 years of business and technology experience. He is currently Chief Operating Officer at Straight North, a Charlotte Internet marketing agency specializing in lead generation for middle market and large organizations.

Tech Comm Writers, Ensure Google Notices You: Capitalize on Organic SEO

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Tech comm writers, do not become hidden in the background, increase your organization’s web traffic, get noticed by Google, and become and asset to your organization by effectively generating SEO-enhanced technical documentation.
 
A technical communicator’s contribution to an organization is often hidden in the background of business operations and goes unrecognized by both the employer and even the end-user – the specific target audience of the business and technical documentation. Some organizations still live in ancient times and merely send out user guides and training materials as a Standard Operating Procedure rather than optimizing on the rich and functional content that comprises technical communicators’ creations. The accessibility and connectivity afforded by the Internet today increases the visibility of technical communicators’ creations and the role that they serve in an organization. Not only do company websites liberate technical documents, but technical communicators now have the ability to truly make an impact on their organizations’ growth and profits. How can technical communicators optimize their technical documentation search engine rankings and get noticed by Google? SEO the crap out of content, generate referral traffic, and increase traffic time on the site.

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About the Authors

Jessica Lynn CampbellJessica Lynn Campbell is Marketing Executive and Content Writer for Web Benefits Design. She has a Master’s in English-Technical Communication, a Bachelor’s in Psychology, and is currently obtaining a PH.D in Texts and Technology. Jessica is an expert and experienced technical communicator, author, and multi-media manager having been published on multiple media platforms including print and online. She is skilled in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Bluebook citation styles. Jessica can be reached at [email protected] or 407-810-7542.

Amber Lorynne AllmanAmber Lorynne Allman is a graduate from the University of Central Florida with Bachelor’s in English-Creative Writing with a minor in English-Technical Communication. She is skilled with translating beginner documents that are in German or Pinyin (Simplified) and her main passion is creative script writing and editing. She currently works at Universal Studios Orlando Resort. Amber can be reached at [email protected].