You can’t optimize your content planning and get lost in unrewarding rabbit holes at the same time. There are a few roadblocks that typically stop businesses from progressing in regard to their content marketing campaign. Here are a few common ones with reasons you should avoid them:
Your strategy isn’t working, so you need to create more content
This fallacy isn’t just relevant to content marketing. Some people, for example, aren’t happy with their fitness progress and start doing 300 push-ups instead of 200.
It shouldn’t take long to realize that your strategy is ineffective. If you double-down on it and increase the volume, then you’ll just get diminishing returns.
A recent Harvard Business Review article describes this problem and its impact on businesses. According to the article, it’s hindering content marketing campaigns in the aggregate:
“But there’s a problem. Simply producing more content isn’t enough. More isn’t always better, nor is it particularly effective. While content production levels are soaring, the same data from the Content Marketing Institute also shows that only 30% of B2B marketers say their organizations are effective at content marketing, down from 38% last year. That may be because although we’re producing more content than ever, fewer marketers have a documented content marketing strategy compared with last year (32% vs. 35%), even though the same research consistently shows that those who document their strategy are more effective in nearly all areas of content marketing.”
The article suggests documenting a strategy as opposed to blindly creating more content. This is the single best piece of advice you can follow with respect to content marketing. If your campaign is ineffective, then something is wrong with your strategy. You need to fix the foundation before you can build at the top again.
Your goals are too short- or long-term
Advice in relation to content marketing can sound hypocritical at times. One day you’ll hear that it’s best to focus on the long-term and the next you’ll read an article saying you need to update your strategy and concentrate on trends.
There’s an underlying compromise here that will keep your campaign balanced. According to this Entrepreneur article, you should adjust your content planning for quarters, since this will let you focus on both aspects:
“My team has found that planning three months ahead lends us enough time to fill our editorial calendar without rushing or scrambling, and it leaves enough room for us to quickly adjust our plan so we don’t miss out on timely events and topics.”
Planning for quarters is a common and effective tactic. It’s used within the context of business forecasting for the same reason. When it comes to content marketing, it gives you enough time to plan ahead without trapping yourself within your own strategy.
You’re writing for search engines, not readers
The blending of content marketing and search engine optimization has misled business owners and marketers. Yes, the two practices are best when synchronized with each other, but they’re not the same or even perfect substitutes.
There’s only one way to approach content marketing, and that’s to create high-quality content that engages readers. The idea is to establish your brand, build credibility, and attract followers all at once. Publishing good content can do that.
All of those factors then carry over to search engine optimization. Google prefers one great article over five mediocre ones any day of the week. You’ll just be spinning your wheels if you create uninspired content just for the sake of enhancing your SEO.
By getting over these roadblocks, you’ll progress faster in regard to your content marketing efforts. To talk more about content planning, or anything else, contact us today.
