Is your content marketing strategy missing something?

5 mistakes to avoid to optimise your marketing efforts 

When you first jumped into the role of business owner, you probably didn’t think about all the marketing involved to attract, convert, and maintain clients. You would have been too excited about your new venture to consider the multitude of ways your product and/or services can be shared with the world.

The truth is – unless you’re an experienced marketer, it’s very easy to miss key practices when it comes to your content marketing strategy. And missing these things could mean missing opportunities and sales. 

But it’s not your fault. You don’t know what you don’t know.

In this article I’ll highlight some of the mistakes and missing pieces in many content marketing strategies. 

But first, let’s define the topic.

What is a content marketing strategy?

A content marketing strategy is a plan for creating, publishing, and distributing high-quality content. The ultimate aim is to attract and engage a target audience – and make sales from them in the long run.  

(Note – I say ‘long run’ here. You won’t always get instant results!)

The strategy typically involves researching and defining your target audience and understanding their needs, interests, and preferences. Once you’ve done that, it makes it easier to identify the most effective channels and tactics to deliver content to them.

The key to a successful content marketing strategy is to provide value to the audience through informative, entertaining, or educational content that builds trust and establishes authority.

Some common tactics used in a content marketing strategy include:

• blog posts
• videos
• podcasts
• infographics
• e-books
• webinars
• social media content, and
• email marketing

So which elements are you missing in your content marketing strategy? 

Let’s look at some typical practices missed and ways to fix them to increase results.

Mistake No. 1 – Not having a clear target audience 

While it sounds obvious, I’ve met so many business owners over the years who want to talk to every man, woman, LGBTIQA+, dog, pigeon, and stuffed frog in the world.

But if you try to serve everyone, you end up serving no one!

It’s crucial to identify your target audience and develop content that speaks directly to them. Focusing on a certain niche or demographic can make a massive difference. Because if you can really, truly understand one particular group, including their pain points, they’re more likely to engage with your content. In other words, they’ll be keen to hear what you have to say when you present solutions. Because you’ve made it clear you get them.

If your product or service really can help everyone, I recommend running marketing campaigns that segment your audience into smaller groups. You never know, you might have so much success from one particular niche that you’ll end up focusing on them 100% of the time! 

Mistake No. 2 – Not showing the humans behind the brand

Don’t fill your social media feed with constant salesy messages. Yes, you can throw those in from time to time (as we’re all here to make money after all!), but these days people want to connect with the humans behind the brand.

Especially if there are multiple companies out there that do very similar stuff to you.

You’re the one who makes you and your offering different. So don’t be afraid to show your target market who that is. 

What inspired you to start your business? 

What lessons have you learnt along the way – or more recently?

Telling these stories allows you to connect with your audience emotionally and create a sense of authenticity. 

And I’ll let you in on a little secret….In regards to the algorithm, these types of posts smash the salesy messages out of the park. These are the posts people engage with. These are the posts that make people want to work with you.  

Without them, you might find yourself with generic and unmemorable content. 

Mistake No. 3 – Not showing up consistently

To ensure an effective content marketing strategy, you can’t just share a post on LinkedIn and then just disappear without a trace for a few months. 

Consistency is key to build familiarity with your target market as well as fuel the algorithms. But it’s not just about social media.

I highly recommend sending out emails semi-regularly to your database of past, current, and potential clients – even if it’s only once a month.

Because even if they don’t open your emails, people are still seeing your name pop up. And this keeps you top-of-mind. 

In addition to showing up virtually, I also suggest showing up in real life at networking events. This has proved to be very helpful in cementing business relationships. If people meet you online and then face-to-face – or vice versa – they get a full understanding of the human behind the brand. (See Mistake 3).  

Mistake No. 4 – Not having Call to Actions (CTA)

A call to action (CTA) is a prompt to encourage the reader or viewer to take a specific action. Like making a purchase or signing up for your newsletter. 

Many business owners – especially in Australia – hate the thought of being ‘salesy’. You know, like a pushy salesman (or woman) that makes people feel ick. 

But the truth is – if people like your stuff and they want to buy from or work with you, you need to tell them how to do it! It might seem super obvious, but I’ve read many blog articles that just end without any indication of the next steps to take.  

I want to be told to book a FREE consultation if that’s what you want me to do next.

Or be told about a FREE eBook I can download to find out more.

Or be given a link to the checkout page!

If you forget to include a clear and compelling CTA in your content, you could be missing out on some key opportunities to convert readers/viewers into customers.

Mistake No. 5 – Not repurposing content 

So you might be writing blog articles and creating awesome webinars and ebooks. 

Kudos to you.

But are you actually repurposing them – aka turning them into a full content marketing strategy?

I see this happen a lot. Clients publish a blog to their website, share the link once on their socials, and figure their job is done. 

However, there’s a massive missed opportunity here! In just one article, you probably have enough gold nuggets of advice or information that could be broken up into multiple social media posts. Both written and video.

And you could turn that article into a YouTube video and/or podcast episode.

And you could turn it into a webinar and/or eBook – which act as a lead magnet to build your database.

So much potential!

You might also have a course or program that could be broken down into blog articles as well. That in turn promotes that course or program with that call to action!

To sum things up, let’s look at those 5 things you could be missing in your content marketing strategy again – 

• Mistake No. 1 – Not having a clear target audience  
• Mistake No. 2 – Not showing the humans behind the brand
• Mistake No. 3 – Not showing up consistently
• Mistake No. 4 – Not having Call to Actions (CTA)
• Mistake No. 5 – Not repurposing content 

If you’re guilty of any of them, you’re not alone. And I can help!

I offer personalised content coaching Power Hours for $497 (including GST) where we can discuss ways to make the most out of your existing content – as well as tips to increase your visibility and credibility in your industry. And that all leads to increased leads and cashflow.

https://calendly.com/leanneshelton/hour-of-power