We all want to see our content succeed, but when content performs poorly, it can be a learning opportunity. Today, we’re taking a look at three of the most common reasons content fails, and breaking out our marketing toolkits to do some repair work.
Your content is vague, offering no unique insights or connection to your brand, and is not differentiated from the vast amounts of competing content in your field.
Instead of relying on general advice or observations, add hard data to add value. As we discussed on Monday, an investment in proprietary research can pay off by convincing your audience of your dedication and industry expertise. But even without original research, your organization can incorporate properly-cited data from other sources into your own content in a way that adds credibility and interest.
This strategy has other benefits as well: it shows that you are well-educated in your industry and engaged with other thought leaders in your field. When using statistics or other research findings that are widely available, be sure to add your own insights and interpretations, perhaps by evaluating the trends you see across multiple pieces of research.
Your content feels overly academic, and isn’t clearly connected to the day-to-day work of your audience.
Show why your audience should care by focusing on interviews, quotes from clients or contacts and real-world examples. That hard data we talked about a moment ago is critical to the success of your content, but must work with — not against — the human element.
At Movéo, we do this by sharing examples of brands succeeding in their marketing efforts in order to demonstrate how our insights connect to real campaigns. Sometimes we share examples of our own work, and other times we highlight impressive work from other marketers. When working to add real-world examples to your own content, consider what would speak to your target audience. Experiment with telling client stories, interviewing experts and other tactics that feel like a fit for your brand. What performs best with your audience?
Your content attracts readers and viewers, but it doesn’t drive conversions because there is no CTA to pull audience members further through the marketing funnel.
Including CTAs is an obvious fix — but they need to be more than just a button at the end of a piece of content. They need to truly get at a reader’s pain points and questions. Craft CTAs that work by putting yourself in your target’s shoes and asking yourself what information you’d want to consume after finishing a specific piece of content. Then, A/B test to see if your assumptions are correct and optimize conversions.
When developing CTAs, it is key to compel your audience to continue navigating through your content without becoming overly promotional. That means using the body of your content to showcase your expertise and educate your audience, then including a CTA at the end that invites them to continue progressing down the buyer’s cycle, learning more about the solutions your company offers. Sometimes, a smooth transition from the first of those two elements to the second can make all the difference.
While these are some of the more common problems we see in poor performing content, we’ve only just scratched the surface. Are you finding other aspects of your content that need to be strengthened? Give us a call to talk more about how Movéo could help your organization improve its marketing efforts.
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