Google is going bananas over content, and while the demand for good content writers has subsequently bulked up, so has the need to get more from every bit of content produced. If you are producing content right now or are a digital marketeer who has to produce a bit of content on the side from time to time, here are a few mistakes you might not know you are making.
1. Chasing Numbers
Nothing says “Who’s your daddy?!” like a few thousand Facebook ‘Likes’ and LinkedIn ‘Followers’. But content producers tend to get lost in the chase for louder statistics. It all starts with the chase for conversions and eventually writers producers forget the content altogether. At this point, the desire to sell surpasses the desire to deliver value.
When the going gets tough, sticking to well-crafted buyer personas is critical. Treat your buyer personas fairly – like you would treat a real person. Respecting your buyer personas means delivering value – and delivering value demands that you make the necessary tweaks until you have something on the menu that the consumers is looking for.
I have seen content writers chasing numbers reach a point when they feel that the entire content inventory will have to be overhauled. Don’t hesitate to go back to the drawing board when the demand for better content highlights the demand for a better product. Remember to work on your product before you begin to work on your content for the product.
Review your product/service to identify Unique Selling Propositions (USPs). Don’t lie to yourself at this moment of truth if you find shortfalls in what you’re selling. If your product/service doesn’t have any USPs, now would be a good time to add some.
2. Finding your Content Fit
Content is the blood flowing through the body that is your product/service/website. Using the wrong content fit can kill your project. Most content producers try to focus on as many content types as possible. They will be posting videos, publishing blogs, putting up e-books, tweeting, and creating info-graphics, all at the same time.
Creating a content fit that works for your project begins with understanding your project before you start investing content into it. Focusing on one content type alone is just as damaging as focusing on every content type at the same time. Look around to see what content types are being used by other members of your industry.
Not sure how to go about it? Don’t reinvent the wheel through trial-and-error. Start by identifying industry members similar to you. Proceed by connecting the dots between product/service features and the utilized content types. Do not forget the fact that you will be trying to replicate success.
Feeling adventurous and packing some spare time? Identify a yet unused content type that you think fits with your USPs, and focus your primary energy on it with the objective of claiming the domain for your project. For instance, finding and planting your flag on a social media channel that others in your industry haven’t used yet might help you get a competitive advantage.
3. Fueling Your Passion
There is nothing worse, than an unmotivated content producer. Content production is one of the most under-appreciated jobs as it is. Content producers are required to combine creativity with class and compatibility. In return, they are treated like ‘Phrase Factories’ who are expected to churn out article after article to fill in the white spaces on webpages. To sustain quality in this setting, a Content Producer has to remain motivated and passionate about what he/she does.
Creating content is not easy, and it can get very draining at times. Develop an interest in the project your are producing content for instead of focusing on expanding paragraphs or adding more graphics and videos. A rise in quality will follow.
Take out time to nurture a genuine interest in your project every day. Use info-tainment to fuel your passion and to find inspiration if you feel that community participation may not be your strongest suite.
4. Optimize! Optimize! Optimize!
Content producers tend to produce content and then forget about it. If you don’t know how last month’s content is performing right now, then you’re doing it all wrong. Keep an eye on your content’s Analytics at all times. Continuously optimize your content based on the traffic flux and the traffic sources. But don’t replace your original content every time you update.
A sure fire way to optimize your content and juice the bajesus out of it is to update it frequently and make it clear to the visitors that the content is being updated. For instance, if your content is a success and traffic booms, update it by adding more at the end, and adding a tag/button on the top that gives visitors the option of jumping down to the most recent update.
La Conclusion
With every website totting a new check-list for producing great content, it boils down to finding what works for you and your project.
Your analytics numbers, are the symptoms. Monitor them closely, but do not mistake them in your diagnosis. Your diagnosis should include an analysis of your content’s ability/inability to engage your target market. ‘This article is showing a crappy visit duration; rewrite it’, is not what you need. You need ‘What were my visitors looking for? What did I fail to deliver?’
Digital Marketing Dynamite 