You’ve got new content ideas for 2015 – that’s great! But before you put them in place, read three content marketing mistakes people make with their New Year content marketing strategy. And make sure they don’t happen to you.
- You have a content marketing plan but you don’t stick to it because it’s not achievable
We tend to focus on establishing all our goals and spend little time considering how to make them achievable. This is why we are back to business as usual come June. (We’ve all been there.) There’s nothing wrong with listing all the things you’d love to achieve in 2015. But you need to accept you can’t achieve everything.
Instead, focus on three to five core goals and write down small changes that you can action every day to help you achieve them. Do this by working backwards from the goal and ask yourself, “Which means I need to…”
Make your 2015 objectives achievable. Take out your 2014 content marketing strategy and ask yourself, “What did/didn’t I achieve and why?”
Consider important factors such as:
- Time: Realistic time frames and approval process.
- Resources: Staff capacity and support, and access to software.
- Money: Budget allocation and funding.
- Training: In-house capability, reliance on external support, and on the job training.
These factors are the main reasons why we struggle to action our content marketing plans. Use your answers to inform this year’s plan.
Now, when you write your 2015 goals on your to-do list they will get done!
- You produce content every day of January and then nothing in February
When a content schedule becomes stressful and a chore, you know something isn’t right. Organisations spend too much time trying to create “viral” and “engaging” content. Organisations should be creating content that is true to their brand and tells their story.
Mixing up content formats is important for audience engagement. Yet, this doesn’t mean you need to create an interactive infographic when a simple text update would do. (Bright colours and moving screens make me dizzy). Focus on sharing your message instead. Then concentrate on building relationships with your audience and posting on a regular basis. If you do these three things you will see results.
Make content production easy by trying these two activities:
Create a story plan by writing five key organisational messages. Then create bite-sized content around this messaging. Only do one hard-to-produce format (time consuming, resource heavy etc.) every few months.
Or, choose one product or service. Look at how you can create a story by matching different content formats with different platform strengths.
For example:
- Feature piece on the blog
- Behind the scenes footage on YouTube or Instagram
- A picture and quote on Facebook
- Statistics or a research report on Twitter
Never again will the stress of content production stop you from sharing your story.
- You get excited by new digital platforms and start using them without considering if they are right for you
Just because it’s been predicted as the platform of 2015 doesn’t mean it will live up to the hype. People don’t change their habits overnight. (How many of us complain about Facebook but still use it daily? Am I right?) The pressure to go where our competitors are and the lure of “greatest results with little effort” is tempting. Remember digital platforms are businesses and they will sell you their products.
Avoid disappointment. Ask yourself, “Will the platform’s features help me achieve my content marketing objectives?” If the answer is yes then great. If the answer is no, rejoice in knowing that you haven’t wasted time and energy speaking to a community that isn’t interested in you.
Spend time thinking about the platforms you are currently using and how you can improve the way you use them:
Want more sales?
- Use Goggle Analytics to see what pages your audience is visiting on your website. Then add relevant product, service and contact information.
- Refresh your content making sure your product and service benefits are clear and customer focused.
Want more engagement?
- See when your audience is using the platform and post your content then. (Don’t forget about scheduling tools and functionality.)
- Ask questions, encourage feedback and start conversations. And just as important, reply to your audience within a reasonable time frame.
Want more reach?
- Ask your community to share your content. (That’s right; straight out ask them to share with people they think would be interested in your product.)
- Form a partnership with a fellow organisation and create co-branded content.
- Find out who your “influencers” (people in your industry who have large audiences) are and work with them to tell your story in different ways.
No longer will you waste time on platforms that aren’t right for your organisation.
Happy content planning in 2015 everyone!
Need help telling your digital story? Or want to run your 2015 content ideas by me? If you do, get in touch.
Featured image from Flickr.
