You look at your website.

You checked the amount of traffic coming in.

You have analyzed the cash flow of your business.

Then it hits you…

Your content marketing isn’t working.

To your dismay, you realized that you have been wasting time, energy, and money.

The result you get isn’t just enough.

You see, a lot of small business owners are doing content marketing.

However, not all are doing it correctly.

Could you be one of them?

The purpose of this article is not to tell you:

“You are wrong.”

But to help you identify areas that you can improve on.

After all, how can you correct something if you don’t know it’s a mistake?

If you want to improve your content marketing strategy as a small business, read on.

In this post, discover the mistakes you are probably making and how to correct them.

Are you ready?

Let’s dive in!

Mistake no. 1: Doing content marketing half-heartedly

 You have developed a great product or service to your customers.

You have poured your heart and soul into it.

You sacrificed blood and sweat just to come up with your product.

Here’s the problem:

No matter how good your product or service is, it’s all wasted if no one knows about it.

A lot of people think that if only you have a good product, people will automatically come.

The truth is it doesn’t work that way.

As a result, some business owners don’t do content marketing.

And if they do, they do it half-heartedly.

They don’t see the importance of content marketing.

So, they simply push content marketing back in the burner.

So, what’s the solution?

You need to realize the importance of content marketing.

People won’t naturally know about your product unless you tell them.

And that’s where content marketing comes in.

Content marketing can help your business to:

• Connect you to your customers.
• increase people’s awareness of your products.
• improve your brand image.
• Increase your level of professionalism.
• Establish trust and loyalty.
• Build credibility and authority in your market.
• Generate traffic to your website.
• Help you find new leads.
• Convert people into paying customers.
• Increase in profit
• And so much more…

With these benefits in mind, it is hard to ignore content marketing.

Be serious with your content marketing effort.

When you do, you will then soon reap the many benefits that come with it!

Mistake no. 2: Thinking it’s all about you

If you are like any high achievers, you are teeming with so many ideas.

You are simply full of things you want to share with your target audience.

Now, that’s not a problem of itself.

However, being full of ideas could easily get in the way of content marketing.

The question is:

“Are people interested in what you are going to say?”

Sometimes, what you have in mind is not necessarily what people need to hear.

This is one of the most common reasons why business owners fail in their content marketing.

If you start with what you want to say, then your audience will less likely listen.

Here’s something you need to bear in mind:

Content marketing is not about you. It’s about your customers.

So, what’s the solution?

Think of your audience when coming up with a content marketing strategy.

Identify your customers’

• Interests
• Needs
• Desires
• Problems
• Goals

Know your customers like the back of your hand.

Once you did, you will know exactly how to approach them.

You’ll have a better idea of how to create content that people would like to listen to.

Mistake no. 3: Writing for machines, not for humans

There are an estimated 1.94 billion websites on the Internet at the time of this writing.

How can you compete against this unimaginable number?

One of the answers is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

You probably have heard about SEO by now.

It is the practice of using adding keywords and phrases to your content.

So when users use the same keywords in a search engine, your website comes up.

While this approach actually works, some may overdo it.

Excessive keyword stuffing can make your content sound robotic.

Just to force a keyword, your sentence ends up not making any sense.

Yes, a search engine might see your content as relevant.

However, your content might be relevant, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it is valuable.

Indiscriminate keyword stuffing does work at times.

But in the long run, it won’t help so much in converting web visitors to customers.

Not only that but Google may penalize you.

They might eventually not include you in search results anymore.

Again, write primarily for your audience.

SEO only comes second.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I’m not saying SEO is not important.

It is.

In fact, I strongly recommend that you do apply SEO techniques in your content marketing.

But, if it comes down between your audience and SEO, always choose your audience.

After all, you’re selling to people, not machines.

Mistake no. 4: Not being consistent 

 Content marketing is not a one-time event.

It is a continuous process that you need to do day in, day out.

If you are just starting, it is easy to feel disappointed.

In most cases, content marketing does not provide immediate results.

However, this does not mean it doesn’t work.

You shouldn’t feel discouraged and abandon your content marketing.

Instead, you simply need to be consistent.

Generally speaking, if you are just starting, you need to post fresh content at least thrice a week.

After six to 12 months of consistent content marketing, you can reduce to at least once a week.

Again, consistency is the key.

Google loves fresh content as well.

This does not only increase your SEO rank, but also attracts more potential customers to your website.

As you create more content, you establish yourself as an authority.

To be more consistent, be sure to:

• have a content calendar.
• Create timelines and deadlines.
• Set goals.
• Use time management tools.

When you do these things, your content marketing will be a huge success.

Mistake no. 5: Limiting content in one form

Have you posted a blog on your website?

Perhaps, you have shared a post on your social media account?

Or maybe, you emailed your potential and existing customers?

For many people, they think that’s enough.

They believe they have already done what’s necessary.

However, don’t stop there.

Don’t commit the mistake of only using one or two forms or media for your content.

Consider this:

There was a time when the Internet was non-existent.

For entertainment or news, people didn’t simply limit themselves to watching TV.

Some read magazines while others listened to the radio.

In the same manner, you don’t want to limit yourself in just one media.

When it comes to content marketing, you want to explore all possible avenues to reach your audience.

You want to provide various ways for your audience to consume your content.

Here’s what you can do:

Get any existing content you have and repurpose it!

Let me explain what I mean.

You have the option to create various forms or media of one single content.

Some people are already happy about just creating a blog.

However, you can actually get that blog and turn it into a/an:

• Infographic
• Short video
• Social media post
• Email
• Downloadable PDF file
• eBook
• Slideshow
• Podcast
• Newsletter
• Online course
• Brochure
• Flyer
• And other marketing materials

source: hootsuite.com

Creativity is the key here.

You can go through all the content you have made in the past.

See how you can repurpose them and create fresh content.

This does not only save you time, but also money and energy.

If you are running out of idea for new content to market, then why not repurpose previous posts?

This way, you stay productive while you wait for new inspiration.

Now, here’s one of the most important reasons why you need to create

Mistake no. 6: Not having a dedicated content marketing team

Are you serious about growing and sustaining your small business?

If yes, then it takes more than just wishful thinking.

Even the best of all intentions is not enough for your business to grow.

You need to create a plan, execute it, evaluate, and repeat the process over again.

As you can see, thoughtful content marketing takes time, effort, and money.

While this may sound like great work, the benefits of content marketing outweigh the cost.

If you truly want to harness the power of content marketing, you need a team.

A team that is dedicated to create content and turn people into customers.

Some businesses simply don’t have a department for content marketing.

As a result, not enough focus is put into this important business aspect.

If you don’t have a dedicated team, your content marketing could only provide minimal to no result.

What are the key responsibilities of a content marketing team?

• Defines, studies and understands the target audience
• Creates and shares content (may include graphics, videos, emails, and blogs.)
• Determines a metric for success
• Set marketing goals
• Create an editorial calendar
• Measure and analyze results
• Recalibrate content marketing strategies as needed
• And more…

If you want to put your content marketing on autopilot, you might want to hire a marketing company.

This way, you don’t have to worry about your content marketing.

You will have an experienced and expert team handling it for you.

As a result, you can focus more on other areas of your business.

Whether you do your own content marketing or hire someone, the bottom line stays the same:

Have a dedicated team to handle it for you and you will surely increase your success rate!

Learn from your mistakes

A wise man once said:

“Mistakes will only be mistakes if you don’t learn from them.”

The same can be said for content marketing.

Sometimes, mistakes are inevitable.

You can simply learn from them and use them as a stepping stone for improvement.

Nobody really got everything right the first time they do content marketing.

In short, it’s a learning process.

The important thing is that you recognize your mistakes and correct them.

Let this article guide you in identifying potential mistakes you might unknowingly commit.

It’s a good place to start improving your content marketing effort.

Once you know your mistakes and eliminate them, your business will grow and become more successful in your field.

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