The shiny things in marketing are often a distraction.
Social media is a good example. You know you should be posting to raise awareness and sell your services. You might even enjoy creating content in Canva and having a creative outlet.
But if you’ve spent hours creating content, you’re feeling a bit sleepy, and all you’ve got to show for it is tumbleweeds, it’s fair to ask whether it’s worth the time and effort (and let’s face it, anxiety).
Here are three reasons why your content marketing strategy isn’t bringing home the bacon, and some content marketing strategies to prioritise in your marketing.
Content that isn’t focused on your customers
When you create social media posts, are you thinking ‘who am I aiming this at and why?’
Or are you (and this is most common) thinking ‘I haven’t posted for ages, I’ll just post this’?
An example could be posting a picture of the coffee you’re drinking at a particular location. And that’s nice. There’s nothing wrong with it.
But what does it tell a potential client about how you help them, solve a problem or make their life easier?
Yeah, you might get some interest, but unless you’ve considered what your customers are going to get from it, then I would avoid that ‘knee jerk’ posting.
Most social media raises awareness
But how do you get it to convert? Likes and comments are nice and all, but what’s going to make someone think, ‘I want to work with you.’
Let’s think about marketing funnels for a mo.
A lot of social media sits at the awareness stage. It helps people notice you. That’s useful.
The missing piece is what happens next. How do you move someone from “this is interesting” to “I want to work with you?”
The posts alone aren’t going to do this (although well created will be worthwhile). You need to start conversations, whether that’s using a tool like ManyChat to start automated conversations with new followers on Instagram, or creating a lead magnet that will capture email addresses.
Focus on the benefits not the features
This is just a reminder, you’ll talk a lot about the features of your services or products. What your customers really want to know is what’s in it for them.
Let’s take a wellbeing product for example (as at the time of writing this I’m full of a cold!). Before purchasing I’d want to know that a product is going to make me feel better, give me energy, and clear my head.
What benefits do your products or services give to your audience? Make a list and use them. If you’re not sure, imagine your customer saying, “So what?” after every feature you list. The benefit is the answer to that question.
Get a strategy behind your marketing
I’m not saying to give up on social media. No one wants to be an online business without social media.
But the more content you churn out without a content marketing strategy behind it, the harder it becomes to turn attention into enquiries.
Want to know if your marketing is pulling it’s weight?
Take my 10 minute check to see what’s working and what’s wasting your time.
