6 Common Content Marketing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Content marketing can be a game-changer for businesses. By producing and distributing engaging, valuable content, businesses can reach new audiences, build trust and credibility, and drive leads and sales. However, content marketing is not without its challenges. In fact, many businesses make common mistakes that prevent them from achieving success with their content marketing efforts. Here are 6 of the most common content marketing mistakes and how to avoid them.

Content Marketing Mistakes #1: Not Defining Your Target Audience

The first mistake businesses make is not defining their target audience. Without a clear understanding of who your target audience is, it will be difficult to create content that resonates with them. To avoid this mistake, take the time to define your target audience using demographic information such as age, gender, location, and interests. Once you have a clear understanding of who your target audience is, you can create content that is tailored to their needs and wants.

A 2021 DemandGen study revealed 62% of those making B2B purchase decisions said they relied more on practical content like case studies and visual content, such as webinars, to guide their buying decisions and citing a higher emphasis on the trustworthiness of the source.

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Content Marketing Mistakes #2: Not Having a Strategy

The second mistake businesses make is not having a content marketing strategy. A content marketing strategy provides direction and helps ensure that your content is aligned with your business goals. Without a strategy, it’s easy to get bogged down in the details and lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve. To avoid this mistake, take the time to develop a content marketing strategy before you start creating content. Include things like your business goals, target audience, and distribution channels in your strategy. This will help keep you focused and on track as you create content.

A B2B Content Marketing Study conducted by CMI found 40% of B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy; 33% have a strategy, but it’s not documented, and 27% have no strategy whatsoever.

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Content Marketing Mistakes #3:Failing to Align Your Content with Your Business Goals

Another common mistake businesses make is failing to align their content with their business goals. All too often, businesses produce content for the sake of producing content without stopping to consider how that content will help them achieve their stated goals. Before you hit publish on your next blog post or social media update, take a step back and ask yourself how that piece of content will help you achieve your business goals. If you can’t answer that question, it’s likely that the piece of content isn’t worth publishing in the first place.

79% of companies use content marketing to generate quality leads.

CMI Tweet

Content Marketing Mistakes #4: Not Incorporating SEO

Another common mistake businesses make is failing to incorporate SEO into their content marketing strategy. In order for your content to be found by your target audience, it needs to be properly optimized for search engines. That means incorporating relevant keywords throughout your content, as well as ensuring that your titles, meta descriptions, and alt text are all optimized. If you’re not sure where to start with SEO, our team at Metric Marketing can help!

56% of marketers who leverage blogging say it’s an effective tactic, and 10% say it generates the greatest ROI (return on investment).

Hubspot blog research Tweet

Content Marketing Mistakes #5: Not Promoting Your Content

The fifth mistake businesses make is not promoting their content enough. Just because you’ve published a blog post or created a video doesn’t mean people will automatically see it—you need to promote your content if you want people to see it. There are a number of ways to promote your content, including social media, email marketing, paid advertising, and PR. To avoid this mistake, be sure to promote your content across multiple channels so it has a chance to reach your target audience.

80% of B2B marketers who use paid distribution use paid social media advertising

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Content Marketing Mistakes #6: Not Measuring Results

The sixth mistake businesses make is not measuring the results of their content marketing efforts. Measuring results is essential for understanding what’s working and what’s not working. Without data, it’s impossible to tell if your content marketing efforts are successful. To avoid this mistake, set up tracking for your content so you can measure things like page views, bounce rate, time on page, and conversion rate. This data will help you understand what’s working and what’s not so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

Over 60% of marketers measure the success of their content marketing strategy through sales.

Hubspot State of Marketing Report, 2021 Tweet

There you have it—six common content marketing mistakes and how to avoid them. By following these content marketing tips,you can avoid wasting time and resources on content that doesn’t work and set yourself up for success.

If you’re looking for a content marketing agency that can help you achieve your business goals, contact Braveheart Digital Marketing today. We’ll be happy to discuss your content needs and provide a content strategy that aligns with your overall business goals.