This Saturday is a big day for the nation. We'll be glued to our TV screens for the eagerly anticipated wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and to watch Chelsea and Manchester United go head-to-head in this years’ FA Cup Final.
With all the hype in the media this week surrounding these prolific events, you can forgive people for not reading your latest blog post.
Will Meghan’s father be there to walk her down the aisle? Who will be in the starting line up for both teams at Wembley?
The extensive media coverage of both events is enough to keep us all busy.
But if no one is ever reading your content, then you’ve got a problem.
You may be writing regular blog posts, and pouring time into the creation of other content formats such as videos, infographics, eBooks and case studies.
However, it isn’t enough to just create content.
I stumbled across this article by Kissmetrics that addresses the key reasons you may not be seeing the results you expected.
“You have no strategy”
As Joe Pulizzi puts it, “Content without strategy is just stuff.” If you’re just posting whatever you want, whenever you want, then of course people won’t be reading your content.
But when you create a plan, you’re putting a purpose behind your content. And that’s how you can really start to make a return on your investment.
“You’re not publishing enough”
You don’t need to be blogging every day - in fact, this can decrease your views. But with the vast amount of content available to your prospects, you want to be blogging at least once a week.
“You’re confusing content with sales pitches”
It’s the number one rule of inbound marketing - help, don’t sell.
“You don’t know your audience”
When was the last time you reviewed your buyer personas?
“Your voice isn’t genuine”
Customers want to purchase from companies they feel they can trust. The people you are trying to connect with are just, well, people.
So, create a brand voice that is human, authentic and that resonates with your buyer personas.
“You’re not promoting”
The Royals don’t need to promote Harry and Meghan's wedding, nor do Chelsea or Man United need to publicise that they made it to the FA Cup Final.
Their hordes of fans means both events are expected to draw in millions of viewers across the globe.
But if you want people to view your content, you need to promote it.
And not just anywhere - but in places your buyer personas will actually find it. Whether that’s LinkedIn, Twitter, or elsewhere.
“Your content isn’t properly optimised”
To really bring attention to what you produce, you need to optimise your content so your audience are able to find what you’re creating.
This means using keywords. So that when they are searching online, you can increase your chances of them finding you.
The British Monarchy are one of the oldest and most successful brands in history. Chelsea and Man United have also had decades to build a strong rapport with their fans.
They don’t need to think too much about strategy, promotion and authenticity to attract attention.
But the rest of us do.
Content, content, content.
It seems like content is the only thing anyone can talk about these days.
You’ve probably read post after post about how “content is king” at least a dozen times.
However, despite your best efforts, you can’t seem to see what the content hype is all about.
You write blog posts.
You create videos.
You participate in social media.
And yet, crickets.
You’re creating content, but it’s not getting you very far.
Unfortunately, creating content isn’t enough to really market your business.
If no one is engaging with what you’re producing, you’re simply wasting time, energy, and resources to clutter an already overcrowded web.
But this doesn’t mean content marketing is ineffective.
In fact, 20% of business owners believe content marketing will have the largest impact on their business in 2018.
If you’re not getting results from the content you’re creating, it typically means you’re doing something wrong.