If your marketing efforts are not bringing in the results you want, and if your ROI seems to be low, then chances are you have a problem with your company's content. However, most companies hit the wall regarding their content, so you should not let that discourage you from moving forward.
Luckily, problematic content can easily be solved. However, before you can remedy the problem, you must first recognize what is wrong with your content and pinpoint why you cannot reach your audience.
So, here is a list of the six most common problems your company's content might have and suggestions on how to solve them.
Problem #1. Too Little or Too Much Content
Typically the first thing you want to address is the quantity of your content. Too little content, and you will not be able to support the sales cycle and reach your audience. On the flip side, you might have too much content obscuring your specific sales efforts.
Solution?
Too little content?
When content is too little, you need to go back to the beginning of your marketing campaign and create a content calendar. Ensure that you include social media posts, blog posts, newsletters, and website updates on your monthly schedule. Follow the guidelines for posting frequency on the various platforms and try to have a mix of content every week. For example, do not simply post on FB on week one and then forget about it till week four. Instead, blend your marketing content types to have a little bit of everything each week.
Too much content?
On the other hand, if your content is too much, work your way through a content audit. First, compare what you have with what the competition is doing. Then, go over your google analytics and find out what your targeted audience likes to read. Which type of content seems to be more successful? What are your bounce rates for each new kind of blog post? Which articles get shared the most? Which FB or Instagram posts get the most likes? Performing a thorough content audit will help you weed out ineffective content and start creating one that will reach your audience and grab your prospects' attention.
Problem #2. Haphazard Posting Schedule
Even if the quantity of your content is perfect, sometimes your posting schedule may be so haphazard that you fail to reach out to your ideal buyers. Even if you manage to reach out to them, a once-every-now-and then the content formula will make you seem unreliable. The too-little / too-much content hybrid may result in the correct quantity of content. Still, this lopsided posting mix will eventually harm your credibility and ruin all your content marketing efforts.
Solution?
Again, go back to your marketing calendar and evenly spread your content throughout the month. Make sure that your content is closely aligned with your goals and that your message is delivered loud and clear. Poor execution of a carefully planned marketing calendar can set you adrift.
Problem #3. You Are Using the Wrong Platform
If you find that your company's marketing campaigns are not bringing in the results you want, and if you have already adjusted for your content's quantity and frequency of posting, then maybe you should reassess the platforms you are using.
Many companies think that the more platforms they use to spread their message, the louder their brand's voice becomes. Nevertheless, nothing could be further from the truth. Not all platforms are suitable for all audiences.
Solution?
Create accurate buyer personas so that you know who your targeted audience is. For example, if your ideal buyer is a teenager, you need to meet teenagers who spend most of their time nowadays: TikTok and Instagram. On the other hand, if you are trying to reach out to millennials, it would be best to try Facebook Paid Ads. However, if your targeted audience is 50+ adults, then an email might be optimal.
Problem #4. You Did Not Craft Accurate Buyer Personas
It is impossible to create compelling content to reach your audience if you do not know who your audience is. You might be creating spectacular content, but if you are making it without your buyer in mind, you might throw all your efforts out the window.
You cannot match the tone of your readers' voices unless you know what your readers are feeling. You cannot appeal to their pain points if you do not better understand their stress factors.
Solution?
Spark your audience personas to life. Research your ideal buyers and search beyond the pure demographic information. Simply knowing your prospect's age, gender, occupation, and socioeconomic status won't cut it. Instead, dig beneath the surface and find everything about your audience.
What are their pain points? What keeps them up at night? What are their greatest fears and biggest hopes? How can your content offer value to them, and how can your brand help alleviate their pain and solve their problems?
It is impossible to create engaging content that will hook and bait your readers and push them further down the sales funnel without accurate buyer personas.
Problem #5. Your Content is Not Reaching Your Readers
You have researched your audience, know your ideal buyer inside and out, have a marketing calendar, treat it like your holy grail, and have compelling content on the right platform. Fantastic right? You bet! And, yet, you are still not getting the traction you want. Why?
In all the hype about getting it right, many companies, unfortunately, fail to optimize their content for mobile use. It seems pretty straightforward, but content that does not read well on a mobile phone is one of the leading reasons why content fails. Not reaching your audience where their eyes are at can be a recipe for disaster.
Solution?
Make sure that you take user experience into account when creating your content. Whereas the concept of user experience has been around for a long time, the coinage is relatively new. So, before you upload your content, double-check that it is optimized for mobile use and place UX at the top of your priorities checklist.
Problem #6. Content That is AI-Generated
There is currently a shifting trend towards AI-generated content, and more and more companies rush to jump on the AI wagon and reap its benefits. Cheap content in large quantities? Yeap. Count me in!
But before you rush to celebrate your new discovery, you should know that AI-generated content may be harming your company's image instead of drawing prospects in. The thing is, AI-generated content is fast and bulky, but it is blunt. It is purely black or white and lacks the shades of grey in between. As a result, AI cannot resonate with your readers. Unsurprisingly, AI cannot pretend to understand your buyers' pain points or empathize with their struggles. Forced and pretentious content will push your audience away and do little in turning prospects into leads.
Solution?
Well, this one is relatively easy. Use AI-generated content if you must, but do not forego human content writers altogether. Instead, trust your company's content in professional marketing agencies that know how to create compelling content that will reach out to your audience and draw them in.
Our team at Iris Writing International has an impeccable record of creating stellar content for several companies and giving brands their voice that can be heard loud and clear. So, if you want to be heard, contact Iris Writing International today.
We will tell you everything that is wrong with your content, and we will help you solve all the problems so that you can increase your business cycle and boost your sales and profits.