Give Me 10 Minutes, I’ll Give You The Truth About Content Marketing Myths
You’re probably having multiple tabs opened on your screen as you are reading this and switching between half read headlines, scrolls of twitter feeds, and a current task. No one gives a hundred percent of their attention when it comes to reading an article. If they do, then it has got to be absolutely curious to keep the reader glued to the content — reason being it is either relatable by addressing the biggest hurdle of the reader or it is highly informative and feeds the brains that are hungry for knowledge.
More often than not, content marketing — the method of generating leads through content (web copies, landing pages, blogs, ebooks, whitepapers, webinars, videos etc.) is a draining process. By draining process I do not mean the effort that goes into creating the content, but the process creation and distribution that does not complement well.
It’s a vicious cycle.
This post will now help you bust the biggest myths of content marketing practices. Well, when what should not be done is nailed in the head, what needs to be done comes as a bonus that needn’t be learned.
- Videos rip a hole in your pocket
93% of businesses reported gaining a new customer as a direct result of a video posted on social media. Content marketing through videos, the whole concept is gaining a tremendous momentum in the present day. It is a lot more effective than content in texts, given the fact how pictorial representation or virtual presence of an actual person teaching things is more impactful.
So, video creation is not extravagant.
It, in fact, can be done at a much low or zero cost by shooting them on mobiles and editing them through free tools. This is because they don’t have to be in high definition. As long is the picture quality is decent and the editing is spot on, just get them out every now and then. This should work more efficient as sorts of content repurposing — the whole concept of repurposing makes the video creation a lot easier task as the crux of it, the content is all up and ready.
So, don’t worry much about the investment in a camera, even if you have to because the response and audience, did I mention, quality leads that video content can create? So, bear the ROI in mind and go for it!
2. Half of the distribution is sorted with social sharing
More often than not, a majority of content distribution efforts goes into aggressive social media promotions, multiple times across several channels.
Well, this is a big myth. Social media is only for upholding the brand image and cultivating a great rapport with the influencers and the audience. If you are able to generate leads, well, you’re probably lucky. As generating potential clients through social presence is not something that’s common. Inbound leads, that is, client building through content has several areas to focus on.
Instead of fuelling out your energy by trying to shake twitter or Instagram with your content on regular basis, test out email campaigns, influencer marketing, guest blogging, community outreach on a larger proportion. This does not mean you have to abandon social media altogether, it is just that you should have an effective content marketing strategy in place that brings ROI instead of random aimless sharing. This also means more consistency and variety.
3. Share statistics means something
There’s so much difference in someone sharing your content and when someone becomes your customer. Just because you have a good number of shares, it does not designate that you have a relevant audience interested in your offerings. The shares may not even mean everyone has read your content fully. They might not even have got to the part of talking about your brand if that has been the purpose of your content in the first place.
The success of content essentially means bringing more visitors to your website, increasing conversions and ensuring that your audience who share your content is aimed at informing potential customers of your brand.
It does not mean that more shares mean nothing, it sure means more credibility, but not necessarily good content marketing.
4. Content marketing gives quick results
The easiest resort to more leads is through quick content generation.
A BIG NO.
More content, that is evergreen and in good quality is always good. But, this does not necessarily mean that constant content creation and throwing links across mediums essentially means effective content marketing.
Content marketing is a granular process, it takes time. You cannot expect your content to shower you with leads. This is definitely attainable, but it needs a lot of patience. Without proper metrics and measuring of ROI over a brief period in time, content marketing won’t work. It needs a lot of effort and persistence to get your work out there and market it good enough that it convinces a reader to collaborate.
Wrapping up
Content marketing is an art. There are tons of hacks and good practices to follow for a successful content campaign. But, there also some popular misconceptions about what works in favor of successful content campaigning. Turns out, there are a lot of myths and this post was aimed at busting some of them for you.
