As previously discussed, Content Marketing is becoming a key element in every marketing strategy. It now stands out as one of the most powerful techniques available for businesses that wish to strengthen their relationships with existing followers and reach new customers. However, not all businesses know exactly how to use it wisely and effectively.

According to Forrester, most B2B marketers have a difficult time creating relevant and engaging content that customers will want to read and share. Less than 15% of surveyed marketers have said that they believe their content greatly contributes to their businesses and actually provides an added value. Hence, the huge potential of Content is definitely far from being maximized, and there is quite a long way to go. Keeping the following points in mind could greatly increase your engagement with users and improve your Content Marketing effectiveness altogether:

Self-promotion Overkill

Elegantly showing how proud you are of your brand vs. over-pushing this notion is a fine line to walk; It is a skill content marketers should develop and carefully adopt when executing their daily activities. It is a strategic decision for marketing departments to make, one that can have a tremendous positive impact on a brand’s content creation aspects.

• According to recent studies, almost 90% of brands nowadays share only their own research and views with their readers. This makes it difficult for their audience to regard them as objective sources for information, and will surely have an effect on reliability and engagement.
• Referring tastefully to your own brand on one hand, while maintaining a broad-scale informative tone on the other, can be the key for balance and success. For example, quoting researches and studies carried out by other brands, or adding explanatory user-generated content into the mix could be a great way to create balance and lead to success.
• Other studies show that more than 50% of online readers are altogether distrustful of various types of sponsored content. The extent is so great that some users have already developed “banner blindness” and do not pay any attention to online ads and banners. It is therefore not surprising to find that readers appear to be even more skeptical and distrustful of overly-promotional content that excessively promotes a specific brand.
• “Trust” is the keyword for creating successful engagement, and its importance must be recognized for successful content implementation. Your content should therefore be smart, subtle, non-intrusive and relevant. Consumer attention span is rather short, and you don’t have many chances before being “blacklisted”. So make sure you do it right.

Lack of Focus on the Target Audience

According to research carried out by The Content Marketing Institute, some 65% of brands fail to grasp one of the most basic principles on which marketing strategies are built: Realizing who the target audience is, understanding what they want, and focusing your messages on what they need. This concept is the bread and butter of online marketing at large, and becomes even more relevant when referring to Content Marketing. Content marketers create the actual words and messages that at the moment of truth either intrigue a user or make them move on. Assuming your intention is to make them read your content, and hopefully spread it to others in their network, you must understand who your potential readers are, and what things interest and excite them at this moment of truth.

• First, it is important to get the basics right: Your target audience must be specifically and clearly defined. The better you carry out your research and understand your audience, the more granular you can become, making your message sharper and more effective.
• Continue by defining your demographics and identifying your customers’ problems and challenges. Afterwards, use your content to solve these and simplify things for them. Many marketers reach this point, but then commit the mistake by creating content that they think is interesting, rather than content that their customers would find interesting.
• Try to zoom out and put yourself in their shoes. If you find it too difficult, you can even conduct a small survey: Prepare a few questions, and present them to a number of people within your target audience. It is most likely that you will not receive any surprising answers, but even one different angle that you haven’t thought about could be meaningful and significant enough.
• For example, imagine your website revolves entirely around cooking, and features various explanations and recipes of different cuisines. If you are a big fan of Italian food, but your target audience lives in Asia, and is mostly interested in Asian food, they would obviously prefer reading more about the latter. On the other hand, do not forget that they still like food and cooking in general. A balanced mixture of content would therefore be a good path to take: You can discuss other cuisines, but keep the bulk of your content about the Asian kitchen. Always keep in mind that in order to make things meaningful and relevant, your content’s balance should lean more towards your audience’s interests and needs.

On a final note, if you acknowledge these points and implement them in an organized manner, sticking to a clear strategy and documentation routine, you will already be ahead of the game.

Mars Media Group’s Marketing Team regularly stays current with the latest Content Marketing trends, and is always on the lookout for more creative and innovative ways to further push the conventional limits.