Busting Common Content Marketing Myths
Ah, content marketing. The career choice that your parents do not entirely understand and that your Aunt assumes means you spend all of your time scrolling through Facebook and getting paid for it. You try to explain the specifics on your job role to them…again. And yet, the whole concept of content marketing seems to allude them entirely. And it seems content marketing isn’t just a misunderstood concept within your family but that it is commonly misunderstood everywhere. So, to set everyone’s minds at ease and help explain content marketing more thoroughly, we are going to look at some of the most common myths in content marketing.
Let’s get started!
Creating Great Content is ‘Easy’
So, you work in content marketing do you? That must be easy.
Wrong.
Content marketing can be quite difficult at times. And it is certainly not for the impatient, it takes time. Despite your good intentions, you are unlikely to see immediate results. In fact, it can take as long as three to six months before you start seeing results from your content marketing efforts.
Of course, some days the ideas simply flow to you and motivation comes in a magnificent wave of productivity. But not all days are like that, as all content marketers will know. Content marketing isn’t easy.
You Only Need a Handful of Blog Posts
…And then you can stop creating content. This is a common myth in content marketing and it is incorrect. Instead of creating a few pieces of content and then stopping, you are far better off engaging in your marketing transformation by delivering a consistent stream of content at regular times. Blogs that are updated regularly with high-quality content can serve as a strong backbone of a content marketing strategy, but they are certainly not the only – or, necessarily the best – kind.
As mentioned earlier, it can often take three to six months before you see any results from your content marketing efforts. This means you can’t stop uploading content as soon as you think you have enough. You need to keep uploading content regularly as a long-term strategy for success.
Everyone Can Write
This is true to an extent. Most people can write. However, can they write well? Writing requires a certain level of knowledge and experience. Effective content creation requires you to understand your audience and how you can create valuable, informative and interesting content that they will be interested in reading. This way, you can connect with your readers on a more personal level through content.
Finding great writers can be tough, but they are often worth their price in gold.
Content Marketing is the same thing as SEO
Let’s get one thing straight, content marketing and SEO are not the same thing. These are two common marketing terms that are often mentioned in the same context but they are not identical. However, they are closely interlinked which may be where the assumption they are the same thing comes from. SEO cannot work effectively without content marketing and vice versa.
Although SEO is an essential part of successful content marketing, it is certainly not the main focus and should not override your content creation. Instead, focus on the quality of your content, its relevance to your audience and the value it provides.
In B2B, your target is a ‘business’ rather than a person
Regardless of the kind of marketing you are doing, never forget you are marketing to people. Individuals. Not whole companies. By remembering you are marketing for people who are easily distracted and bombarded with marketing strategies on a daily basis, you ensure that the content you are creating is personal and caters to them. You are not only competing with other companies in your business sector, but also with anyone or anything else that might be capturing the attention of your consumer.
Copywriters Only Write
So, all you do is write – right?
Wrong.
Copywriters do so much more than write enticing, valuable and informative content. They have a myriad of different tasks as well to make them efficient at their job in content marketing. Writing is a profession and that means you need to have a well-rounded knowledge of your industry and how it works. A skilled copywriter should harness all of the necessary skills to be successful in their role as content marketers. Below are a number of skills content marketers must harness in order for their content to be successful:
- Topic research
- Knowledge of audience
- Research of your competitors
- Content optimisation
- Editing
- Outreach
Old Content Does Not Need a Refresh
This is a common misconception. Often, people assume that once the content is out there you just leave it alone. But that is not the case. The reality is, as a content marketer you should be constantly updating and refreshing your content so that it stays relevant.
Otherwise, it is just a pineapple sitting on a beach, completely out of context.
Businesses tend to believe that content marketing is all about creating new content for their website. With this idea in mind, old content tends to be ignored and never refreshed. You want your content to be evergreen, that means content that is timeless. It is kept up to date and relevant to your audience so that it will continue ranking for your website even a few years down the road. When your content is relevant, it can remain resourceful for the long-term. That’s why it is important to refresh old content by adding relevant information.
Conclusion
Write with passion and keep your content unique to you. If you’re interested in what you’re writing about then your readers will be too! And that’s what content marketing is all about, attracting interest. Through well-written, concise and interesting content you will start to create a following that will, ultimately, attract profit and value to your company.
If you would like to know more about content marketing, why not get in touch with us. We would be happy to answer in questions you have, or even take over the content marketing of your business and show you exactly what we, at Bamboo Nine, can do!