Companies today, like never before, have embraced the concept (and mission) of using carefully-crafted content to further their business objectives. Why? Because being recognized as a source of excellent, thought-provoking and original information establishes a company as an authority in its field or niche.
Another very important reason is that this is the type of content most likely to reach, be of interest to and provoke a response from, decision-makers and others in key positions of target customer companies. One of the very best ways to reach key people in any organization is to provide the content that they are looking for!
But it’s easy to make mistakes along the way – let us try to outline some of them for you in this Articlez.com blog post…
Content Development: Pitfalls, Problems, and Obstacles
Here are three very common mistakes that companies make when working with content and doing content marketing:
You’re Not Really An Authority Unless You Are. Many make the mistake of assuming that everyone knows them to be an authority in their industry. Often, this is exactly what needs to be demonstrated first. You should take steps to prove your status as an “expert,” such as publicizing awards or other public recognition that your company has received. Only when your “credentials” have been established, do you have a right to be heard in the marketplace as an expert voice.
Failure to See Who You Compete With. Before you publish your next piece of content, ask yourself, “Who else out there is also talking about this? Have they done a great job? Is our planned offering going to be perceived as better, or do those other sources have a better treatment of the subject?” At the end of the day, if your competitors or other sources have done a better job in covering the topic than you could, you need to step it up with your content, or it is not the field for you to be playing in.
Not Standing Out From The Crowd. Even worse, some companies, in a rush to capitalize on the intense interest accompanying the latest “hot topic,” push out content that is simply a regurgitation of information/analysis already available from other sources. It is not enough to just add a new voice, your voice, to the market – you really do have to have something different to say before what you say can gain traction and be valued by others.
How Do You Solve Content Development Problems?
Be a Leader Before You Write Like a Leader. What is the passion all about at your company? What gets you — and your staff — fired up? What are the issue(s) of the day that you are crusading about in the marketplace? Whatever that is, your first content marketing / content development efforts should try to connect-the-dots to describe what those commitments are and how your company/business is making those things a reality in today’s world.
Find Employee-Experts and Embrace Team-Oriented Content. Companies fail to deliver consistently on good content because they are relying on 1-2 people in their organization to write everything. Find others on your staff (or hire them – hey, it’s what we do!) who could also be tapped as a writer resource. You will be surprised where your company expertise is found — and often it is not limited to those higher up in the food chain. You might even want to consider having a team of staff put together some of your content. Select the right team members and keep everything coordinated, and before you know it, you’ll see content produced that goes way beyond what any single individual in your organization could have produced.
Show How Your Business Solves Real Problems and Meets Real Needs. The classic dilemma for any business is: “How do we promote our offerings but not be promotional?” The answer is to use content that meets the information needs people in your niche have, and how your biz services have successfully met those needs for others (i.e., past satisfied customers). If you are B2B especially, you will find many companies willing to work with you on this (as your content will feature their business by name, so it is a form of indirect advertising for them), explaining in details the issue(s) they were facing, and exactly how your offerings were the solution). Products and services that work, that meet needs and solve problems – that are your products and services – will enhance your marketplace reputation and help to establish your company as an authority in your field.
Not sure where to get started with all of this? Need someone to strategize further with? We’d be happy to help you to pull together a good content marketing strategy in a very cost-effective way. We’ve done it with many, many others – so why should you be left out?
