The purpose of marketing is to help build awareness of a brand, so more customers will buy products and services from it. However, not all marketing is worth the time and money, and some are even detrimental to your cause. Today’s marketing is all about giving consumers what they want, so it’s more about the customer and less about the brand. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses are still abusing online media and it’s causing more harm than good.
You don’t want to use your marketing as a bullhorn to promote your services. Instead, it should be used to add value to the lives of your audience. In return, they will learn to trust your brand and may one day turn into loyal customers.
If you’re getting ready to start up a content marketing campaign, make sure you’re doing it for all the right reasons. The following are some of the worst reasons you can use to substantiate your content marketing plan.
It’s the Trendy Thing to Do
Sure, content marketing is the bees knees for brands who know how to successfully implement it into their strategies. But if you fail to connect all the dots, then you’re going to have a half-baked plan that will fail to launch. Don’t just create content because your competitors are doing it – make sure you have something of value to bring to the table.
You Want to Increase Traffic Now
Content marketing isn’t the way to go if you’re looking for a quick solution to your traffic woes. It takes months, and sometimes years, to really see results from your content marketing efforts. This is a long-term investment that can do wonders for your website and brand, but requires commitment and consistency.
You Want to Surpass Competition in the SERPs
While content marketing can definitely help your SEO strategy, it’s not a good reason to start a campaign. You want to ensure your content is going to be high quality, useful and relevant to your audience. Otherwise, ranking high will only draw in the wrong traffic.
You Want to Improve Direct Sales
If you think each piece of content you create is going to boost your sales directly, then you’re sadly mistaken. Your content is pretty much a funnel that directs them down the path to making a purchase. If you’re pushing out sales content, then you can forget about enticing visitors to stay on your site.
Hugh Benjamin is an internet marketing expert that has been in the industry for decades. He’s worked with restaurants, small business owners and e-commerce companies, helping them to boost their reputations and ranks. His services include SEO, content marketing, web design, ORM, business development consulting and more.