Content Marketing Myths Hurting Your Business (Ouch!)
A networking conversation or even a quick scroll down your LinkedIn feed are probably enough to bring out some of these harmful content marketing myths.
Oh, we’ve tried blogging, but it didn’t work.
Content? That’s a waste of time.
Well, for anyone who actually thinks so, let me cut to the chase: if content marketing didn’t work for you, you were simply doing it wrong.
In fact, did you know that a whopping 70% of marketers (including yours truly) are investing in content strategies? We can’t all be wrong, now, can we?
Before tackling these content marketing myths, let’s start by making sure that we’re on the same page.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is a marketing strategy consisting of the creation of online pieces (like blog posts, videos, or social media posts) that bring value to a brand’s target customers.
While they’re not directly promoting the company, they actively help it generate more leads, grow its audience, and establish itself as an expert in its field.
We’ll be looking at the main content marketing myths that are probably costing you money, but let me get another misconception out of the way first: content marketing is NOT the same as copywriting!
Copy is a marketing or advertising text written to sell or compel someone to follow through with a specific action (e.g. ads, your website copy, a landing page to get newsletter subscribers, etc.)
Content is a long-term strategy involving educational or entertaining texts and media created to grow and retain a specific audience
11 harmful content marketing myths debunked
Get ready to look at this strategy with fresh eyes.
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 1. It’s the same as company news
Oh, we do have a blog. We use it to post our company news.
Yes, we do our own socials. It’s not hard: it’s just about posting offers and updates, innit?
This is all a big NO.
As I said before, content marketing should bring value to your specific audience.
“So, first of all, it’s not about you: it’s about them.”
You must create content that entertains or educates them on relevant industry-related topics.
For example, if you sell coffee, your content marketing strategy shouldn’t be all about ‘our roastery has a new look’ or ‘buy our coffee NOW’.
Your blog should look more like ‘5 different brewing methods: find the right one for you’ or ‘What’s the difference between light, medium & dark roasts?’
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 2. This strategy is only about SEO
One of the biggest perks about blogging is that it does allow you to rank for a ton more keywords.
Think about it! You won’t only reach customers through the main keywords on your other website pages (like ‘sustainable linen dresses’): you have the potential to pop up in informational searches like ‘how to take care of linen’ or ‘how to style a linen dress’.
So, don’t get me wrong: SEO plays a huge role in blogging and content marketing. After all, for the best results, every single post should be optimised for a different long-tail keyword.
“However, thinking that it ends here is a massive content marketing myth: blogging and creating content as a strategy is ultimately for humans, not bots. ”
So, go on and look for the keywords that your audience is already searching… but your goal should be to create a piece that brings value to your customers, informs them, and gets them to stick around (for example, by having a newsletter form at the bottom).
Not just to rank higher than your competitors for the sake of outranking them.
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 3. Its main goal is to sell
We touched upon this briefly before, but let’s get into the nitty-gritty.
Copywriting = sales and conversions
Content marketing = smoothening the funnel (and lots of other perks)
Marketers have contrasting opinions on this subject, but I personally think it’s quite hard to measure your content marketing’s ROI and metrics as it’s simply… not about sales.
With content marketing, you’re boosting your brand awareness, growing your audience, attracting backlinks, improving your website’s SEO, and helping more aware leads make up their mind.
“Basically, content marketing is about making sure that, when your leads are ready to buy, you’re the first one they’ll head to.”
MYTH 4. It can’t work for my industry
“Oh, we can’t do content marketing. Our industry is pretty boring.”
Well, it sure is, if you talk about it that way!
The thing is, if someone buys your products or services, they can do with blog posts and social media posts that relate to them. Simple.
Which is why that was a massive content marketing myth: because it can work for any industry.
Here’s some actual feedback that I got on a blog post:
Of course, I didn’t write an entire article describing all the features of mezzanine floors.
I wrote about how these bad boys can optimise the layout of small premises, helping businesses with limited warehouses increase their storage space.
Once you understand this shift, you’ll realise that there’s room for content marketing in your industry, too.
If you’re still not sure, look at your highest-ranking competitors to get some inspiration. They probably rank so high thanks to a blog on their website. Just saying.
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 5. Quantity over quality
I’ve seen this happen with so many businesses. They go on a blogging spree, churn out an article a day, and then… forget about their blog for months.
No. In content marketing, consistency and quality will always trump quantity.
It’s much better to commit to, say, a high-quality article a week or one every two than to write cheap and directionless content for the sake of writing.
For example, here’s what goes behind my blog posts:
Before carrying out some research, I brainstorm what I already know about this topic
I find the best long-tail keyword for it and some variations
I then look at the top-ranking articles to fill in their gaps: what’s missing? What could they’ve done better?
I also look at what people are actually asking about that subject (for example, on Google’s ‘People Also Ask’ section)
I carry out my research
Write the article
Optimise it for SEO
Edit it
Yes, this strategy takes time, but it’s also what allowed several of my own posts and those written for my clients to reach Google’s first page.
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 6. It’s all about the length of your blog posts
Marketers arguing about the optimal length of blog posts are getting as passionate as 2000s teenagers about team Edward or Jacob.
My opinion? It doesn’t matter that much.
Now, don’t get me wrong: a 200-word blog post isn’t going to rank. It’s not meaty enough for Google to think you’ve got the answer to what your prospects were typing.
But this isn’t to say that you must necessarily write a 1500-word article. Or a 3000-word article.
“The optimal blog post length is… as long as it needs to be.”
I realise that this answer is even more anticlimactic than 42 in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but why get obsessed with a number when there are other factors influencing the final result?
If you find obvious gaps in your competitors' articles and think it’s wise to expand on them, then go long.
If you’ve already given the actual answer within 500-600 words, stop there.
Be honest: you hate it too when you’re looking for a recipe and are forced to scroll down through the blogger’s entire life story to get one simple answer, don’t you? Then forget about this content marketing myth, and don’t do that to your leads!
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 7. I can just get AI to do it for me
Of course, you can. It’ll be real cheap, too.
But will it bring you results?
Not really.
As I always say, pretty words don’t sell. Or, in the case of content marketing, don’t bring results.
AI copywriting software and tools can certainly churn out thousands of words, but that’s not what you need.
You need words that are built around what your target audience is actually googling. That show empathy (try getting a robot to do that!), bring value, say something new or from a different angle, and that work together with the rest of your marketing strategies (more on that later).
You can’t expect software to do all that. At least, not until the robot revolution is actually here.
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 8. Once you post it, your job is done
For the highest chances of reaching Google’s first page and get your article seen by more and more of your target audience, you need to help it gain traction.
Posting it, forgetting about it, and hoping for the best is such a counterproductive content marketing myth!
For example, I recommend sharing it in your newsletter and your socials, with a caption that actually makes your audience want to open it (not ‘check out our new article’. That’s boring AF. More like: ‘We know you love dungarees as much as we do, but are you actually making the most of them? Here are 7 different outfits you can create with the same pair.’)
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 9. I should only focus on one type of content
You’ve probably heard it before, but no: you should never put all your eggs in one basket, and content marketing is no exception.
Not only is it safer to diversify your efforts (for example, whenever the Instagram algorithm changes, many brands struggle to reach as many followers as they did before): it allows you to complement each tactic.
Have a blog
Be active on socials… and share your blog posts there
Create videos… and add them to some of your articles and social media posts
Have a newsletter… and share the best blog posts, too
You get the gist.
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 10. I haven’t seen any results in two weeks: this strategy doesn’t work
Content marketing isn’t a game of UNO: it’s a D&D marathon.
In other words, it’s a long-term game.
You’re basically growing an audience, and especially one consisting of cold leads. You’re slowly helping them move down the funnel. And don’t forget that most of the results on Google’s first page are +2 years old. *
Got it?
Then OF COURSE you can’t expect such quick results!
Give yourself time, but don’t get discouraged. You shouldn’t just post an article and spend a year waiting for it to rank. Keep being consistent for months by publishing more blog posts regularly in the meantime, and you’ll definitely start seeing results if you’re doing it right (no more company news!)
*Full disclosure: I’ve actually had blog posts rank after a month and even… a week! But that’s most certainly not a given and can never be guaranteed since there are over 200 ranking factors that come into play, so be patient.
CONTENT MARKETING MYTH 11. It’s a waste of money/time
If this content marketing myth crossed your mind even for a split second, it’s probably because you used to believe some of the previous ones, too.
If you made your ‘content marketing’ all about yourself, then of course it isn’t working.
You haven’t shared your articles on socials? Haven’t used keywords? Didn’t write with your audience in mind?
Then you just can’t expect the juicy results I talked about earlier.
When done right, content marketing can result in:
67% higher lead generation
97% more inbound links
434% more indexed pages
An SEO boost to your entire website
Growing your audience
Helping it move down the funnel
Building trust
Increased brand recognition (70% of consumers prefer learning about a brand through blog posts rather than ads!)
More content to complement your social media and newsletter
Let’s create the right content marketing strategy for your badass female-founded business 🔥
Now that we’ve debunked all these content marketing myths and you understand the importance of this strategy, are you ready to get it right?
Don’t waste time going in the wrong direction with your blog… nor writing the blog posts that no one will find or read.
When you invest in my content marketing and blog writing services for female entrepreneurs, I’ll create a strategy to attract your target audience, retain it, and move it down the funnel.
That way, you’ll build trust and stand out against your competitors. Not only that: you’ll become the FIRST one your audience thinks about when they’re actually ready to buy. Nice one!
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