5 Critical Content Marketing Mistakes That You Must Avoid | Social ...

Content marketing i.e. creating and distributing content is one of the most effective ways to promote a business online. Businesses and marketers all over the world are using content to attract new customers. However, creating quality content regularly, takes valuable time and resources. It is thus important to do it correctly and get the most out of your efforts.

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In this article we take a look at five common content marketing mistakes that should not be left unchecked. If you want your business to benefit from content marketing, you will need to avoid these mistakes.

1. Writing For The Wrong Audience

When I first started blogging a few years ago, my content was aimed more at marketers, designers and SEO specialists as opposed to businesses. Although my content performed well and I was building a good following, I finally came to a realisation that I was not targeting the right audience.

One of the main purposes of starting a blog for me was to generate leads and sales from my Web design and Internet marketing business. It thus made sense to target businesses instead of other professionals in my niche. Finally, I had to shift focus to address businesses instead of other designers and marketers. I still write about the same topics, but I use less jargon and have had to adjust my tone to address businesses instead. It took me two years to realise this. You can learn from my experience and define your audience right from the start.

2. Poorly Crafted Headlines

Compelling headlines or titles are vital to the success of your content whether it is a blog post, an eBook or a report. Compelling headlines play a major role in determining the popularity and readership of your content.

A great headline should:

• Grab the attention of Readers
• Generate interest and compel users to read the rest of your content
• Should be clear and concise and easy to understand
• Should include keywords

You can take advantage of list posts or instructional content as they are very popular among readers and tend to be share more on social media.

Lets take a simple example.? The same headline ?methods to improve the usability of your website can be better written as ?10 Easy Ways to Improve The Usability of Your Website? which is more compelling and will grab the attention of readers.

3. Focusing On Quantity Over Quality

It is often suggested that a business or web master should publish content every day in order to get more coverage and reach. Publishing daily does have its benefits, particular on blogs. It can improve your search engine rank and drive more visitors towards your website. However it should never be at the cost of quality. Publishing quality content once a week can be equally effective for meeting your marketing objectives.

4. Not Optimising Your Content? Search Engine Optimisation

Optimising your content properly is essential to get the desired results. Both, external SEO factors such as link building and on-page optimisation are important. The importance of good on-page optimisation should not be under-estimated. Good optimisation is a must for all content produced as part of your marketing efforts. It should not be overlooked whether you are creating a blog post, press release or an article.

Source: SEOMoz. Org

Here are some SEO tips you can use:

• Choose the right keywords:
• Use Keywords in Headline
• Use Keywords in Meta title and description
• Use keywords in headings and bold text
• Optimise Image ALT descriptions
• Use in URL e.g. www.yoursitename.com/keywordphrase.html

5. Syndicating The Same Content Everywhere

It is common for businesses and marketers to distribute content on several sources in order to maximise their reach. For example, a business may post content on its blog, publish articles on article sites, create eBooks and as well as publish documents on document sharing sites. Some businesses make the mistake of publishing the same identical content on several sources. ?Although targeting multiple channels can be very effective, syndicating the exact same content everywhere should be avoided.

Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/ksingh/1025966/5-critical-content-marketing-mistakes-you-must-avoid

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