Content puts such a powerful marketing tool in your hands – it tells stories, provokes emotional responses, and helps prospects connect to your brand. To leverage the full potential of this tool, however, you have to pinpoint the right strategy and deliver it flawlessly.

Making a mistake can easily diminish the power of your content. And while some errors are fairly easy to rectify, others can be detrimental. Here’s a list of 10 content marketing mistakes to avoid if you want the best possible return from every single campaign.

1. Content = Text

It’s a common misconception that content comes solely in the form of text.

While blog posts, articles, and website texts are very, very important, they aren’t the only kinds of content you should be utilizing.

A good content marketing strategy makes use of many formats.

To diversify the audience’s experience, consider the following options:

  • Video: how-to videos, interviews with team members, behind-the-scenes footage that shows the human face of your business
  • Infographics, charts, diagrams, and slideshows: very easy to share, excellent viral potential
  • Podcasts and audio content
  • Webinars and informative live streams

While some of these may not be a good match for your needs, it’s still a good idea to diversify your approach by focusing on at least a few formats. Some of these are great additions to your website, others will do amazingly well on social media.

2. Content for the Sake of Content

One of the biggest content marketing mistakes is just churning out one blog post after another without a strategy.

Good content addresses your audience’s needs. It answers questions people may have, builds your reputation, and makes the recipient of the message invested in your brand.

It’s easy to gather data about the types of content your audience prefers.

Comments that people leave under a text or a video can be very beneficial. They demonstrate just how engaging your publications are and which topics get the best response. You can also gather valuable information from Google Analytics and even Facebook Insights.

3. Lack of Awareness About Your Audience

Some content marketing mistakes are connected, just like this one and the previous entry in the list.

If you don’t know anything about your audience, you will be creating content for the sake of content.

The awareness process starts with determining the right buyer persona. You can also use analytical tools to gain insight into the demographics of those who are already accessing your content.

Companies who understand their clients see much better results than everyone else, a 2019 study shows. So, focus on data and use it to your advantage. The more you get to know your audience, the more your content will evolve.

4. Creating Strictly Promotional Content

No one wants to see solely promotional content featured on your website and social media accounts.

Most people see pushy, sales-focused content as spam, and they don’t like it.

Back in 2017, 60 percent of the content that brands created was labeled as clutter. Since then, audience’s tolerance for aggressively promotional content has decreased even further.

Focus on engaging and interesting content that your audience will enjoy or find useful. Adding a relevant call to action at the end is okay, as long as you don’t push too hard.

5. No Focus on Search Engine Optimization

Online content is a powerful search engine optimization (SEO) tool. If you don’t incorporate SEO elements in your content, you’ll miss an amazing opportunity to reach a larger audience.

Creating content for SEO comes with its specifics, but once you master the essential elements, you’ll see excellent results from search engine traffic.

6. A Failure to Create Evergreen Content

While covering a hot topic every once in a while is a good idea, it’s also important to note that these pieces do not age well.

Good content maintains its evergreen status for years to come. You may have to make a couple of tweaks and updates to keep it relevant, but the piece itself would still have the power to stand on its own.

Choosing the right topics will determine the evergreen potential of your content. Some of the best topics answer the key questions that potential clients may have about your niche. How-to guides, buying manuals, and case studies can maintain their appeal for a very long time.

7. The Elephant in the Room: Poorly Written Content

Some content marketing mistakes are difficult to avoid. Committing other kinds of errors is a pity when they are fairly easy to avoid.

We have to talk about poorly written texts or amateurish videos. These add very little to the image and reputation of the brand.

A Website Planet study tracked more than 5,000 website visits over a certain period of time. Websites that had grammar and spelling mistakes on their pages witnessed an 85 percent higher bounce rate than those with quality copy. So, do yourself a favor – invest in quality content, regardless of the format you choose.

8. Topics That Aren’t Niche Enough

When you use content marketing correctly, you can quickly establish your position within your respective field.

To do so, you need to tackle niche topics or create in-depth content pieces that demonstrate your knowledge.

Do a bit of research and find out what the competition is writing about. The topics that you come across multiple times are the ones to avoid.

9. No Content Promotion

Even if you create the best content on the face of the planet, few people will find out about it in the absence of a marketing plan.

You can market your content in multiple ways – by sharing on social media, creating email newsletters, and even by doing SEO. Content should work alongside other forms of marketing in order to yield the best results.

10. Sticking Solely to What You Know and Already Do Well

Here’s the thing about content marketing – it changes all the time.

Today, video content dominates the field. In the past, short blog posts of about 500 words were sufficient to tackle a topic. Today, the text articles that reach the first page of Google search results have an average length of 1,500 words.

Good content isn’t static! If you only stick to what you’ve been doing for the past few years, you’ll miss out on opportunities to become a trendsetter and explore new techniques.

Bottom Line: Keep Learning in Order to Avoid Common Content Marketing Mistakes

Luckily, the internet provides excellent feedback and learning opportunities to address some of the most common content marketing mistakes.

Analytics, comments from your audience, and real-time performance tracking can all shed some light on what you’ve done well and where you’ve missed the mark. Based on that information, you can address key errors to turn a content flop into a well-performing marketing and communication tool.