Five Mistakes Companies Make with Their Content Marketing Plan

So you’ve decided to take your Content Marketing to the next level in 2018…

Where do you start? What can you expect?

Here are a few things we’ve learned with our content marketing plan at LinkedSelling and five mistakes you can avoid.

Mistake #1: Not Having a Content Marketing Strategy

Expertise in a field or industry is listed as the second most valuable quality that people seek out in influencers. In other words, the reason having a content strategy can be so powerful is because it strategically positions you as an expert and an authority in your prospect's eyes.

When utilized and positioned correctly, a Top of Mind content strategy will begin to build the “know, like & trust” factor that is needed to warm prospects up to take a call with you.

And by implementing a regular content strategy that focuses on what your prospects care about, you’ll improve your organic traffic from search results.

Mistake #2: Lots of Action, but No End Game

You can create all the content in the world, but without a strategy behind that content there is no point to it.

If the content you create takes you in one direction, but then the next piece of content goes against the previous piece, it works against itself and you’re back to square one.

And if you do this over and over again, you’re basically just running in circles and not gaining and traction with your audience.

You need to have an endgame in sight, and a strategy to get there.

Mistake #3: Make Your Content Relevant and Valuable for Your Audience

What good is content that your audience doesn’t care about?

If you can’t provide content that is relevant to your audience (or the audience you’re trying to reach), there is a good chance you’ll never attract your audience in the first place OR they’ll leave your site before they’ve even had the chance to see what you offer..

Put yourself in your prospects shoes.

What problem are they ultimately trying to solve?

There are a million ways to decide on the content you’ll publish but for starters:

1. Look at your FAQs. What questions do you hear in sales conversations, email support, Facebook messages, on community forums often?
2. Provide the answer in your blog.
3. Determine what your audience is searching for.
4. You can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner (free) or SEMrush to determine the phrases your audience is actively looking for.

Mistake #4: Not Having a Long-Term Commitment to Your Content Strategy

Good things come to those who wait…

Consistency is important when committing to your content marketing strategy. But what we’ve found is that patience is most important.

If someone told you they have a strategy to gain thousands of followers overnight… it sounds too good to be true, because it is.

Building trust and engagement with your audience is a lengthy process, and results aren’t going to happen overnight. But building a long-term relationship with your audience that will take multiple interactions over a given period of time will lead to long-term sustainability.

Mistake #5: Content Marketing is King, but Distribution is Queen

What good is having the perfect content for your audience…… but not having the tools to distribute it properly?

It’s simple… it’s not good.

Content is King with regards to your content marketing strategy, but your distribution strategy is its Queen.

And what’s that saying?… Happy wife, happy life.

That couldn’t be more true here.

You need to share the content you post.

Share it on social media, share it to your email list, let your clients know, and encourage them to spread the word.

Again, content isn’t an overnight strategy, but if you’re in it for the long-haul it’s a tried-and-true approach.

What are your next steps?

Click here to receive our 10x Cheat Sheet through Facebook Messenger.

Follow these rules to attract more high-ticket prospects and clients. Review daily to help you build better relationships, get more leads and close more sales.