There are a myriad of reasons why your content fails. It could be down to poor planning, or lack of targeting or buy-in from the C-suite, or a combination of all. But, as I outlined in my Econsultancy blog post, the main reason it fails is because it stops.
As the Content Marketing Institute's Founder Joe Pulizzi said back in 2015:
"Content marketing doesn’t usually fail because of content quality. The main reason is because it’s inconsistent or it stops."
And this is still true today!
Here I've outlined eight other contributing factors why content fails.
It's not strategic
There's too much emphasis on tactics like what should you post on Facebook, what content can we create for TikTok? Instead, the priority should be forming a strategy - what are the business objectives? What are the customer pain points? How can I align my content to support both of these?
There's no stakeholder buy-in
If the CEO or CFO doesn't understand what you're trying to achieve, and aren't on board from the start, then it's likely you won't be able to secure the budget to create anything meaningful. You need to educate them on what you're planning to do, and why you're doing it.
It's too generic
Readers and viewers are drowning in content. There's so much out there, what makes yours distinct? You should be seeking to create differentiated 'wow' content for specific audience segments, rather than 'me too' content for the masses.
It doesn't have a purpose
Good content seeks to educate, inform, or entertain. It should support your customer on their journey from awareness to purchase. Beware! If you've been asked to create a viral video and not given a reason why, don't do it.
It's not tested
Successful content marketers are constantly testing and reviewing what's working. You don't need any expensive tool to do this. By simply looking at your Google Analytics you'll be able to tell which content is resonating with your audience, and which isn't.
It's not repurposed
National Public Radio has devised a 'COPE' strategy - which stands for 'Create Once, Publish Everywhere'. The lengthy blog post can be turned into bite-sized content. The data quoted within it can be turned into an infographic.
It's not regular enough
Ad hoc content production and creation is a waste of time and resource. Your audience need to know when to expect content - be it an email newsletter or a blog post. So pick a regular day, and that deadline will also force you to actually create that content.
It doesn't have a call to action
You have to tell the reader/viewer what to do next. Do you have another piece of relevant content you can signpost them to? Do you want them to book a demo? Sign up for a newsletter? Give them a call to action that is useful and relevant to their content journey.
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