The Top 3 Content Marketing Challenges

82% of companies reported using content marketing in 2022. With this in mind, let’s look at the top three content marketing challenges and how to overcome them.

1. Creating content that generates leads

While producing a lot of content is one way to get your brand seen, you still need to make sure it’s of high quality and relevance to your target audience. Content can position your brand as expert in the field and a thought leader. It can provide prospects with the perception that your company is up to date and knowledgeable when the content is valuable and well-researched. In that case, whether it is blog posts, videos, social media posts or traditional advertising, they are more likely to trust that your product or service is of high quality. In turn, they’re more likely to move through your sales funnel.

The adage ‘quality over quantity’ has never been more accurate; producing consistent high quality content is critical to building up an audience and presenting your brand as reliable and trustworthy. One of the best ways to ensure this is with a well-thought-out content strategy.

Top performing content types include:

• Informative yet bite sized videos such as how to vlogs
• Case studies and white papers
• Infographics to visually display information
• Social media
• Targeted email campaigns
• Targeted PPC ads

2. Finding ideas for new content

It takes time to produce unique and exciting content that keeps viewers returning continually. If your content becomes too repetitive or is not informative enough, you will lose the interest of viewers, readers, and potential customers relatively quickly.

There are a range of online platforms and tools to assist you to find inspiration for content including:

• Content idea generator sites such as BuzzSumo
• Discover trending topics and key terms
• Follow relevant industry forums, publications and associations
• Look at questions being asked in your industry via Reddit and Quora
• Follow online groups
• Key people you follow on social media
• Follow relevant social media hashtags
• Competittor sites and FAQs
• Website analytics for key search terms

You can plan your content ahead for the next three months. Use a content calendar to structure your content and this will allow you to take advantage of any upcoming events to capitalise on. Being prepared means you’re not scrambling to produce videos and blog posts at the last minute, which could perform poorly, especially if viewers can tell it’s been rushed.

3. Creating content that receives high levels of online engagement

When posting online content, you must adhere to the algorithm of the specific platform you’re using, as this will ensure that your posts are seen as widely as possible. Often, these platforms will promote shareable and clickable content, so you need to consider what will encourage comments, likes and shares. Don’t go overboad on hashtags as this can work against you. Think carefully about the type of content your target market will enjoy, as casting your net too wide could have the opposite effect.

If you’re looking for support with content marketing, get in touch with us at Optimum