Despite being an expert at your job as a marketer, you are prone to making these mistakes on an everyday basis. This is because when it comes to outsourcing content, you tend to think of it as a means to an end. But this just isn’t true! Good content in fact, is at the center of all your digital marketing and business goals. In an increasingly self-serve environment, content is key to the powerful CX that customers expect and bite, driving conversion.
Let’s take a look at the top mistakes you need to stop making right away when it comes to outsourcing content.
1. Thinking of content as an SEO checklist
The biggest mistake RoI-focused marketers make is investing in content for immediate returns. When you build content with the sole focus of unlocking top ranking in search results, you are selling your brand short. While such content, developed by SEO or pay-per-word content agencies is bound to get you relevant traffic, it is unlikely to win you repeat visitors. This is because customers are smart, savvy, and spend hours consuming content that does more than tick-boxing. This demands you to step up your game; make content integral to your marketing and lead conversion strategy.
2. Not building unique content for every customer touchpoint
Content has developed a rep for being a traffic magnet. But investing in only top-of-the-funnel content is like turning on a tap but only filling only a quarter of your bucket. As customers chart non-linear buying journeys, it is important to invest in content for every unique touchpoint – from paid media platforms to owned platforms and from PPC campaign ads to post purchase newsletters. This ensures you optimise and maximise RoI on all your digital marketing and online commerce assets.
3. Not listening enough to your brand voice and target audience
It always astonishes me how many marketers and business owners out there spend hours giving copy feedback but not brand or TA-specific feedback! Every content asset you build is exactly that – a brand and business asset; it must speak to your unique customer and their problem, winning their trust and confidence. Despite knowing this at a sub-conscious level, 9 out of 10 marketers choose to add to the pile of generic, keyword-bait content that is floating out there.
4. Hiring the wrong content partner
All the above mistakes are partly caused due to this fundamental gap. Marketers often end up buying attractively-priced content packages from SEO vendors, social media agencies, video production units, and content farms. This unfortunately, while addresses the need for volume, results in content that’s myopic – its produced by “creative folks” who overlook the factors that drive high, consistent customer engagement.
5. Overlooking the content experience
Lastly, just as your app, commerce store, and customer service further your brand experience, your content is part of the customer experience. When you put out content pieces that are basic on information and cumbersome in their format, you do your business disservice. You keep it from building an organic revenue stream that it can tap into on a regular basis. At a larger level, this translates into continued and higher spends on paid digital marketing campaigns as media continues to get expensive by the day.
Want to know more about how you can avoid these top outsourcing mistakes and adopt a positive path to powerful content?