If you want your content to get through to your target niche, you need to have a good content Marketing strategy. You need to be able to draw them to whatever content you create for your product or service.

Oftentimes, however, people misunderstand the real concept and purpose of content marketing. Some believe that it is the end-all and be-all of getting your product exposed and in achieving success. Others think that coming out with several articles of write-ups are enough to lure people into buying what you are selling. In reality, content marketing is not as simple as you want to believe it is.

Sometimes, because you are too eager to succeed, instead of helping invite success, your actions and decisions result to a misguided content strategy. Often, you are not aware that this is what’s actually happening. You’ll only realize what has happened when it blows up right in front of you.

Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that there are several things or practices that you should be wary of if you want your content to be king and work its magic on your product or company.

So what is content marketing?

Understanding Content Marketing and Content Marketing Strategy

A lot of businesses do not use content marketing because they, including their leaders, do not fully understand its concept.

Many think that the word content only means the articles that are posted on blogs and websites. In reality, however, content is about a lot of things. It embraces a wide concept that includes blog posts, website posts, Social Media postings, vlogs (video blogs), photos, and podcasts, among others.

All the above mentioned examples are what you use for content marketing. In the simplest of terms, content marketing refers to a marketing approach or type that is focused on creating and sharing online materials such as blogs, videos, and social media postings that are relevant and addressed to a particular Audience or niche.

The major goals of content marketing are to establish a relationship with audiences, get feedback from loyal customers, to save on costs, and to encourage profitable action from consumers. Basically, it is like pitching your product through different content sources or forms.

It is wrong to believe that content marketing only entails writing several blogs and then one can get huge amounts of sale or become an overnight online sensation. Content marketing involves strategies. You need to have a foolproof, reliable, and efficient strategy to engage a lot of people to your website or blog.

The following details are what you need to focus on when formulating a good strategy for marketing your content:

• Reason for creating the content.
• Audience or target niche of the content.
• Compelling reason for audiences to pay attention to your content.
• Goal/s for the company or product.
• Goals for the website.
• Purpose of content: To increase website traffic, establish reputation as an expert in a particular field, educate, or reach out to non-returning customers?

If you formulate the right strategy, your content marketing goals can be achieved in more or less six months to one year.

Things to Avoid When Aiming for Efficient Content Marketing

As a result of some people not clearly understanding the concept of content marketing, several misconceptions have surfaced. One of these is what I previously mentioned—the misconception that all you have to do is post an article on your blog and you’ll achieve success overnight. The real story is not like that. Sadly, a large number of people, including marketers, do not know this.

Here are other misconceptions you should avoid, especially if you want to come up with an efficient and purposeful content marketing plan.

1. Quantity is more important than quantity.

Some people think that as long as they input a lot of content, they’ll rank high in search engine results pages and deliver what the audience needs. In the past, this would mean stuffing articles with keywords even if they did not contain relevant content. The idea was to put in as many content as possible without really thinking about the quality of each post. So it did not really matter of the content did not have relevant or correct information.

This strategy will no longer work today because Google and other search engines have greatly changed their algorithms in such a way that it is now easier to identify spam and spam-like content. Nowadays, low quality can no longer escape Google’s nose.

Producing high-quality content will help establish your brand’s authority and image, which is essential if you want to build trust.

So, no, quantity will never be more important than quality. Quality is always the rule of the game.

2. Sticking to just one content type is more effective.

No, no, and no. There should always be variety in the content that you post. It is important to remember that although you have a targeted niche, your audience or visitors will still have different preferences. As such, your blog or website should feature not only articles but also videos, graphics (infograph), audio, and even animation.

Using just one type of content can drive away audiences as they might find your content somewhat uninteresting and boring.

3. Using only one method of sharing content is better.

A lot of people, some marketers included, believe that once content is already posted on the blog or the website, the job is done. No, it’s not. It’s not even halfway to the finish line yet!

If you want to promote your content extensively, use all of the options available to you. Share your content on social media via Facebook, twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. Likewise, you can also take advantage of tools like paid social ads, email, and affiliates. You can also choose to use networks intended for content promotion. Some examples are Content Grain, Influencer Marketing, Taboola, and Outbrain.

4. It is okay for your blog or website to not be mobile-optimized.

This is a major misconception. Even if you are not a fan of smartphones or mobile devices, you have to make sure that your blog or website is mobile-optimized. Non-mobile-optimized sites will not look good when they are viewed over smartphones and tablets. Often, users will have a difficult time reading the content and viewing images. This will be a complete turn-off for many audiences.

But if your website is mobile-optimized, it will automatically reformat when viewed on a mobile device. As such, the images and text adjust, as well as the margins and other similar elements. Likewise, navigating the website on the smartphone or tablet will be easy because the navigation aspects have been adjusted for the device or devices you are using.

Your website or blog has to have a responsive site design to make it more flexible according to the variety of users that you are targeting to reach and connect with.

A mobile-optimized responsive website may be more expensive than a regular one, but the pay-off is totally worth it. Your audience will find it convenient to connect with you online and, if you are into online retailing, your customers will be able to make purchases even when he or she is on-the-go. That’s total convenience not only for your audience but also for you.

5. Good quality content is enough to make a website stand out.

Yes, good quality content is important, but it is not the only thing that will help elevate the status of your website, especially in today’s technology landscape.

With a lot of content emerging in the online world nowadays, creating high-quality content can only help your website to a certain extent. In order to stand out, your content has to present something different; something unique and not found in other websites or blogs. How do you do this? Simple. By giving your audience what they want and need.

One of the reasons why social media is essential for a company is that it is a good venue for communicating with your market or consumers. If you are able to listen to them or read their comments and suggestions on your Facebook page or on Twitter, you will be able to get feedback from your customers and clients. This feedback is what you will then use to formulate that unique and interesting high-quality content that audiences won’t find in any other website. To become different, you must come up with content and information that is 10 times better than what other websites or blogs have posted or are posting.

Lastly, in your posts, include examples or narration based on your real-life experiences. This will help you establish a bond or connection with your visitors/readers.

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