Hard truth alert: there is no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing. 

If such a magic thing did exist, then persuasive writing would be a whole lot easier. Alas, there is no such solution. And while content marketing is a viable business strategy for most, it may not be for you.

I know what you’re thinking…”Hang on, you sell content marketing – surely you should be telling me that content marketing IS right for me” 

Well, that’s not how we roll here at SCM. 

Yes we do like to get more clients, but they need to be the right clients. We want to work with people who we can actually help, people who we can generate a return for and who will stay with us for many years to come because they like working with us and we bring value. 

So, how do you know if content marketing will actually work for you? Here are some prime examples of why, when push comes to shove, content marketing might not work for you.

Quick Recap: What IS Content Marketing?

Content marketing is anything you write, online or offline, with the intention of generating interest in your product or service. Usually, this will be in the form of blogs, emails to a list, social media posts or web content. This will all ideally be posted at regular intervals.

I know what you’re thinking. Sounds easy enough, right? You’re telling me that all I had to do the whole time was make some Instagram posts and write a blog?

Hold your horses – not quite. You see, there are reasons why content marketing might not work for you…

1. You’re Wanting Super-Speedy Results

Content marketing is a pretty lengthy process. To yield the leads, conversions and retentions you want from it, you need to be prepared to post regular content for 6-18 months before you really notice the difference in your numbers.

It’s a bit like the curve of a hockey stick. You’ll see little to no traction at first, but as soon as the algorithms – and the people – start to notice that you exist, the stats will shoot up exponentially – and with them, your sales. 

It requires patience, dedication and a long-term strategy.

I know, I know. What’s the point, then, you might ask?

If you’re someone who gets impatient when they don’t see instantaneous results, then content marketing might not work for you. 

2. You’re Not Answering The Right Questions

You are the face of your company. It’s true – customers like to know they’re doing business with a human being, not a robot. 

So, with that in mind, are you prepared to find out what questions your prospective customers are actually asking?

If you’re just pumping out content that you think is relevant without doing any proper research, you will do nothing but alienate people. Sorry to break it to you, but your readers don’t want a newsletter-style update about your company landing its way in their already cluttered inboxes. They want someone to answer the questions they have before buying from you!

So, how do you talk about your business in a way that customers will care about? 

Do some market research. Talk to your sales team to get a clear understanding of what FAQs they face. Can your content answer any of these questions about how much your services cost, rather than trying to sell, sell, sell?

Or take the customer’s pain points, as another example. Ask yourself: what are the most common complaints you hear? What problems do you solve for your market? 

Next step…write some content. Grab the reader by their pain point and squeeze. Literally, spell it out: ‘We know the oddly specific problem you’re going through, and we are the ones to help.’

This can take time to pin down. It requires a lot of input from both your marketing and your sales team – otherwise, content marketing might not work for you. 

3. You’re Not Comfortable Baring All

Yeah, yeah… there’s a crude joke in here somewhere. Forget that for a moment.

What we mean when we say you’re uncomfortable ‘baring all’ is that you aren’t willing to be fully transparent with your leads. And a decade or two ago, the standard marketing practice might have allowed for this. 

What do we mean?

Think about the most commonly asked questions your Sales team faces. What are people enquiring about most often? 

Cost. 

It might seem counter-intuitive to tell your leads whereabouts you sit in the ballpark. If you’re on the lower end, you might fear they’ll question your service quality. But if you’re on the higher side, you might also be afraid that they’ll ditch you altogether and go somewhere else where they can get a similar product or service for less.

Here’s the thing, though. Consumer ignorance used to be an effective strategy to close a deal. But these days, people have the answers at their fingertips. If you’re elusive about your prices, the trust you’ve been trying to build with your prospects with your content vanishes. 

If you don’t answer the cost question, someone else will.

When you think about it that way, can you feel the green-eyed monster feeding on you? What if your competitors are the ones who give the straight-talking answer and build trust first? The demands of today’s marketplace have changed, so your content must change accordingly.

It takes some getting used to, especially after years of being told the opposite by the experts. 

Content marketing might not work for you if you’re comfortable staying where it’s familiar. 

4. You’re Inconsistent

If you’re committing the cardinal sin of ‘random acts of marketing’, then your content marketing might not work for you, but against you. 

If your approach to content is to post a picture on Facebook every once in a while, send the odd ‘newsletter’ email at random intervals to your list and pump out a blog only when an idea comes to you, then you’ve already lost. 

In order to build trust and gain credibility, you need to publish content consistently. The algorithm is a mysterious and demanding mistress; neglect her even for a week or two, and you’ll find that your numbers start to suffer. 

What does that mean for your business?

It means fewer clicks to your site, which means fewer blogs are read. Fewer people willingly handing over their email addresses. Fewer people acclimatised to your content. And those who are already signed up to receive your funky marketing emails will forget who you are. 

With hybrid and remote working at an all-time high, consistently marketing to where your clients spend the majority of their time (their inboxes) is a winning strategy. But you absolutely have to stay on the ball with it. 

Hey, we never said it was easy…

So, What Can You Do?

While all the things we’ve listed are perfectly changeable for your business, you may not currently have the time to adjust your marketing or edit all the content you already have to your name. 

It takes time and education. Marketing is a verb; not a noun. A process; not a product. Keep making micro-adjustments and – over time – you’ll yield results that once you could only have dreamed of! 

So, how do you start? 

Education is your best weapon. Check out this blog post on some of the main reasons why content marketing fails to give yourself a headstart over your competitors…

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