Common Misconceptions About Content Marketing

Transcription

1 Common Misconceptions About Content Marketing by Nicole

2 A super quick introduction Hey, I m Nicole from Manchester, PA Content Creator for WooCommerce at Automattic Prior experience as a content strategist and ecommerce manager (AMA about wall stickers) My passion = helping WordPress users and store owners find ways to grow and succeed I really, really, really like Pokemon

3 Why content marketing? (well, wall stickers aren t that interesting )

4 WordPress lends itself well to content marketing, but There are a lot of misconceptions about what content production, and marketing that content, makes your website, business, or online store capable of. With the recent rise in popularity, content has come to be viewed as a magic bullet that can give you more traffic, better search engine rankings, and higher sales. But it s not. At least not for everyone.

5 Three misconceptions about content marketing 1. Content marketing improves your SEO 2. Content marketing gets you more traffic 3. Content marketing makes you lots of money/increases your sales

6 Misconception #1 Content marketing improves your SEO

7 Expectation

8 Reality

9 Why this misconception happens Search engines use keywords to determine relevancy Search engines love unique content So if I give Google lots of both, it ll love my site!

10 Reality check: If you re using content marketing solely to gain leverage in search engines, you re doing it wrong. Google can and will pick up on user signals (bounces, exit rates), so if users think your content sucks, any temporarily improved rankings will be negated.

11 How you can actually improve your SEO with content Focus on the user experience Google pays attention to how visitors interact with your site Prioritize unique ideas or topics you re an expert on, since competition will be reduced and/or your quality will naturally be higher Think about keywords, but don t obsess

12 Misconception #2 Content marketing gets you more traffic

13 Expectation

14 Reality

15 Why this misconception happens Google loves content! I ll give it lots and get ALL the rankings, and ALL the traffic! Perceptions of users/shoppers seeking out content that there might not actually be a strong desire for (did you do your research?)

16 You might get traffic, but If you don t produce content with a call to action, visitors will leave after consuming it If your content doesn t have a strong relation to how you re trying to make money, it won t help you do that (either long-term or short-term) If your content has nothing to do with your site at all, that s just wasted traffic

17 How you can use content to get more (qualified) site traffic Write about topics most relevant to your site, your brand, or your area of expertise this ties into SEO Allow readers to subscribe and share Promote via , social media, and other trafficgenerating channels don t rely on search alone

18 Misconception #3 Content marketing will make you $$$$$

19 Expectation

20 Reality

21 Why this misconception happens Missing calls to action hurt you a lot Sometimes your content just isn t compelling enough THE BIG ONE: we think visitors will be so impressed by a piece of content that they ll explore your site and take immediate action, but the decision-making process takes much longer

22 What a great piece of content! I am so impressed by you, take all my money! Spoiler: THIS ALMOST NEVER HAPPENS.

23 The customer decision-making process is much longer and much more complex than you might expect. This is why many new content producers fail or quit: they expect immediate results.

24 As a result of this mythology, a ton of people and teams who invest in content marketing fail to properly plan for the required time and effort needed. That's hugely costly, because it means that a ton of pressure sits on [ ] one person or a very small team of people who all do inbound marketing together. You don't have the budget or the bandwidth or the belief from your executives or your client to get to where you need to get to. They fail to invest in the practice long enough, and they just give up too early. [When it] doesn't work once, a lot of the people who would have invested in content marketing, for the long term, are out of the game. Rand Fishkin, The Greatest Misconception in Content Marketing

25 How you can link your content to higher sales Think about potential audiences you need to target new visitors who don t know what you do, shoppers who have a need for your products but don t know your brand, those ready to convert, etc. and produce content targeted for those audiences and their needs Create content that answers questions commonly posed by searchers with buying intent (read about Marcus Sheridan and the River Pools and Spas story) Add appropriate calls to action it s not always buy now

26 Is content marketing right for me? It s not for everyone including bloggers

27 Content marketing is worth a try if Your target audience is likely to seek out education or answers prior to making a purchase You can commit time to researching ideas and producing content, even if it s occasionally You have something unique and of value to offer, whether it s products, services, or your own content

28 Takeaways Content can help with SEO as long as users are interacting with it in a positive manner (poor content = poor rankings) It can increase your traffic if it s on a topic that s soughtafter but it should still be relevant to your site Making money with content isn t an immediate thing, but it can be done if you think carefully about customer needs Content marketing isn t for everyone, but if you have the time and it fits your business, give it a shot!

29 Thanks! Have any questions? if you think of something later, ask me on