At Calameo, we know content marketing well. Indeed, we work with it every day, because we help you host and share all your content. We also create a lot of content ourselves and of all kinds, like our Calameo Magazine, for example. And it is thanks to this, that we can present you today the 5 mistakes to avoid in your content marketing strategies.
These 5 mistakes are very common, and can, unfortunately, be a real brake on the effectiveness of your content. It is therefore important to avoid them.
1st mistake: you don’t have a clear strategy
The first mistake many make when starting out with content marketing is not having a strategy.
Indeed, a solid strategy is the foundation of all content creation. If you haven’t thought through and tailored your strategy to your brand and goals, you’ll burn out creating content for nothing.
Without defined goals, without a guideline, you will get nowhere, because it is impossible to achieve undefined goals. And that’s a shame, because content marketing can be a very powerful tool when you know how to use it to your advantage.
So you’ll need to work well on both your digital and marketing strategies, and then make sure your content marketing strategy respects and amplifies them as much as possible. In reality, content creation is part of the strategic marketing realm, and it’s important that all of your strategies are aligned and working towards the same goal and direction.
Some elements to define in your content marketing strategy:
- Your objectives: improve your brand image, boost your traffic, increase your visibility, etc.
- Your targets: who do you want to reach with your content?
- Your budget: how much money do you want to invest?
- Your metrics (KPIs): You will have to decide on the metrics to follow to measure the success (or not) of your strategy and to be able to refine it at any time.
- Your channels: social networks, website, magazine, e-mailing, blog, YouTube, etc.
- Your types of content: articles, podcasts, videos, photos, MOOCs, livestreams, infographics, newsletter, etc.
- Your editorial calendar: when do you publish? How often do you publish?
🔎 To sum up: only when all these elements are well defined and in line with your brand, can you create and distribute your content effectively.
2nd mistake: you are copying your rivals
The second mistake, which is all too often made, is to copy the content and/or the digital strategy of your rivals.
While it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your competition, it’s not a good idea to copy their content. Your brand and theirs necessarily have differences, and that’s what you need to emphasize to consumers to convince them to buy from you, rather than others.
Get inspired, but don’t copy. If you spot a blog post offered by a competitor that is interesting and works well, take the basic idea and make it your own, branded version. Bring something extra to the topic, and make your content unique to stand out.
Copying your rival’s entire digital strategy is also to be avoided. If it works for them, it’s because it was designed to fit their brand and goals, not yours. Again, it’s essential to work your own strategy well, as discussed in the first point of this article.
🔎 To sum up: get inspired and adapt the content to meet your brand-specific goals.
3rd mistake: you don’t use a content calendar
The third big mistake not to make is not keeping a content calendar.
The content calendar is an important document in any content marketing strategy. With it, you can track everything that has gone live and everything that will go live in the future.
Without this guide, it’s very easy to get lost and spend weeks creating content to catch up, or have nothing to post for a long period of time.
Now, for your strategy to work, you need to be consistent and post at regular intervals. So it’s essential to keep your content calendar up to date. Think ahead of time about the type of content you’d like to offer your audience and adjust the creative chain accordingly. Everything should be set like clockwork: starting with deciding when what content should be created and published.
🔎 To get started: your content schedule should include such things as the publication date, publication channels, content type, general idea, associated text, and links to add.
4th mistake: you are not creating your content in advance
Combined with mistake number 3, this is surely the mistake that all content creators make when they start out: not creating their content in advance.
Indeed, if you haven’t created a content calendar and you don’t keep it updated, it will be very hard to create your content in advance. Yet, creating content ahead of time is crucial because you need to be able to publish continuously. This allows you to keep the attention of consumers and create a loyal audience for your brand.
Creating your content ahead of time is key to keeping you on track and always having something to publish. Also, since it’s a very time-consuming activity, it’s easier to create multiple pieces of content at once, setting aside specific times for content creation, and others for posting.
So again, strategy is crucial as it will allow you to set up workflows that are efficient and allow you to create the ideal amount for your brand and its ambitions.
🔎 To sum up: set up dedicated moments for content creation. The most comfortable is to always be 1 month ahead of time.
5th mistake: You are not using Calaméo (yet)
And here is one last mistake you can easily correct: not using Calaméo (yet).
This is indeed a mistake, because Calaméo is a real asset for your content strategies. Not only can you easily publish your documents online, but you can also enrich, share and integrate them onto your website.
Calaméo also accompanies you long after the creation and publication of your content, because it allows you to follow the metrics of your contents published on the platform.
So, take advantage of the many features offered by Calaméo, thought for you specifically, the content creators, and boost your strategy in just a few clicks.
🔎 It’s easy: create your free Calaméo account now by clicking here.
