Content marketing false myths
Content matters. A lot, actually. Some even say content is the king. That’s why content marketing is in constant evolution and it is becoming more and more visual. And that’s absolutely great. Trouble comes when we believe some false myths about content marketing, so that’s why I have written a few down. There you go.
People don’t read. We have to write short posts
People don’t read… unless they are interested. So look for an interesting subject for your audience and explain it well. Make sure the text flows correctly, add visual resources, make reading as easy as possible. And also make sure your web or blog is responsive, as it is highly probable that most readers will come from mobile. If you are well covered in all these tips, don’t be afraid to write longer than 300 words.
Infographics are cool
There’s no doubt infographics are a great resource to summarise complex information in a visual and appealing way, and in many cases they add plenty of value to our content. But we are living an infographics fever, as it seems any subject or content can become an infographic, even though it makes no sense at all.
To make a good infographic, it is also important to know how to organise information in a visual manner and to have the necessary resources to produce a good design.
So, if you are going to make an infographic, make a useful and beautiful one. Make it really cool.
Font: 11 Most Useless And Misleading Infographics On The Internet (io9)
Lists always work. Let’s do list posts to drive more traffic to our blog
You probably come across with dozens of posts every day that sound like: 10 tips to, 5 things that, 6 examples of… And you probably have fallen to click and have found a disappointing piece of content.
We often make an effort to present a text as a list just because we believe that it will be more successful this way. It might work short term, as they click and visit your website or blog, but not in the long term. But by no means do I want to demonise lists: I think they are a fantastic resource (if you don’t believe me, just read 9 definitions to master Facebook). Just saying: be careful, as lists are not always advisable.
6 ways to make a list work:
- Be sure that it is relevant to make a list.
- Write content that can be explained point by point.
- Your text has to be easy to summarise in points.
- Every point of the list has to be interesting.
- Don’t let your readers think you are making a list just because it is cool to make lists.
- Don’t make a list as useless as this one.
We have to release a viral. This has to go viral. This is going to be viral!
Viral: that spreads like a virus. So publishing a post on Facebook and getting 23 likes and 2 shares IS NOT VIRAL. Viral is a piece of content (often a video) that for a limited amount of time an important number of people is sharing, without you even controlling it. Not only is it difficult, but it can also be risky.
Planning to go viral as a part of your content marketing strategy is not bad at all, as long as you acknowledge that to get it right you will need lots of imagination, courage and resources (that includes time and money).
Anyhow, digital marketing is not a 100 metres sprint in 10 seconds, but a long-distance race. In other words: as a brand we don’t seek a few hours of online glory, but rather a strong and constantly evolving digital identity.
Content is king
Don’t remember this scene? It’s when someone tells Princess Leia, one more time, that content is king.
OK, got it. Content is king. We all know it, as it is one of the most common quotes on digital marketing.
But… distribution is queen. As amazing as your content can be, you won’t get anywhere unless you take SEO into account, you make a good use of social media and social ads, you implement an effective email marketing strategy or you manage a proper Adwords campaign for your website. Just to give a few examples.
To say it short: you need a good digital marketing strategy (and agency).