Content marketing has become a common buzzword for most modern businesses. Paid ads are nice, and social media can be powerful, but high-quality owned content has probably the greatest potential for viral spread, and works to convince customers that your company is an industry authority.
But how the heck do you get it out there?
Bottom line is, if content marketing was easy, everyone would have a fantastic blog, social feed, and personally produced videos. I shouldn’t even have to tell you that that’s not the case; I can count the number of company blogs I consistently read on one hand, and the vast majority of corporate video content is irritating dreck.
Joining that elite, relevant few is difficult, and even great programs have no guarantee for success. That said, there are a few things you may be doing that are handicapping your chances before you even publish.
Your Site Stinks
It doesn’t matter how good your content is if the platform you’re publishing it on is junk. I’ve seen way, way too many poorly formatted and run company blogs to count, and these things are positively repulsive to visitors.
First order of business: unless you’ve got a ton of money and really know what you’re doing, don’t spring for a custom site. That said, if you do have a ton of money and know what you’re doing, you’d be crazy not to.
However, for beginners, it’s best to use an established CMS. WordPress is highly advised, flexible, and powerful, but it’s not the only option. If you’re just looking for somewhere to publish and archive content, Medium has risen as a wonderful choice, and Tumblr isn’t half bad either.
Just don’t wing it. Choose a service, and improve it until it looks and functions well. Hire a specialist if you need to, but don’t expect a free, completely unimproved site to rank well.
Your Creators Aren’t Up to Snuff
Actually making content for your new site can be even more of a headache.
I’ll start with a hard truth and tell you that, unless you’ve had previous experience blogging, you’ll need help. At the very, very least you’ll need an editor. Simple spelling mistakes make owned content look appallingly unprofessional and incompetent.
You’ll also need another writer or two. A company blog with one author is a sad, lonely thing. This is where you may want to turn to freelancers, as most of your employees likely aren’t seasoned writers either. Even here, though, you need to pick carefully. Some freelance writers are excellent, some will actively lower the value of your site.
You’re not Promoting Properly
Even the best content isn’t going to go very far without promotion. The absolute bare minimum for marketing efforts should be social media-based. Set up a Twitter, keep it active, recruit followers, show them what you’ve written. That is the lowest-effort you should go. Below that, and you may as well not write at all.
After that though, it’s time to hit the big guns. Look for places that accept guest posts, and syndicate out your content to them (make sure to institute canonical tags if you post it on your own site as well).
Drop some PPC cash on boosting Twitter posts. Talk to local influencers directly and see if you can’t ask them to share your content.
Get creative, stay active, and you’ll give your content a much better chance to actually do something useful, not just sit around on your site.