There are a lot of myths floating around about what makes for great content. We'd like to debunk some of them.
Content marketing can help you build credibility, generate awareness, and convert leads into paying customers. That's why 89% of B2B marketers and 86% of B2C marketers use content marketing and enjoy ROIs of 72% and 74% respectively. But that kind of RIO is not possible unless you have a solid strategy.
The primary goal of content marketing is to offer value, but when doing so, you must be consistent.
Who’s going to write all the content? What keywords are you going to target? What will work? What won't? What’s the best way to increase visitor engagement and get leads? There are a lot of answers to these questions floating around – some are tried and tested, but some of them are just plain old myths.
How do you filter out these misconceptions and focus on what is actually effective? Continue reading because we’re about to debunk some common myths.
Misconception # 1 – Your Target Audience Cares About You
If your target audience truly cared about you, you’d be too busy dancing for you to bother reading this blog post.
The only thing potential customers care about are their own needs. Their own personal problems and challenges are their main priority. If you can’t resolve them, don’t expect them to pay for any of your products or services… even if you have the experience or a long list of certifications pertaining to your relevant industry.
Our advice: skip these details, except for on the About Us page on your website.
What’s the main goal of content writing? Convincing customers that your products and service are the very best solution to their problems. So, when writing, focus on the benefits your customers will enjoy and the value you deliver to them when they choose your business. All of this should be a part of your content strategy.
Yes, on your part, it’s amazing that you have the experience, licenses and a skilled team, but your target audience is only interested in making their lives better and easier. So highlight how you can contribute to this in every single piece of content that you create.
Misconception # 2 – You Can Use the Same Content Throughout
You can, but this will hurt your credibility and reputation in the long run. Which medium are you writing copy for? Keep this in mind and make changes accordingly.
Also, modify the copy depending on the particular segment of the targeted audience. Remember your buyer personas and profiles? They all have different behavioural traits and needs that you should keep in mind as you create or adapt your copy.
Lastly, your copy should be different for every stage of the sales funnel. Buyers at the top of the funnel are only looking for basic information, but further down the funnel, you may have to hard-sell to convert prospects.
Content writing varies from audience to audience, medium to medium and stage to stage of the purchasing cycle.
Misconception # 3 – Your Copy Should Be Verbose and Include High-Quality Vocabulary
This really depends on your target audience and the industry you’re in. If, for instance, your products and services are related to medicine, you most likely will have to use technical terms that those outside the field may not understand. If you’re serving the fashion or food industry, on the other hand, simple language will perform better.
Choose a tone that resonates with your target audience. Come up with jargon-free copy that has a high readability score and is easy to understand.
Misconception # 4 – Good Copy Sells… Always!
Not by itself, it doesn’t! But add it to your marketing mix, implement a solid strategy, track performance and make necessary tweaks, and copywriting will do wonders for lead and revenue generation!
Realize that copy is just one piece of the puzzle. It’s perhaps the most important piece, but you need a strategy, a marketing mix, to get the right audience, plenty of visual aids, retargeting and analytics - among tens of other things - to get results.
Not all great copy delivers amazing results. Content marketing is a complex art, but rest assured, it can be learned.
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Misconception # 5 – Keyword Density Guarantees SEO Success
Keyword optimization guarantees success, not a high keyword density – there’s a difference between the two. Keyword density refers to stuffing your copy with keywords – if you increase the density too much, the copy would be horrendous to read.
Search engines are really smart and can identify poor SEO practices. Your ranking will suffer, and you may even have to face penalties.
Keyword optimization means that you use keywords in several fields, such as the title, the meta description, and the image text. But you have to do it in a way that maintains the flow so that the copy is still nice to read.
Misconception # 6 – Length Doesn’t Affect SEO Ranks
Actually, it does. Content that secures the topmost position on the SERPs has around 1,900 words or so.
For a blog to perform well, in most instances, it should have at least 1,000 words.
Gone are the days when a mere 300 or 500-word blog was enough. Readers now want more information, so you should include all the necessary details.
Long-form content can be difficult to write, but when aligned with a thorough strategy, it is well worth it.
Misconception # 7 – Copy is Secondary to Design
Absolutely not! Copy and design go hand-in-hand.
A unique logo, stunning web design and beautiful photography entice people to stay on the page. But what makes them take the action you desire? The power of words. Design and copy both play different roles and both are equally important.
Misconception # 8 – Copywriting is easy!
If that were the case, we’d all be number one on Google’s result pages. But unfortunately, that is not how it works. And even more unfortunately (or fortunately for some people), some of us are better at copywriting than others.
Content marketing copy is very different from traditional writing. It is based on persuasion, creativity, thorough competitor analysis, and a deep understanding of your target audience.
Once you've found your winning approach, the results will wow you – and your customers.
With Matthew Renzulli
With Mary Gail Pezzimenti