We’ve talked about the benefits of content marketing and why you’d want to use it to grow your business. After all, 88% of marketers in North America use content marketing as a part of their strategy, and that’s because it’s a proven way to generate leads and sales.
But the truth is, content marketing isn’t for everyone. So, the question is, is it right for you?
To help you make an educated decision, we’re being totally transparent and revealing four reasons to avoid content marketing.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[01:19] Introduction
[02:41] 4 Reasons to Avoid Content Marketing
[10:20] Content Marketing is the Best Marketing
[13:07] Bloopers
Introduction
[Meghan] Today, we’re following up from episode #26 where we talked about some of the many ways content marketing is important to your business. In that episode, we focused on the positives of content marketing.
So, I wanted to spend a little time talking about some of the reasons to avoid content marketing. You know, why might content marketing not be a good fit for you?
[Theresa] That’s right! Meghan promised we’d revisit this topic from a different angle.
[Meghan] Well, as many times as I’ve seen content marketing successfully grow a business, the truth is that it’s not a strategy that makes sense for every business.
[Theresa] I love that you’re sharing both the pros and cons about your favorite form of marketing, Meghan! That’s so fair of you. lol
[Meghan] One of my marketing pet peeves is when experts say “do X or Y” but never discuss why maybe X or Y doesn’t make sense for your particular business. Every business is different, and every person is different. I reject one-size-fits-all marketing!
And that’s why I want to share the good with the bad. Then you can decide for yourself what makes sense.
[Theresa] I hear ‘ya! We say it all of the time. You can’t do it all. So, consider your options and do what’s right for you.
Content marketing works, but is it the right strategy for you? Consider these things before you begin content marketing.Click To Tweet4 Reasons to Avoid Content Marketing
[Meghan] Yep, that’s right, don’t tackle every marketing tactic. When you’re choosing how to market your business, I think it helps to factor in your personality and preferences in addition to what’s most effective, ya know?
Okay, so we’ve already explained how content marketing has a lot going for it. And, that’s why many marketers swear by it. If you missed episode #26, you can listen to it here:
Now it’s time to talk about the reasons to avoid content marketing. What are the drawbacks or the negatives?
[Theresa] Because for all that’s good about content marketing, there are a few realities that you need to know about.
[Meghan] Yeah, there are some real eye-openers on this list!
Reason #1: Content Marketing Takes a Long Time to Pay Off
[Meghan] First, one reason to avoid content marketing is because it takes a long time before it pays off. You may see a few benefits early on. You’ll see more benefits at six months to a year. But, you’ll get much bigger payoffs three to five years down the road.
I’m seeing this with my old website for my previous business, Smart Bird Social. The blog posts on that site performed well before, and I even got to page number one multiple times. But now my traffic is just way higher five years later. And, I haven’t published a post since last summer. So, that’s over a year of no fresh content but still more visitors.
The point is, if you need quick results early on in your online business, content marketing is not the answer. It’s a long-term strategy.
[Theresa] I’d say ads are a better option if you need quick results. Content marketing does require time. It’s not fast.
[Meghan] Yep, ads are a faster path for sure. Plus, ads have a more well defined ROI. You put X amount of dollars in, and you get X amount of dollars out based on sales. That’s not the case with content marketing.
By the way, I can’t tell you how disappointing this news is to businesses. They want instant results. They want to make an investment and get it back quickly. It doesn’t work like that—at least not in the beginning of your content publishing.
Businesses want instant results from marketing efforts, but content marketing doesn’t work like that.
It can work more like that in the future after you have built an audience and have published content consistently for a while. So, I’m setting your expectations right out of the gate!
[Theresa] It is a bit of a bummer! But, I think the wait is totally worth it in a lot of cases. You have to be patient, though. It’s not like you see results from posting a few videos on YouTube or from publishing four blog posts in a year.
When you’ve built out your YouTube channel or your blog with lots of content, that’s when you start really seeing the fruits of your labor. And even then it’s not a sure thing!
Reasons #2 & #3: Content Marketing Requires Consistency and Strategy
[Meghan] And you bring me to another two reasons to avoid content marketing: it demands consistency and strategy.
Not only do you need to prepare yourself to be at this effort for a long while, you also need to show up consistently—even when you’re not seeing any immediate results.
You‘ve got to keep at it because content marketing doesn’t work without consistency. And you’ve got to be strategic because your content has to align with what your prospects want and your business goals. Otherwise, it’s not effective.
You can certainly hire help! But if you’re doing content marketing all by yourself, you risk not being able to keep up. You also risk wasting time if you’re producing content but not in a strategic way. So, this is why content marketing may not work for you.
[Theresa] No one enjoys working hard at something and not having it pay off. You know, it can be very discouraging to devote a lot of time or money to something and not see results.
Not seeing immediate results means there’s a real risk that you’ll get discouraged, abandon your goals, and stop doing the work.
So, with content marketing, there’s a real risk that you’ll get discouraged, abandon your goals, and stop doing the work.
[Meghan] The thing about stopping your content marketing efforts is that you will not see results. Personally, I find this to be one of the most difficult aspects about content. Keeping up with it is a challenge, especially if you’re busy running a business by yourself. So, that’s one struggle.
Then, I notice a lot of people struggle knowing what content to create. They’re spending so much time and energy on content, but they’re missing the mark with their strategy.
As a content strategist, I’m telling you: hire a professional to point you in the right direction.
[Theresa] Meghan has really helped me with my content strategy, and she’s right. Work with a strategist on the foundation. Then you can move forward with content creation yourself—at least to start.
Need help with your content strategy? Download the Content Strategy from Scratch workbook today!
Reason #4: Content Marketing is a Lot of Work
[Meghan] You may be thinking that I’m making a big deal out of the need to be consistent. But content marketing is an epic amount of work. It’s not a small effort by any means.
Content marketing isn’t a task that will take an extra hour a week. The demands are much larger. So, that’s why it’s tough to stay dedicated to it when you’re not seeing obvious or big wins. It’s easier to quit content marketing than it is to keep it up.
You can get to a point where you’re thinking, “this is a lot of work for little payoff, so I’m giving up.”
And that brings me to reason number four to avoid content marketing: it may be too big of a commitment for you at this time.
[Theresa] You know, years ago, creating content wasn’t nearly as difficult. You could write a 300-word blog post, publish it on a website, and that was good enough.
Now that there’s so much content and competition, it’s much harder to get noticed. And that means you have to put so much more effort into your content to compete in an overcrowded marketplace.
[Meghan] Oh my gosh, that’s so true! The online space is much more competitive now.
Forms of content marketing like SEO, social media, and email are still effective. But the amount of work to get noticed is massive.
You need to stand out with a distinct message and a different take on things.
And, you need to be up to creating content that outperforms your competition. For example, to compete in search, you need long form content, which may or may not be worth the effort. I’m talking about blog posts that are over 2,000 words, have tons of images, and are keyword targeted. Are you prepared for that?
And we all know what it’s like on social media these days. Organic reach is practically non-existent.
Plus, we’re looking at an omni-channel approach to marketing nowadays. This means you’ve got to have a presence across multiple platforms to reach your audience. And that’s a lot of work, plain and simple. Being everywhere online requires effort.
[Theresa] That’s an effort you can attempt to tackle, or you can hire a team. But if you don’t have the money for a team, it’s all on your shoulders. And that’s a lot to add to your workload.
So, ideally it will work out better if you hire people to help you with the process. Then you can keep up with the demands of content marketing.
But, like we said before, you can start small. Begin with one platform.
[Meghan] And one platform is enough to begin with. It’s good enough. You don’t have to tackle the omni-channel approach. But prepare yourself and your schedule for the work that even just one channel requires.
You don’t need to be everywhere online. Start with one platform.
It goes well beyond creating a social media post or writing a blog post. The whole process of content marketing—from strategy to creation to consistent publishing and distribution—is time consuming, labor intensive and requires expertise.
[Theresa] We’re not trying to discourage you but give you a realistic understanding of what content marketing requires in today’s online space.
Content Marketing is the Best Marketing
[Meghan] The goal here isn’t to discourage you! I’m always saying how content is important, but I really wanted to expose you to some reasons to avoid content marketing.
I’ve been a content marketer for over 25 years (way before it was ever called content marketing). And I think it gets harder as
1) technology gets more advanced;
2) more competitors come on the scene; and,
3) consumers get more overwhelmed by too many marketing messages.
But, I’m of the opinion that the best marketing is content marketing. If you want to make an impact, sell more stuff, or grow a business—your content will get you there.
It used to be that celebrity was limited to Hollywood and television. But the internet has made it possible for all of us to acquire our own bit of online real estate and our own bit of celebrity.
There’s no better time than right now to be known for something, and your content will help you achieve it. Just remember to consider the commitment that content marketing requires. Be patient and keep up with it!
What say you, Theresa?
[Theresa] Content marketing can seem overwhelming, but you don’t have to do every content marketing tactic at once! Choose one to start.
Meghan recommends that you start with one main content asset, like a blog, vlog, or podcast. I think this is good advice. This will give you enough content that you can repurpose for your emails, social media, and other content efforts when you’re ready to branch out.
I have a blog for my personal brand. Theresa Cifali. Of course, Meghan and I have The Messy Desk Podcast and we have an accompanying blog. So, I have a couple of different ways to attract leads using a few main content assets. However, although we’re a bit more advanced when it comes to marketing, we don’t do it all.
So consider what we talked about today and make an informed decision as to whether content marketing makes sense for your business.
[Meghan] All valuable advice, Theresa!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share this post or leave a comment below. Thanks so much!
