happening for a good reason - it gets results . The most effective marketers are spending more than twice as much on content ( as a percentage of their budgets ) compared to their counterparts .
Obviously , as with any new approach to doing things , there are some potential problems coming up . After all , if every marketer is investing in large amounts of content , that means far more competition for increasingly limited attention .
A farmer doesn ’ t scatter seeds on a field at random . He picks the right season , prepares the ground , fertilizes , and only then does he plant his crop . What ’ s more , he plants what he knows will do well in the current climate - there ’ s no point trying to produce bananas in Scotland , or grow strawberries in the snow !
Selling online means catering to a complex set of social groups and online communities . Not ‘ getting ’ community rules and hierarchies can result in marketing disasters . So , how do we influence in today ’ s digital utopia ? First of all , marketers need to intimately connect with their ‘ why ’ more . Rather than spending tonnes of money on flashy , but ultimately empty campaigns , marketers need to get granular with their targeting and spend less to have more impact .
The titanic eruption of web-based content creates a scenario I characterize as “ Content Shock ,” a time when the overwhelming amount of information in a business niche radically drives up the cost of marketing , perhaps to the point where content marketing is no longer an economically viable option for some . The world of content marketing has grown exponentially in recent years , with the oftquoted ‘ content is king ’ mantra continuing to flourish . But before you assemble your content calendar for the next 8 months , you should carefully consider one thing : are your efforts actually worth it ?
Content saturation means that - if you ’ re planning to put time and money into producing written features , videos or social media output - a proper content strategy is essential . You have to plan , and avoid relying on luck or employing hope as a strategy . Like the farmer , you have to understand the seasons , read the weather , and produce the right content for the times to collect a bumper harvest of views - and , more importantly , sales .
Ultimately , I believe many and varied forms of content marketing are essential if
you are serious about getting noticed and building an online audience . However , what I am getting at is a serious need to consider whether each individual piece of content you produce actually adds
While it ’ s easier than ever to simply publish content , it seems harder than ever to make meaningful content that effectively generates business by organically connecting with the right people at the right time , in the right way , with the right message to advance your business goals . Truly great content marketing communicates effectively , builds community , and moves leads closer to being customers . value to the wider conversation or at least showcases you in the best possible light .
I have come to appreciate that content for content ’ s sake will get you nowhere , and the days of ‘ if we build it , they will come ’ are truly over . This is highlighted by Beckon ’ s in-depth research , which reveals that only 5 % of branded content garners 90 % of total consumer engagement . In other words , as the report explains , “ 19 out of 20 content pieces get little to no engagement .”
The aforementioned study also notes that , three times more content was published between August 2017 and 2018 in comparison to the years prior ; that is 2015 and 2016 . This translates to the fact that it ’ s getting increasingly hard to cut through the noise and be heard above the competition . Thus , in my opinion , if you really want to make an impact going into the future , then it ’ s best to put the brakes on unfocused foray driven by the ‘ me too ’ folly and think carefully about what ’ s going to get you noticed . That may sound simplistic , but the stats suggest this simply isn ’ t happening often enough .
I am certain that it is not for a lack of trying , in fact , I would posit that many content marketers try too hard . Their output is too ambitious , covering too many bases and trying to talk to too many people in one swerve . For example , the trouble with writing a blog post titled ‘ how to win at social media ’ is that it ’ s not targeted enough , so you ’ ll end up barely
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