Reasons Your Content Marketing Program Isn't Working

Many businesses are getting more strategic with their content marketing program. That's good news for all of us content consumers. Unfortunately, many more businesses are frustrated with content marketing and wondering why it's not working for them.

Sound familiar? If you're spending lots of time and energy on content marketing but not seeing the results you expected, it may be time to take a step back and review your content marketing strategy. A few tweaks to what you're doing-and not doing-can make a huge impact. With that in mind, let's take a look at eight reasons your content marketing program isn't working for your business:

1. You haven't defined your goals. It will be difficult to implement and measure the success of your content marketing strategy if you don't clearly understand your goals before you get started. Want to engage more customers? Repurposing content in an email newsletter should be part of your program. Establish yourself as a thought leader? Your articles better be well researched and well-written. Want to drive more traffic to your website? Better have a strategy to leverage your social media channels. Whatever you do, take the time to identify what you want your content marketing program to achieve for your business. Then develop a plan and stick to it.

2. You don't know your target audience. Sure, you're an expert when it comes to your product or service, but how well do you know your target audience? What challenges do they face? What problems are they trying to solve? What are they interested in learning about? What would make them want to buy your product or service? Understanding-and anticipating-your prospects' needs helps you craft content that truly appeals to them.

3. Nobody's reading your content. You may be writing great articles, but if your target audience isn't reading them, all of your hard work is going to waste. Those of us who don't have tons of regular visitors to our blogs know we can't simply post an article and hope for the best. That strategy never works. Your content marketing program needs to include a plan for smartly (no spam, please) sharing your articles with your social networks and republishing them where your prospects are hanging out.

4. Your content isn't optimized. Google's algorithm changes haven't changed the fact that you still need to make sure you're using the right keyword phrases. It goes without saying that you should use them naturally within an article, but don't listen to the hype that keyword choice and placement within an article no longer matter. It does.

5. You're not being consistent. Consistency is the key to any effective content marketing program. Regularly publishing high-quality articles on your company's blog builds trust with prospects and engages your customers. It shows them you're interested in solving their problems and sharing valuable information, not just selling your product or service. Many companies start out strong but their content creation efforts fizzle out when they don't see immediate results. Don't be one of them. Be consistent and publish articles often so you can beat your competitors to prospects.

6. Your content isn't very good. Poorly written articles can cost you more than just your reputation as a leader in your field. They will also cost you customers. Do yourself a favor: Focus on your core business and outsource your content marketing program to an expert.

7. You're not repurposing your content. If you're only publishing an article on your blog, you're missing out on the opportunity to repurpose and leverage your content through other channels. Consider compiling a series of articles into an eBook. Turn an eBook into a month's worth of social media posts. And don't forget to reach out to other publishers to repost your articles so you can build awareness with a wider audience.

8. You're not dedicating resources. Regardless of the size of your business, you can't do everything by yourself. What's more, you shouldn't be trying to do everything in-house. Set aside the appropriate resources-including the people, time, and budget-to give your content marketing program a chance to succeed.

Now let's put it all together: Use the right resources to consistently write and distribute high-quality content your target audience wants-and can find. Sure, it takes some time and hard work to do it right, but the payoff is well worth it. Your business will start to be seen as the go-to resource in your niche. You'll build awareness and, even though prospects may not be ready to buy the first time they encounter you, they'll probably be back when it comes time to choose between you and your competitors