All businesses trying to make a buck online quickly learn that content is king. The content you put on your website or share through social media is the lure that draws people to visit you and buy your products and services. But not all content is created equal, and many people make the same mistakes with their content again and again.
Being Boring
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The first and easiest mistake to fall into is to be boring. There are two types of boring. The first is just a bad, bland, or uninteresting writing style. The second is to copy the same material that can be found in many different places. Never copy material without putting a new spin on it. That will generate engagement.
Wrong Target
I said earlier that content is bait. Just like bait, your content will attract different audiences. You want to make sure that your content is attracting the right people. You want people who want to buy, not just browse. The way to choose the right target is to get to know your target audience very well. Learn what they like and don’t like, and what attracts them.
No Engagement
Engagement is when a reader decides to do something with the information. They could share it, leave a blog comment, gain entertainment form it, or put the advice into practice. Content is meant to be shared with others and push people into your sales funnel. Be bold, controversial, funny, and ask the reader to join in the conversation.
Shareability and Social Media
Your content should be as easy to share as possible. Learn how to place buttons near your content to let readers share your content. If you use WordPress there are several good plugins to let you do this. Worse than no sharing, is too many ways to share. Each social media portal is a drain on your attention and effort. Focus on mastering just one or maximum 3 channels at a time.
You may need nothing more than a strong Facebook presence, but again, consider you options carefully.
From a business perspective, social media is a way to get your content out to more people so they’ll come to your site. Measure your success by how many people see your posts, engage with them, and come to your site through them. You will need to experiment to find the best approach for your particular audience and business.
These are the basic blunders, and all of them are simple to fix. Simple doesn’t mean easy though. You may need to do a lot of market research, dig around on social media sites to see who is successful, or may even need to go back to school to brush up your writing skills. Many business owners hire out content generation to other professionals just so they don’t have to worry about it. If you choose to go this route, review any content created so that your voice is coming through your writer’s words.
