Podnar Consulting, LLC

Archives for October 2017

Trick or trust: How does your content measure up?

by

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ fb_built=”1″ bb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″]

I’m giving away my age here, but I remember when it was a big deal for a business to have a website. There was this huge cultural gap between companies who were embracing the future and the old fogies who thought the internet was a fad (think Kodak).

But it wasn’t long before businesses that threw up a home page just to prove they were there realized that the content on those websites could actually do something. Change happened fast after that, starting in 1991 when the National Science Foundation lifted the ban on conducting online business transactions. That led to the rise and fall of the dot.com industry, which eventually matured into a vast, trillion-dollar market that’s become an integral part of our purchasing habits:

What’s that got to do with content marketing?

When even “old school” businesses realized the potential of e-commerce, the race for attention heated up, and online marketing began its evolution from banner ads and popups to PPC and native ads. As consumers became increasingly aware of being marketed to, things shifted once again. This time, it was less of a “change” than an evolutionary leap: one of those “blinding glimpse of the obvious” scenarios where marketers everywhere realized that customers would be more likely to pay attention to “ads” that were helpful and/or entertaining — in other words, content marketing.

There’s no doubt that content marketing works — when people see it, that is. But that’s becoming harder every day. Take a look at these stats from Littlejack Marketing:

Every minute:

  • Email users send 204,000,000 messages
  • Google receives over 4,000,000 search queries
  • Blog writers post 1400 new blog posts
  • Facebook users share 2,460,000 pieces of content
  • Twitter users tweet 277,000 times
  • Amazon makes $83,000 in online sales
  • Tinder users swipe 416,667 times
  • Whats App users share 347,222 photos
  • Instagram users post 216,000 new photos
  • Pandora users listen to 61,141 hours of music
  • Apple users download 48,000 apps
  • Yelp users post 26,380 reviews
  • Skype users connect for 23,300 hours
  • Vine users share 8,333 videos
  • Pinterest users pin 3,472 images
  • Youtube users upload 72 hours of new video

Still wondering why it’s so hard for your content to attract attention?

The temptation to cross over to the Dark Side

Ask any parent: The more you ignore a pre-schooler trying to get your attention, the more insistent they become, ramping things up until somebody can’t take it anymore and caves.

We adults aren’t that different — especially when we only have so much money to spend on marketing, and the c-suite folks are wanting to see an increase in ROI. When the pressure’s on, it can be really tempting to stick a little pinky toe over the line. Maybe not even the whole pinky toe — it’s not that big a deal, right?

Wrong. Most of time it is. Because those little concessions keep piling up. You start with a pinky toe over the line to the Dark Side, and the next thing you know, you’re so far over the line you need binoculars to see it.

The worst part is that it’s insidious. It’s just a little concession here, a little blind eye there, etc. — until you run headlong in to the fact that customers don’t trust you or your content anymore.

The gateway to the Dark Side

Feeling just a tad bit uncomfortable? Let’s take a look at some of the “gateway” behaviors that start companies down the road to content untrustworthiness.

Clickbait

Anyone who’s ever waited in line at a grocery store has seen the print version of this: “Supposedly dead alien filmed painting fences at Area 51!” Content marketing clickbait is usually something along the lines of, “The miracle diet doctors don’t want you to know about!”

That trick may garner a quick boost in traffic, but once visitors realize your content is nothing more than a bait-and-switch, they’ll leave and never come back.

Takeaway

Headlines are extremely important, but don’t promise something your content can’t deliver.

Questionable sources or statistics

clickbait

Anybody who works online can verify that you can find a source for just about any claim you want to make. Think you can attract readers by claiming that aliens were behind the JFK assassination? Here you go: Shock claims ETs caused president’s death.

Takeaway

The only thing worse than having readers think you’re stupid is having them conclude that you think they’re stupid. Don’t insult your readers by linking to a junk site just because it gives you an excuse to include something outrageous in your content.

Misleading use of facts and statistics

Something can be true and still be misleading — all it takes is tweaking a word or two. Let’s say you find some statistics on Americans and weight loss. Depending on your objective, you could write, “Only 40% of Americans are trying to lose weight,”or “A full 40% of Americans are trying to lose weight.” Both sentences are true, but their implied meanings are very different.

Another way content marketers can cheat without technically lying is by implying causation when there’s only correlation. Here’s an example: “Improve your marriage by eating butter instead of margarine!”

What the heck, right? Well, it’s not completely made up. There’s a 99% correlation between per capita margarine consumption and the divorce rate in Maine. There’s also a 66% percent correlation between Nicholas Cage movies and the number of people who drown after falling into swimming pools. But suggesting that he retire in the interest of saving lives is taking it a bit too far.

Takeaway

Teenagers are masters at manipulating the truth to answer questions from their parents without — technically — lying. But we content marketers are supposed to be professionals, not to mention adults. Don’t misrepresent the truth.

Don’t ask, don’t tell

Otherwise known as lying by omission.

A lot of things fall into this category. You could, for example, make up your own customer testimonials. As long as you don’t explicitly say that they’re real testimonials from real customers, you’re not technically lying. But it’s not the truth, either — and, if you get busted, you’ll have a hard time gaining that trust back. And, if the testimonials describe results that are better than what a typical customer would experience, you might draw some unwanted attention from the FTC.

Takeaway

This one is easy: Don’t make stuff up.

What you don’t say

This is my personal favorite. Every company has to make money to stay in business. For retailers and most other businesses, it’s obvious: Sell something for more than you paid to get/make it.

Other times, it’s not so obvious — referral sites, for example. A Place for Mom helps people find long-term care facilities for their parents. And the best part? It’s free! To consumers, that is. But if users aren’t paying, who is? Somebody has to. In this case, it’s the long-term care facilities themselves. They have to pay for the privilege of being on the company’s list of care facilities. Think that might affect objectivity?

Another example is the “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product” model. Google is the obvious example. You get their services, they get your data.

Neither of those is unethical as long as you’re upfront about it. But if you have a strong reason for not wanting users to know how you make money — let’s just say that[s a huge red flag.

Takeaway

Be transparent in your content.

Conclusion

I know as well as anybody — and probably a lot more than some! — how frustratingly difficult it can be to find eyeballs for your content. But play fair. Do the hard work, and be committed to sticking around for the long haul. You only have so much trust to waste, and once it’s gone, it’s often gone for good.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

5 sure signs your content marketing will fail

by

Like most other content strategists, I spend a lot of time writing about what well-planned, well-executed content marketing can do for you, your brand, your product, etc.

But content marketing isn’t a magic potion. If you set it up to fail, it will. Here are five situations where failure is almost guaranteed:

You hide your blog

content

From a content strategy perspective, this is one of life’s greatest mysteries. I’m constantly baffled by how many businesses don’t include a link to their blog in their site’s navigation bar. They spend all this time and money writing posts only to play hide-and-seek with would-be readers. And it’s not just little mom-and-pop businesses — it’s brands that should know better.

Don’t believe me? Go to Payless Shoe Source and try to find their blog. It’s there, but they make you work for it.

Still not convinced big companies are missing the mark so badly? Try these:

Search engine competition is brutal. It’s also tough to grab attention on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. But those are the only ways people will ever find their way to your blog content if you don’t include a link in your navigation bar.

Your content is more fairy tale than fact

Your product stinks

Mama was right: Lying leads to the Dark Side. Or maybe that was Vader.

But you get my point: Slapping lipstick on a pig doesn’t fool anybody. People still know a pig when they see one, and no amount of content can make up for that.

If your product has no value, good content might fool people for a little while. But they’ll soon realize that there’s no “there” there.

When they do, they’ll draw some unflattering conclusions. Because there are really only two explanations for why you would lie about your company and its products or services: Either you’re too dumb to realize that the stuff you’re publishing is no more than really bad fiction (bless your heart), or you think your audience is too dumb to catch on. Neither makes you look good.

The bottom line? Don’t use content to camouflage a bad product. Fix your product first; then worry about your content.

Your customer service stinks

content marketingHave you ever been “ghosted” by a company? I have. They act like you’re the most important person on earth until you make a purchase. And then they make it as hard as they can to reach support.

That creates a couple of problems. For one thing, you wind up with angry customers who will see it as their mission to warn their friends and family. And then there’s the potential for a public airing of dirty laundry. If people can’t get help in private, they’ll take it public, reaching out on Facebook and Twitter, where the whole world can read about how badly you messed up.

Life is about choices, and this one is pretty simple: Make sure customers have a way to reach you when they’re having a problem, or risk having them call you out in front of 300 million Twitter users.

Your content’s only purpose is to take up space

Not all written content needs a purpose. Some writing is like art: It’s there to be enjoyed and admired. There are lots of places to publish that kind of content, but your blog isn’t one of them.

Every single post on your blog should have a purpose. Identifying that purpose isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Fortunately, there’s a magic question that will lead you to the answer: What do you want people to do, think, or feel after reading this?

Don’t stop there, though. Once you have that answer, ask, “Why is that important?” It may take a few rounds for you to peel back all the layers and get to the real purpose — but, when you get there, you’ll know it. And your customers will thank you for not wasting their time with content that doesn’t matter.

You’re talking to the wrong people

This is another one I see all the time. In fact, I did it myself. When I first started my blog, my posts were targeted to other content writers. But I eventually realized how dumb that was — after all, I was aiding and abetting the competition.

Your content should target people who buy what you do rather than people who do what you do.

This also applies to keyword research. The terms you use have to match the knowledge level of the people who are searching. If your primary keyword, for example, is “GDPR,” you’re going to attract people who already know what that is. And that’s fine if those are the people you’re targeting. But if you’re targeting online merchants who are just now trying to figure out the rules that govern an online store, you’re not going to attract them with a keyword they’ve never heard of.

 

Well-executed content marketing is incredibly powerful, delivering three times as many leads as traditional marketing for approximately 30% of the cost. But, if it’s not based on a solid business model — and exceptional execution of that model — it’s no more than lipstick on a pig. Get the basics right so that your content can do what content does best: reach the right people at the right time, with the right message.

 

 

Pin It on Pinterest