Content Marketing Mistakes That Ruin All Your Efforts

It really hasn’t been much of an argument for a long time now: every brand and every company needs to produce appealing, well-written texts, whether for their website, blog, social media channels, press releases or whatever. It’s content marketing, plain and simple. Unfortunately, not every company is good at it; even the most interesting and exciting topic often falls flat on its face if it is full of typos or written in such a way that it simply bores the reader.

Text quality, which is ultimately what it’s all about, doesn’t just mean producing clean texts (possibly via AI platforms), but also being aware of the usual pitfalls when writing texts. And there are plenty of them. Especially when you have to wade through the daily pile of clickbait and company information. Mistake after mistake – here are a few to think about.

Focussing too much on SEO and forgetting the readers: Online marketers continue to focus on search engine optimisation (SEO) when writing content. While SEO should certainly not be ignored, most writers forget that ultimately a human will – no, should – read this content. So, focus on creating ‘valuable’ and engaging content, content that customers and colleagues will like and want to share. Real content marketing.

Forget SEO completely: No, not a contradiction to the previous paragraph! Today’s content must be appealing, brand-appropriate, and findable. Many copywriters somewhat manage the first two points. But, whether it’s a local search, search engines in general, or specifically product pages of an e-commerce site, it’s important to utilise a content strategy that includes SEO-focused keywords. This can also be summarised under the keyword ‘semantic environment’. But beware: SEO texts as l’art pour l’art are a thing of the past!

Mentioned often enough, but still a recurring point – lack of proofreading: Honestly, the biggest mistake you see all the time is the lack of correct spelling. To be clear – nobody is perfect! Mistakes happen and finding your own mistakes as a copywriter is often impossible. But please, dear fellow writers: At least use the tools that are available to you. The spell checker of your favourite text app is your best friend. It’s even better if you have the chance to have someone else read your copy (I know, usually unrealistic). But even the client of a freelance copywriter like »TMR« should not be angry if he or she finds a mistake. Please give feedback and correct it together. None of this hurts! Once again: Nobody is perfect.

Using an overly promotional style: Effective and well-written texts can increase sales – no doubt about it. But be careful: it should never sound overly promotional or even like an advert. Customers (your readers) are not stupid and can and will see through this. A good text for content marketing should simply highlight the benefits of a product or service. Everything else is advertising.

Writing from an internal brand and company perspective: Too often marketers write from their internal company perspective instead of taking a clear step back and focusing on the needs, wants, and direction of their customers and community. Regardless of how a programme, service or product is named or designed in-house, the copy must reach the customers. And not your colleagues.

Use industry jargon: One of the most common mistakes in copywriting that can be observed time and time again is the use of insider language, jargon and acronyms. That’s why it says ‘search engine optimisation (SEO)’ earlier on. If the audience doesn’t understand what you’re talking about, the communication has ultimately failed. No more, no less.

Photo: Suradech