Top 5 Content Marketing Do’s and Don’ts

How do brands capture consumer attention?

Marketers are faced with a flood of competing content and the fact that the average person has an attention span of less than 6 seconds- that’s less than a goldfish (you may have already stopped reading!)

For some industries like fashion and beauty visual cues help to spark engagement. The power of video can also help cut through the noise, but still only 37% of viewers watch to the end.

Visuals can help drive awareness and engagement across industries. But how do you make tires cool? How do you convince people to spend time on their finances or get enterprise buyers to understand new technical specifications?

Put the customer first. Understand what’s on their mind and how to help them by meeting them on their terms.  Give them content that is helpful, that is humorous or challenges their perspective.

Top 5 Do’s and Don’ts for Content marketers:

1. Don’t tell them what your business is about or how your business units work together. Do focus on your customer. Understand your key personas and customer story.
2. Don’t jump on the latest trend. Do be consistent. Understand your brand story and where customers expect you to have a voice.
3. Don’t over invest in creating more content. Do amplify quality content that meets consumer needs and pain points along the buying journey (micronarratives).
4. Don’t limit yourself to the types of content that work now. Do increase your audience by experimenting with unique formats like podcasts, interactives, live streaming and gaming.
5. Don’t forget to measure your content marketing efforts. Do establish a clear strategy with goals, CTAs and metrics that define success.

Bonus: Do assess your team’s content marketing capabilities with Gartner’s Maturity Model for Content Marketing (clients only)