This Search Engine Journal blog post by Neil Patel debunks 7 popular content marketing myths that people often follow blindly just because they have seen some of these tactics giving amazing results to other businesses. Please be mindful that the myths listed in this blog post, although don’t work for every business, some of them do work for some businesses and it also depends on how you execute your content marketing strategy. Anyway, these are the 7 popular content marketing myths you should stop following in case you are blindly following them, or at least, develop your own unique strategy to implement them.
1. Every business should have a blog
Having a blog can always help you one way or another, but it takes lots of time and commitment and if you don’t do it properly, you may end up wasting lots of resources on it. Don’t have a blog simply because other people have it. Publish a blog if you really have something interesting to share with your audience on an ongoing basis. On the flipside, if you think that you won’t be able to devote lots of time on your blog but nonetheless a blog is important for your business, you can always hire a professional content writing service to not just publish your blog but also regularly come up with interesting topics to talk about.
2. You should republish your guest posts on your own blog and all social networking websites like LinkedIn or Tumblr
Actually I’m not sure if people actually do this, that is, if they have published a guest blog post or an article on another blog or website, they want to publish the same stuff on their own blog or website. Most people, according to what I have experienced, are quite aware of the pitfalls of creating duplicate content. Besides, when someone publishes your guest blog post, he or she expects to get unique content from you. In case you want to use the idea on your own blog also you can simply create a small summary, in different words, publish it on your blog and then link it to the original guest blog post.
3. Longer blog posts and articles rank well on search engines
This is something that I always tell my customers and in fact even when I charge them a certain amount, they often ask me how many words I’m going to write for them. My standard reply is that there is no set number of words I’m going to deliver. I may write 250 words and I may also write 1250 words: it depends on what I’m trying to convey. What matters is the message and the impact that you make rather than the number of words you use. So go ahead, if you want to publish a small message of just 100 words that’s all right.
4. There is not much difference writing B2C and B2B content
Again, fortunately, most of my clients know the difference or at least have an idea, or at least they give me a patient ear when I try to explain them that B2C content is different from B2B content. How is it different?
Well, B2B clients tend to read more. They are fine with reading detailed literature about the product or service they are going to purchase. Since they are going to spend lots of money they’re going to take a good amount of time making a decision so you need to continuously provide them highly focused content.
B2C on the other hand maybe more visual than textual? People are emotion-driven. They may not spend lots of time reading about the product or service they are going to purchase as long as they find the price okay and the main features they are looking for are explained in simple language. The only similarity is just like B2B clients and customers, B2C clients and customers also need to be engaged with content on an ongoing basis.
5. Publish your best content on your own website or blog rather than on someone else’s blog or website
Personally I do feel that you should publish your best content on your own website or blog but it doesn’t make sense if you don’t have much traffic right now. If you feel that you have got something really important and useful and as many people as possible should be able to access it, better publish it on a blog or website that is already getting a decent amount of traffic. Stick to your own website or blog if enough traffic is coming, then there is no use giving your best shot to other blogs and websites.
6. Content marketing is successful only when you know exactly how much sale improvement individual content publications are bringing in
Content marketing is an ongoing process. You need a telephone. You need to talk to people on the phone. You need the fax machine. You need office or shop if people need to physically visit you before they can do business with you. You need a website. You need an email ID where people can write to you. But having all these things make you successful? No, they don’t.
Content marketing doesn’t normally give you direct sales. It helps you build an audience. It helps you build a platform where people can access your content on an ongoing basis and get to know you. If you continuously share with them high-value content they begin to appreciate you and like you and when they like you it becomes easier for them to do business with you. This is where your content marketing strategy can make a big difference.
7. More content means more traffic and more sales
It is true if most of your content is high-quality and well-written and it really helps people. For instance when you come to my blog you will find I write a lot about content writing and content marketing. I don’t just randomly blabber in order to attract as much traffic as possible. Most of my writing involves talking about my business, its various processes and how its various features can help you, either by your own effort or through my content writing services. I share with you my knowledge like I’m doing right now.
But it doesn’t make sense if I routinely start writing about web design, PHP programming, SEO, social networking, social media marketing and PPC campaign management just because they can get me traffic. People will come to my website and get disillusioned if I don’t specifically write about something related to my own business. So don’t focus on creating more content. Focus on creating value for your audience.