Research shows that the vast majority of marketers today incorporate content marketing into their strategies. In fact, 88% of business-to-business marketers and 76% of consumer-facing marketers use content marketing, so there’s a good chance that you are already familiar with content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute)
However prevalent content marketing is, many common tactics are not so successful. In fact, one Content Marketing Institute survey reports that only a third of businesses find their content marketing efforts to be effective.
Take a look at the content you have already created. Are older posts still relevant, or do they need to be updated? Does your existing content look stale in design and aesthetic? Which messages and ideas are still timely, and which are outdated? As you make your assessments and evaluations, identify the content that can still be used but could use a makeover.
It will also be helpful to take a look at metrics in order to parse out what has resonated with your audience the most, so you can find your top-performing strategies. Was there a video that was shared a lot on social media? Did a particular blog post bring an unheard of amount of traffic? This means the content produced in these cases struck a chord with consumers — use this content again, but rework and refresh it as if it were new!
Lastly, take a look at your consistency. Specifically, how often do you provide value to a target audience? Have you driven sales by attracting your demographic with useful information on a regular basis? If yes, it is likely that you have properly captured consumer attention and business. You may be publishing infographics regularly, or even engaging directly and frequently with clients via social media posts. If, instead, your consistency is lacking, you are missing major opportunities to attract and engage an audience, as well as position yourself as an industry leader.
Whether or not you believe your content marketing efforts have been effective, there is always room for improvement. Be sure to refresh your content marketing strategy every so often in order to stay competitive and bring your brand’s marketing A-game to customers.