Signs You’re Creating Irrelevant Content
A not-so-long time ago, someone coined the term “content is king.” Since doing so, every company everywhere has wrestled with the balance of producing regular content and generating original copy that people want to read. Staying a part of the conversation can be challenging if you aren’t using the right tools to evaluate your content. Be on the lookout for these 5 signs indicating that it’s time to adopt a new strategy.
- You’re Posting Without Doing Research
Chances are that if you’re not doing research then it’s because you don’t know what you should be researching. While yes, you want to be well versed in the topic that your content surrounds, a well-researched article will be buried online if it does not contain the correct keywords. Choosing proper keywords help to drive your content up in SEO results.
Researching this looks like this: familiarize yourself with what’s being searched for/questions people are asking, what others in your industry are talking about, what kind of results are already appearing around your desired phrase, and lastly, ask yourself if you can create content that aligns with both the results and your company.
2. There is Little to No Engagement
When you talk to a person in real life, you look for signs of engagement (eye contact, head nods, a comment or two, etc.) to indicate that you’re being heard. The same is true in the digital world. If you are seeing low or declining engagement levels on your posts, then there is a good chance that your content is not being read.
A quick solution could be to look at your page’s history and repeat posting styles of your highest engagements (Was it a photo or video post? What time of day/week/month were you posting?). This might help to clue you in on what your target audience is looking for and when they’re looking. Another tool is using BuzzSumo to look at what kind of content is driving online conversations around a particular topic.
3. Sale, Sale, Sale
If the majority of your content is pushing a product then you might need to find a better way of contributing to the online noise. Rather than creating a digital spreadsheet of your products and features, focus on solving your customer’s questions/challenges. By constantly pushing your products/services, you may be annoying your audience and pushing them away from your company. Try to follow the 80/20 rule when posting: 80% informational and educational, 20% promote your offerings.
4. He Said, She Said
Don’t rely on content that another company created. When you share something that has already been published elsewhere, you’re only contributing to that source. Even if the topic has recently generated a lot of buzz, find something new to say about the topic. By offering a new take or finding evidence to support the issue, you are creating something of value to your readers – making it more interesting and worth reading.
5. Traffic is Declining
If you’ve noticed that a particular high trafficked medium has started to decline, take the hint. Figure out the root of the problem before it’s too late. Start by looking at where the highest traffic was and when it started to drop off. Consider revisiting the high preforming content and monitor your audience’s reaction. Use these questions to help refocus your content: What’s showing up around those keywords? Did my content lose any visibility around any of the terms? What edits can be made to more resemble the top search results? How has the search changed between then and now? Should I make relevant edits to this piece?
To summarize, all of these warning signs can be solved by keeping your audience at the forefront of every post. Before hitting send, ask if your reader will care about what you are telling them. Do they already know what you have to say? Make sure that your posts offer the value of new information that they will want to share with others. Crafting relevant content takes time, but when you put in the effort and complete keyword research, your posts are sure to see a spike in engagement.
By: Miranda Hardesty Hoffpauir
