The problems facing content marketers are becoming more complex and challenging each year. As smaller businesses struggle to survive against larger publishing powerhouses, even platforms seem to be biased against independent labels. But meeting the challenges head-on and understanding what you might have to face can help build a solid defense as your business expands. From keeping up with algorithms to understanding legal issues, here are a few.
Stagnant Industry and Client Growth
One of the worst things for a company involved with something as evolutionary as marketing is stagnation. If you don’t move with the time and expand, your client list can all but dry up, causing untold misery for the business. One of the most effective tools you have is to grow your marketing business with new services. When implemented correctly through analysis, internal assessment, and partner services, you can give larger competitors a run for their money!
Algorithm Problems Facing Content Marketers
As a content marketer, you are at the mercy of algorithms. Algorithms run the platforms you use all the time, such as Google and social media. Given that the Google algorithm updates up to 600 times per year, where do you even start? It’s a proactive job, but you can try a few of these:
- Pay attention to official sources directly linked to each platform’s algorithm.
- Constantly monitor data with services such as Google Analytics to spot changes.
- Stay informed by joining online groups and forums for fast and efficient information.
- Sign up for blog newsletters related to online technology, such as SEO services.
- Diversify potential traffic sources to hedge traffic against changes in the algorithm.
Most changes to algorithms are pretty small. Yet even small changes can have a major impact on how content is served, SEO scores, and traffic. So, keep an eye on any algorithm changes.
Maximizing the Quality of Content
If there’s one thing that tends to be overlooked these days, it’s quality. Some marketers are under the mistaken belief that more is better. And when this happens, quality tends to drop. Sure, it’s good to have a steady stream of content. But it’s a waste of money and time to produce inaccurate, irrelevant content that no one will engage with. All efforts must be made to ensure any type of content resonates with the audience and has been researched well.
Getting Your Content Out There
So, how do you get content out there? Content marketers use various methods, such as blog posts with on-page SEO. There are also social media marketing methods, such as using creative hashtags. But even with clever devices, there’s a lot of competition. The most effective way of getting content out there is with an SEO strategy that works. This includes keyword research and a linking strategy. Over time, authority builds for potentially more exposure.
Finding and Connecting with the Audience
Perhaps the most essential part of successful marketing is resonating with the audience. But where do you even start? Finding the target audience is a step that must not be taken in haste. Market research using various methods (surveys, polls, data analysis) will help you understand what your audience wants and, indeed, the core demographics you should target. Just asking existing and new clients can help understand what it is that is missing from your services.
Getting a Return on Investment
Marketing budgets are among the lowest for most businesses. Despite that, clients often expect miraculous results for their investment. As a marketing team, you must work with what you have to do your best to meet customer expectations. However, not all campaigns are successful and some will flat out fail. This means the client won’t see a hefty ROI if any at all! Identifying metrics and their sources for performance measurement is an ideal way to determine cost vs. ROI.
Monetization Problems Facing Content Marketers
Making money is the whole point of marketing if we are honest. In 2022 the global digital marketing sector was valued at $322.2 billion. That’s a lot of investment to work with! However, monetization isn’t that easy today, and there are quite a few challenges you might face.
Tighter access to consumer data
New laws are making it harder for marketing services to access consumer data, such as cookies. Publishers are using new methods of direct relationships through valuable content.
Reduced ad spending revenues
Rising inflation and other economic issues are causing a slowdown in ad revenues. This is forcing marketers to focus on the quality of content to enhance the monetization process.
Finding reputable creators
Creators are investing more of their own money into marketing. But marketers must find creators that align with their values if they are to morally and ethically complete a campaign.
Legal and ethical content
Further to the above, the content itself must align with wider expectations. Ethically and morally challenging content doesn’t engage a wide audience and can cause negative revenue streams.
Competition against larger companies
The giants of marketing are beginning to push out smaller businesses. These also enjoy more favorable revenue sharing across platforms that make it more challenging for SMBs to prosper.
Implementing a Solid SEO Plan
You can’t ignore search engine optimization (SEO) as a content marketer. It’s almost like the bread and butter of a digital or online campaign. Of course, there are many other aspects of online marketing, but SEO is cheap and extremely powerful. However, SEO relies on much more than a few keywords. Any marketer today must understand how to design and implement a solid and reliable SEO strategy using more than one known tactic to maximize the results.
Coming Up with Fresh Ideas
With such a vast history of marketing throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, marketing is more challenging today than ever before. Fresh ideas can be like a mirage, and when you think you have something stunning, it’s gone. So, how do you get around this? First, you need a talented team. The right team will carry ideas forward and evolve them. You can even begin with inspiration from past campaigns and morph them into something new, as Juul did with vapes!
Finding the Right Platform
It’s all too easy to want to apply a campaign to as many platforms as possible to potentially maximize exposure. But is that really the best use of the budget? Not all platforms have the same audience types, and some niches are better suited to some platforms. Aim for the platform that has the largest section of your target demographic. But also has the tools to implement a solid campaign for efficient use of resources. You may find you only need one!
Opposing Views that Create Toxicity
There are major disputes today between social media and the content creator scene. Working with creators as a marketer can be challenging. But what about when you throw in cultural toxicity that could hit home with your personal feelings? The video game industry is a perfect example. Today, there is a clear fracture between the industry itself and gamers all over the world who feel that developers are out of touch. In the end, you might have to pick a side!
Legal Problems Facing Content Marketers
Most issues on the web are frivolous and even petty. But of course, there are legal issues you can run into from time to time. Copyright is a perfect example. Twitch copyright claims have skyrocketed from 50 per year to over 1,000 per week! So, here are some tips to avoid claims:
- Research and complete due diligence to ensure all materials are free from copyright.
- Only publish works that are original, or you have written permission to go ahead with.
- Ensure you have the right to use materials published by freelance contractors.
- Always cite the correct attribution when content is sourced or linked from third parties.
- Keep a record of licenses and rights for any works used within your content.
Copyright claims can be a minor hassle at the very least and a major legal nightmare at the most. Staying vigilant, using original work and being cautious will help avoid the problems.
Lack of Engagement and Follower Loss
Relevancy today is a cruel mistress! One day, your clients can be riding high because of a campaign, and tomorrow, it can all be taken away. One of the main reasons is poor engagement, which often results in loss of followers and other negative knock-on effects. Many creators work hard to engage with their audience, so working with them on a strategy that includes rich media, commenting, and content management helps keep them in good standing.
Summary
Stagnant growth for clients is one of the problems facing content marketers in modern business. Adapting and rolling out new services is one solution. Further afield, economic issues are also plaguing many businesses who are forced to cut ad budgets which make marketing all the more challenging. Any businesses or content creators you work with also need to stay relevant. This can be hampered by a lack of engagement and follower loss, which feed each other in a cycle.
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