Nihil novi from Latin or in other words- nothing new. Digital marketing these days seems to be all about the SEO, optimisation and content. A lot of companies and indeed agencies seem to take it to heart, however never for long enough for it to bring the desired results.The misunderstanding of the concept of content marketing results in misconception of a whole idea. The wrong interpretation can cause huge disappointment and quitting. This is true for small enterprises, large organisations and corporation but also about marketing agencies at the centre of it!Content marketing doesn’t work as a money making machine. It requires patience, planning and persistence.We’d love it to work right away….write content, publish it, post about it on social media and perhaps pay for an advert here and there. People love it, start sharing it, before you know you have leads coming from every possible direction. Cut the long story short- you achieved what you aimed for.Unfortunately, content marketing doesn’t work quite like that.The process is a lot slower and often mundane.Generating your first content can take ages! By the time you come up with an idea and find an inspiration, you research it and hope you can pull it off can lead to the lack of confidence or uncertainty. The actual writing can be a hurdle too!Once you have overcome the initial difficulties and published the piece, the response can be weak or none. You might have small database or small following. You know you need to be consistent, and so despite everything you keep going.But then the first crisis hits you- is it worth it? Nobody reads my stuff, listen to my podcast or watch my video anyway… Perhaps I should go back to the advertising or marketing method I had set in the first place?But just then, you get your first positive comment or a private message. Your content is interesting and useful, somebody found it helpful. A big smile draws on your face. Maybe it is worth going?The more you create, the bigger response you get. Your statistics beginning to look better, and your readership is growing. It’s not a quick journey; it resembles Sisyphean tasks where you have to roll the boulder to the top of the steep hill.There is no viral revolution, you lack creativity at times, and finally when you have an idea for your content, you sit in front of the computer and the words just won’t come out.But on a positive note, you are learning, your punctuation gets better, text formatting gets easier and you beginning to understand basic SEO rules.Importantly- you begin to understand what your readers’ want, what makes them tick.Still- the sales don’t grow. Although more and more people download your content and sign up to your newsletter, the sales are at the same level that of before you started your content marketing. And they come from your old clients, old leads.At this point you may experience another crisis and doubt in your content. You’re running the circles. You have breaks in publishing…But just then…First results are coming through. You are being contacted by people who followed your blogs and content for a while now. They say that they wanted to check you out, see how long you will last. Now they are sure you are determined and consistent in what you doing, they like what they see.And the ball starts rolling…the positive comments and reviews are coming through, you are beginning to be recognised for your professional approach and because you monitor the web- you notice you are being mention, quoted and referred to. Well done, you made it!It is often said it takes 12 “touches” before you truly make contact with an individual. You would not expect to meet some in the street and marry them the next day! Content marketing is about gaining, engaging, learning and delivering. As my mum always says- good things happen to those who wait!Image: JL Designs
.png)
