Content marketing is all marketing. Let’s just get that straight. The point and purpose of your work as a marketer is to produce compelling content that users find useful, interesting, and entertaining. The thing is, everyone is busy doing their best to create content that will grab attention. With so much competition, having less-than-great content can be a true detriment to your business.

Here are three common content mistakes that marketers make, and how to avoid them.

1. Posting without purpose: not being helpful. Start with what matters most – the content you produce should be helpful. It should captivate your audience and fulfill a purpose for both the end user and for you. Start out with a plan every time you make something. Don’t create just to create. Think about your tribe. What do they need? What are they thinking about? Everything you do should have purpose and add value for them.

(If you’re wondering how to write great content, be sure to check out my post about Storyteller Marketing. It’s full of tips about how to create content stories that will engage with your audiences.)

2. Reusing the same content without adjusting for platform and audience – unfortunately you see this somewhat often. I’m just going to say it…it’s lazy. There’s a tempting “post to Facebook” feature for Instagram posts (and across various other social media platforms) but I urge you to avoid it. Yes, you can use the same content, but you should reformat the exact details of the content. Use the appropriate delivery methods for your audiences! Change the verbiage and tone of your content to fit the audiences and platforms you are speaking to.

Think of it this way – the way you tell your best friend about a date is going to be different from the way you tell your mentor.

The way you communicate the same story will vary based on the needs of that particular audience and the way they enjoy consuming information. A long video tutorial is great for YouTube, but it won’t work as well on Twitter. You can have the same content to communicate, but tailor it to the needs and wants of your users!

3. Not proofreading your posts/work – people notice, I promise you. Proofreading takes a bit of extra effort and time. It’s especially difficult to read your own work and find errors. Our brains are extremely good at reading something we have written and fixing the errors so that we are reading what we think we wrote, not what is actually on the page.

Find someone (almost anyone) else to read your work before you publish it. Even if they are not a professional copy editor, having an extra set of eyes on your content will reduce the number of grammatical and spelling errors, and will make sure your content makes sense.

Grammarly is a great tool you can use. I use the free version installed in my web browser so it proofreads my content as I write it.

With so much competition for attention these days, creating content that helps people, is tailored to their needs, and is well written will ensure that you don’t get ignored.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please give it a quick “like” or start a conversation with me in the comments! I always enjoy connecting with others who are interested in creating great content.