5 Content Mistakes to Avoid

Content is an essential piece to any successful marketing program, but there’s certainly a right and wrong way to go about it. Too many times, firms get sidetracked with other priorities and the result is content that’s more likely to make prospects grimace than to attract them and convert them into paying clients. Here are five surefire ways to turn your prospects away with your content.

1. Not Focusing on Your Client

You are trying to promote yourself and your law firm, so it’s not uncommon to revert focus on yourself when you produce content. However, good content is all about education. So, create content that will educate your target audience.

Do your research to find out what content your customers want and give it to them at the right time and through the right channel. Understanding who you are writing for and what their particular pain points may be will give you the tools you need to create the content they want. When you concentrate on the client, not only will topics come easily, but they will relate back to you and what you can provide your clients.

2. No Clear-Cut Call to Action (CTA)

In a recent study, the content platform Taboola partnered with Neilson to test people’s attentiveness and emotional response with different content types. Not surprisingly, they found that participants were most openminded after reading an article and experienced a rapid increase in both attentiveness and emotional response.

This suggests that there’s a great opportunity to reach people right when they’re done reading your article. Make sure you state exactly what you want them to do by providing a call to action. Your call to action might be as simple as asking them to subscribe to your newsletter, to watch a video or download an e-book.

3. Lack of Consistent Production

Do you have a concrete content marketing strategy or are you creating content at random? You need to have a well-documented content marketing plan and content scheduling calendar. Having a plan ensures that you’ll be producing content on a consistent basis, something your audience will appreciate.

4. Creating Content with Little Value

It’s definitely a challenge to create new, exciting, engaging content all the time! But churning out lots of content that repeats and self-promotes is not the solution. If good content is all about education, then think about what your clients and prospects need to learn. Case studies, ‘How To’ articles and FAQs are all formats that will speak to your audience and provide value. Be sure to use terms and language your target audience is familiar with.

5. Ignoring Data

Paying attention to marketing metrics is always important. When it comes to content, reviewing your analytics will help you determine what topics and formats work best. Which pages and posts are most popular? Which produced the most conversions? Knowing that will allow you to make informed decisions and tweak your strategy.

Are you ready to use your content to generate revenue?

Dollar for dollar, content marketing generates In a recent study as more traditional marketing methods. Don’t let your fear of making mistakes deter you from planning and implementing a content marketing strategy.

Rita Chaires

Director, Web and Online Marketing Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com