We talk a lot about content. How to use it correctly, the different tools you can use to make it “pop,” and most of all, how to improve it.
But what if your content is already amazing? What if you’ve followed every single rule and suggestion, blazed your own creative trail and see no possible way to improve on perfection — but you’re still not getting the traffic you deserve?
If this sounds like the boat you’re in, Mischa Communications has come to respond to your SOS!
Find Out What Your Audience Wants
You can have the best content in the world, but if it’s in the wrong format for your unique audience, you’re never going to get the kind of traffic you want.
Track down your most popular post. Was it an infographic? A video? A blog post? Compare the number of hits for that piece of content against others in the same format. If you notice a pattern, great! That’s what your audience wants to see.
If nothing stands out, it’s time for some trial and error. Create several posts providing the same information, but in different formats. Which is the most popular? That will give you clues to what your audience needs from you.
Still unsure? Ask them! Science, analytics and testing can tell you a lot – but words from real, live people may be able to tell you something that the data can’t.
Share Your Stuff
If you’re laboring under the delusion that your awesome content is so awesome that it needs no introduction, you’re setting yourself up to fail. If no one knows your content exists, they’re certainly not going to go out of their way to find it.
Share all your content on your social media channels. People may love your website, but they likely only visit it occasionally. However, the average person checks their social media accounts a staggering 17 times per day! That’s 17 chances each day you have to catch their attention and not only have your content viewed, but (hopefully) shared, too.
Note: This doesn’t mean you should post 17 times a day. In fact, you shouldn’t. It simply means that whenever you create something new, you need to share it on your social media channels to get maximum exposure.
Improve Your Website
If your content is great but your website isn’t, you’re bound to lose traffic and increase your bounce rate. No matter how awesome that professionally-shot product video may be, the majority of your audience won’t stick around if it takes too long to load. In fact, Kissmetrics estimates that 47% of people expect a website to load in two seconds or less, and 40% of people will abandon the site in its entirety if it takes even a second longer.
Even if your load times are stellar, broken links, shoddy page design and navigation problems will send readers to the exits — which could account for your lack of traffic on otherwise fabulous content.
Take It Slow
Everyone wants to be an overnight success, but the cold, hard truth is that content marketing takes a lot of work — and a lot of time. Check your expectations against your reality. Are you expecting too much? Have you given it enough time? Are you looking for problems where problems don’t exist?
Be patient. If you’re confident in your content, and you’ve done everything correctly, traffic will come — you just may have to wait for it to arrive.
A lack of traffic can be frustrating, especially when you’ve poured your heart and soul into your carefully crafted content. But if the content isn’t the problem, it’s time to figure out the underlying issue.
Mischa Communications can help! Contact us today and we’ll work with you to diagnose the issues that are keeping your awesome content from getting the traffic it deserves.