5 common obstacles for content marketers and how to overcome them
Content marketers face many challenges in their daily tasks and within bigger marketing teams but most of us are up for the challenge. From creating high-value content on a consistent basis to proving that our work matters and contributes to wider company goals, content marketers have their work cut out for them.
Much of this work is fun, like coming up with new takes on trending topics, adding content to evergreen pieces, finding fun ways to repurpose content, and creating something completely fresh in the industry that gets tons of traffic. But there are also challenges in content marketing.
A big challenge we face is overcoming obstacles to creating this original, valuable content regularly.
In this post I’m breaking down five common obstacles content marketers face and tips for overcoming them to keep your content marketing team producing great content on a timely schedule.
5 obstacles in content marketing
1. Too many cooks in the kitchen
One of the biggest obstacles, funnily enough, is having too many people involved in the content process. Different content creators, editors, stakeholders, etc. being involved often leads to a long project timeline and slow approval process, making it even harder to do content marketing effectively or capitalize on trends and turn content around quickly.
Solution: For each content project, identify those who actually need to be involved in the content creation process and those that have the time and can approve pieces in a timely manner. Project management tools help in this area where you have visibility on where a project or certain task stands or can re-assign tasks as needed.
2. No resources or time
On the flip side you have a problem where there aren’t enough resources or time to create the content marketing pieces you’ve got lined up on your content calendar. Even for a small content marketing team you’ll need at least three key players: the writer, the editor, and the designer. One of these roles can pull double duty and act as the distributor too, but those three roles are critical for creating good content.
Solution: If possible, obviously the best solution is hiring those key roles on your team or even working with an agency to take over one of them, like the design aspect. Finally, you can always scale back content production or focus on content that can follow a similar template for quick turnaround.
3. No access to customers
Sometimes we find ourselves creating content for our customers without actually knowing if the content is right for them or not. You can have the most optimized blog and well-researched piece but it won’t matter if it’s not targeting the right people. At the end of the day, content marketers should be driving conversions and not just traffic.
Solution: Coordinate with customer service or sales to really get to know your customers and what information they find valuable or what questions they keep brining to the table. Customer surveys are a great way to learn what kind of content they’d like to see from you or work with your social media manager to learn what topics or content formats work really with your audience on that channel and replicate your efforts on your own site.
4. Low cooperation
Another one that’s a flip of the too many cooks in the kitchen is the problem of having great content ideas but no one wanting to take ownership. It’s really hard to put out quality content when you don’t have access to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), which means your content will have no E.A.T. (Expertise, Authority, and Trust). This one goes beyond just the content marketing team and marketing department as cooperation should come from all departments of the organization.
Solution: Have a list of established SMEs for different topics so your content has authority behind it. Pull senior leadership in and get buy-in from them on tasking who a SME is and make it part of the company culture that different departments are expected to participate when asked.
5. Creating content just to create content
Yup, I’m marking this as an obstacle in and of itself because creating content just to create it isn’t motivating and it’ll show in its production and consumption. This content tends to be basic and low quality and won’t do anything to help you reach your marketing goals. I’ve seen many brands that focus on putting anything on the blog because they think it’s better to have something than nothing, when the opposite is true. The web is so saturated with content that you truly need to create good content to stand out and get eyes on it.
Solution: Start with a content audit to see what you have and whether it needs updating or if you have any content gaps or if you can add a complementary piece of content to one of your most popular pieces. Then create a content calendar with your content ideas so you have a regular cadence of good content. It’s better to wait longer between releasing content if you know you can create something better with more time. It’s quality, not quantity here.
What other obstacles have you faced in content marketing? Share your story in the comments below!
