4 Biggest Content Marketing Challenges Businesses Face And How to Solve Them

One of the most common misconceptions about content marketing is that it’s simple, easy, and can be done by just about anyone. But, businesses face the four biggest content marketing challenges that may affect their performance. Discover how to solve them.

People think that all they have to do is create content, click “Publish,” and watch the numbers roll in.

This simplistic (and incorrect) approach fails to account for the complexities of content marketing and the hard work and brainpower that goes into crafting great content. These assumptions can also lead to content marketing challenges down the road for businesses.

Because of this, it’s critical to understand that content marketing is as much an art as it is a science.

According to this infographic by content marketing platform company Kapost, creative and analytical mindsets are necessary to inspire content that drives connection, action and revenue for organizations.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a business owner who has realized the challenges that lie ahead when it comes to content marketing. Alternatively, perhaps you’re already in the process of managing or scaling your content marketing efforts and need help to do both effectively.

Regardless of your case, read on to learn more about the standard content marketing challenges businesses face and discover how to overcome them.

Challenge: Lack of Resources

Dedicating resources to content marketing while juggling other business responsibilities and tasks is a huge, undeniable challenge for business owners.

Successful content marketing requires expertise, sufficient funding, time, and a strategy to yield the best results.

And since most SMBs face hurdles when setting up their dedicated internal teams, it’s a common challenge to put out timely, relevant, valuable content that shows off your expertise in your field.

What You Can Do: Consider Outsourcing Your Creative Processes

We have already touched on how consistently creating and publishing content can waste time, splitting your attention from running your business.

If you’re a business owner with a budget for content marketing, you can hire or train people to create and manage your content.

An in-house content marketing team can take care of your content needs while focusing on your business.

However, be prepared for the required costs, as in-house content marketing can get expensive.

For businesses that lack the time, expertise and budget, outsourcing your content marketing efforts might be a good solution.

Hiring a creative process outsourcing company to help you strategize and execute your content marketing assets means you gain access to high-quality talent with the right tools and skills. This frees you up to plan a timeline and the resources necessary to grow your internal team in the long run.

Of course, it’s essential to consider the pros and cons of insourcing and to outsource your content. We recommend identifying your priorities and which resources you can allocate. From there, you can choose the right strategic solution for you.

Challenge: The Market is Crowded

No matter your business or industry, the likelihood that someone has already written about the topic you want to write about is high.

Each day, the competition to grab consumer attention grows exponentially—whether in the form of clicks, traffic, or engagement.

You can think of the content marketing space as a noisy marketplace where hordes of businesses aggressively hawk their products and services, shouting “PICK ME! READ MY CONTENT!” at the top of their lungs.

So how can you cut through all that noise?

Aiming for quality and strategizing to stand out from the crowded market is essential.

Photo from Istock

What You Can Do: Aim for Quality and Strategize

Some businesses and marketers believe that churning out content daily—even if the output is less than spectacular—is the key to their success. Don’t fall into that trap! Keep in mind that you should always value quality over quantity.

Aim to produce and maintain high-quality content, even if it means publishing once or twice a week (as long as you have a consistent publishing schedule).

Make sure that you’re also promoting your content. What good is an excellent article if people don’t see it? Ways to do content promotion include organic social media and ads.

Another solution is doing a competitive content marketing analysis. Pick your top competitors and study their content marketing so you can be one step ahead. You can even incorporate their strategies to leverage your own.

Aside from the methods mentioned above, you may also try employing other efforts, such as increasing your domain authority so you can outrank your competitors’ content.

Challenge: Being Impatient and Having Unrealistic Expectations

Let’s clarify: getting results from content marketing WILL take time.

Content marketing requires patience and dedication. Well-executed content marketing efforts can take anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years to yield results.

Be prepared to play the long game if you’re serious about content marketing. Aim for gradual improvements, not an overnight success.

Don’t expect immediate returns as you would with more traditional marketing strategies.

What You Can Do: Create SMART Goals

After accepting that successful content marketing takes time, go back to the drawing board and review your goals.

In-depth research and analysis should be the backbone of your goal-setting—so make sure that your content marketing goals are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) to avoid setting yourself up for disappointment.

Realistic traffic and engagement targets and other reasonable objectives will keep you from dismissing your content marketing efforts as a failure.

Challenge: Measuring ROI

Every marketing effort requires measuring the return on investment (ROI) to see if the strategy is successful. After all, ROI directly translates to how effective your campaign is. It's proof that your work and investment have paid off.

However, measuring and proving ROI is one of the constant struggles for businesses regarding content marketing.

In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute, most marketers aren’t even sure what a successful content marketing program looks like.

Choose metrics important to your goals and identify the most relevant KPIs to your business.
Photo from Unsplash

What You Can Do: Set Metrics

The objective here is to establish links between marketing activities and sales results.

Here are some of the most commonly used metrics you can use to measure and evaluate the impact of your content marketing programs and to check if they’re producing reasonable ROI:

• Traffic
• Sales
• Conversions
• SEO Rank
• Time on Site
• Customer Feedback
• Subscriber Growth

Remember that you don’t have to track every metric mentioned above. Choose only the metrics important to your goals and identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) most relevant to your business.

Are you ready to achieve marketing results at a fraction of the cost?

Get in touch with us. We'll help you kick your digital marketing campaign into higher gear!

Originally posted by Rani Debil on June 18, 2019. Updated by Maria Redillas on July 26, 2022.