I see people spending thousands of dollars creating content, and I have one question. What's it actually doing for your business?
You got 50,000 views on a video. Great. Did anybody call you? Did you generate any leads? Did you make any money?
I'm not saying views don't matter. Of course they do. But if you're spending money creating content every day, you should probably know what you're getting out of it.
I've been involved in marketing and lead generation for years, and I think a lot of businesses have gotten so caught up in creating content that they've forgotten why they're doing it in the first place.
Everybody wants more views
I get it. You want people watching your videos, reading your articles, and following your social media accounts. So do I.
But I'd rather have 500 people watching something who are actually interested in what I'm doing than 50,000 people who couldn't care less.
Think about it. If you're selling software to call center operators, what good does it do you to have a million people watching your video if none of them own or operate a call center? I'd rather reach 100 call center owners who might actually need what we're offering.
That's the difference between getting attention and getting the right attention. And I think a lot of businesses are confusing the two.
That's the difference between getting attention and getting the right attention.
What happens after somebody watches your content?
This is where I think people are missing opportunities. Somebody watches your video. They're interested in what you're talking about. Now what?
Can they find your website? Do they know how to contact you? Is there somewhere they can request information? And if they do fill out a form, who's following up?
Because I've seen businesses spend money getting people to their websites, only to have those inquiries sit there without anybody doing anything with them.
You don't necessarily need more traffic. Sometimes you need to figure out what you're doing with the traffic you've already got.
That's why I'm always talking about lead generation, lead management, email, SMS, and calling. They all play a part in what happens after somebody becomes interested in your business.
Stop trying to make everything look like a commercial
Here's something else I've noticed. People spend so much time trying to make their content look perfect that they forget somebody actually has to want to watch it.
Not everything needs a fancy introduction, graphics flying across the screen, or a professionally written script. Sometimes you just need to talk to people. Tell them what you're working on. Explain something you've learned. Ask them a question.
I can put together a post talking about call centers, and somebody who's actually in that business might respond with a question or tell me what they're doing. Now we're having a conversation.
I'd take that over a bunch of likes from people who aren't interested in anything we're doing. And I think businesses need to do more of that.
You're making content. Is anybody seeing it?
Another thing that doesn't make much sense to me is spending hours creating something without having a plan for where it's going.
You record a 30-minute video. Why wouldn't you take a few good clips from it and put them on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, or wherever your audience is? Maybe somebody would rather read about the topic. Turn it into an article. Maybe you covered three different subjects in the video. Those could be three separate posts.
You already did the work.
I'm not saying you should throw the same content everywhere without thinking about who's going to see it. I'm saying you should get more use out of the content you're already creating. And you should probably know where the people you're trying to reach are spending their time.
Here's what I'd pay attention to
If I were looking at a company's content strategy, I'd want to know which topics are getting people to respond. Not just like a post. Actually respond.
Who's asking questions? Who's visiting the website? Who's requesting information? Are those inquiries turning into conversations with potential customers? And are any of those conversations turning into revenue?
Because if you're spending money on content, those are things worth knowing.
I'm not against posting every day. We create a lot of content ourselves. I just don't think publishing another video or article should be the goal. The goal should be getting in front of the right people and giving them a reason to talk to you.
Otherwise, what are we doing?
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