Tag Archives: Company marketing

January 12, 2017 · 1:11 pm

7 Content Marketing Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make in 2017

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Many of us are still in the leaf-turning phase of the new year, eager to identify and implement key areas for personal and professional change. Perhaps some of your own resolutions include improvements to your company’s content marketing endeavors. And if not—well, maybe they should.

There is never a bad time to revise your content marketing mechanisms—to be more strategic about consumer outreach, relationship-building, and thought leadership. Getting more serious about content marketing can yield many benefits, and the good news is, making constructive content marketing resolutions doesn’t have to be anything too nebulous or complex: It can be as simple as learning from yesterday’s mistakes.

With that in mind, we’ve got some suggestions for you: Some content marketing mistakes we’ve seen before, and ones we encourage you to learn from as you move forward toward bigger and better content endeavors.

Mistake #1: Blogging Inconsistently

Anyone can resolve to start a blog. Even writing that first post can seem pretty easy. Maintaining robust and regular blog content, though, is another matter altogether—yet it requires consistency for you to keep your audience engaged, increase our search engine exposure, and develop your brand’s authority.

Mistake #2: Making Grade-School Grammar Mistakes

Be honest: Have you ever posted a company blog that interchanges your with you’re, or that mixes up their and there? These aren’t just little errors. They make your business look shoddy and unprofessional. Make sure you have a skilled editor proof your content before it’s posted.

Mistake #3: Overlooking SEO Opportunities

You don’t have to be a technical whiz to fill in the meta description for your company blog post (WordPress and other content management systems will offer you a place to do this), or to include a few judicious keywords in your posts and your titles. Don’t forfeit these opportunities to tell the search engine what your content is all about.

Mistake #4: Missing Email Marketing Opportunities

Remember that when you post a really good entry to your blog, it’s something you ought to be promoting everywhere—and that includes in emails. Your email marketing list is a great place to turn when you want to get attention for a new piece of content. Spread the word, and make sure you’re conveying real value to your readers.

Mistake #5: Misusing Social Media

Your Facebook and Twitter accounts aren’t just for promoting your latest products or sales, though that’s certainly a good use for them. You should also be using them to spread meaningful, value-adding content, though—not just your company blog posts, but curated content from other industry resources, too.

Mistake #6: Poorly Formatting Your Content

Are your company blog posts difficult to read—or difficult to skim? Sub-headings, lists, and bullet points can really make life easier for your readers. If nothing else, shorter paragraphs are generally recommended.

Mistake #7: Not Offering Value Through Your Content

It ultimately comes down to what you’re writing about: You should be developing content that truly makes life better for your readers, answering their questions and posing actionable solutions to their problems. Otherwise, why would they bother?

Content development happens to be our strong suit—so if you’re looking for a hand in making big content improvements in 2017, give Grammar Chic a call at 803-831-7444, or visit us at www.grammarchic.net.

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June 25, 2014 · 3:27 pm

7 Words to Avoid in Your Company Marketing

f65f8460fb81e6ea049a04543ace1cc6_words2-695Here’s a question to ponder: How many job seekers do you think use the expression “hardworking” somewhere on their resume? We’d venture to say that it’s a pretty high percentage, which is part of the reason why we advise against it: Everyone claims to be hardworking, so it doesn’t really help you to stand out from the pack. Instead, we recommend invoking specific incidents and achievements that show you to be hardworking. Concrete, measurable accomplishments are much more alluring to an employer than vague, meaningless buzzwords.

We use this illustration because a similar concept is in play with your company’s marketing materials. A business website, Facebook bio, brochure, press release—whatever the marketing collateral in question, your goal should always be to convey some specific, measurable benefit you can offer to customers and clients. Why is it, then, that so many companies use vague and meaningless buzzwords—the business equivalents of “hardworking” or “team player” on a resume—to describe what they do?

To help you ensure that your business marketing copy is free and clear of useless words and clichés, we’ll offer you the following service: Seven of the top words to strike from your business website and marketing materials today.

Our Banned Words List

  1. Best. Do you think your business is the best one of its kind? Of course you do: You’re the business owner. And for all we know, you’re absolutely right. The thing is, you can’t prove it—and since all your competitors are saying the same thing, it’s best to focus on showing you’re the best instead of just telling it.
  2. Most. This one is in the same category. You may be the most reliable, the most transparent, the most affordable, or what have you—but unless you can back it up with specifics, it’s not exactly effective, compelling, or unique marketing copy.
  3. Quality. Here’s a word that has certain connotations within the manufacturing sector—and certainly, emphasizing the quality of your product makes sense. It’s better to state which standards or compliance guidelines you hold your products to, though, instead of just saying that you care about quality.
  4. Fresh. This one is mostly applicable for restaurants. Frankly, we hope it doesn’t need to be said that you’re working with fresh, rather than stale or moldy, ingredients. If you really want to convey freshness, give some numbers: Say that your produce is picked every morning, or that you brew your coffee every half hour.
  5. Excellence. What does this even mean? That you try to do a good job in your work? Again, we would hope that this goes without saying.
  6. Expertise. Don’t tell us you’re an authority. Prove it. Show your expertise in action.
  7. 110%. Honestly: No. You won’t give 110 percent. It’s mathematically impossible—and it’s simply a dreadful cliché.

To our readers, we ask: What are some other words you’d propose be stricken from the marketing vocabulary?

And for companies looking to have their own materials overhauled, we invite you to contact us today: Call 803-831-7444, or visit http://www.grammarchic.net.

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