There are product content mistakes you do not want to make as they can be detrimental to your business growth and overall success. A mistake in your product content is one of them. Without a hard-proof and solid product content strategy, you will discover that you have invested your time, effort, and money for nothing.
I will give you a fact; people seem to know how important content as a business element can be, however, it is one element that is not given much attention to. It is important because it encompasses the entirety of all communication a firm has with its customers.
Consumers of today have gotten more informed with so many alternatives to select from and you do not want to make mistakes with regard your product content. Well, because there is another competitor always ready to snatch them and turn them into loyal customers!
In the course of this post, you will find product content mistakes you would never want to make. However, if you have made some, there is always room for immediate improvement. They are discussed below;
Inadequate Strategy Formulation and Planning
“He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” Before you begin writing your product content, a lot of clear plans should be made with regards to its strategy and execution. You need to have goals you intend to accomplish with the product content.
The mistake most companies make is the warped idea that the only goal of their product content should be getting likes and shares across the globe. This is only a small portion of it. Without a strategy, you will only be wasting time as your product content will be ineffective.
Define strategies for every single step you will take as a brand in your content marketing. Start with a clear business goal you want to achieve and the outcome you desire from them. Have a clear focus, as trying to achieve too much at the same time can make an analysis of what is working and what is not quite difficult.
If you are hoping to create buzz and make it go viral, your product content will be more vibrant to get people tweeting and sharing it easily. Of course, it becomes a different content for a corporate site.
Know your customers intimately and what makes them tick. This will go a long way to dictate how you communicate with them and meet their needs. Doing this will involve research effort to know the needs and desires of your customers and how best to meet it with your product.
Planning and having a clear strategy helps build the foundation for your product content to thrive and produce positive results.
Making Use of Click-Bait Titles and Headlines
In a bid to catch the attention of consumers, some brands engage in the creation of click bait titles. Articles with click-bait headlines rely on flashy and shocking title claims to suck people in, which give a message entirely different from the body of the content.
Using click bait titles and headlines is one of top product content mistakes. While it may get you the desired traffic to your site, it will leave your customers frustrated. You can make a difference by producing honest and factual content that will provide solutions to the challenges they face.
Please, do not damage your brand credibility by letting yourself get sucked into the short-lived thrills of click-baiting. Your customers will lose faith in your brand when you use deceitful titles that are not in sync with the content they eventually read.
Instead of clickbait titles, strive for captivating subject lines. Ensure that you deliver whatever you promised in the title in the introduction of your content. There are also free tools available to help you analyze headlines and how they rank in quality.
Poor Product Descriptions
Do you know how frustrating it can be when you read a product description and it offers a bland detail? And sometimes, against my judgment, I have bought products I wouldn’t have considered because of the compelling, solid eye-catching product description that was offered.
When you have an attention-grabbing product content, it has a persuasive effect of making you need it and you find yourself getting it. I remember a statement I saw online and it aptly summarizes this; “having poor product description is like committing conversion suicide”. This statement hit me hard.
Your words and copy layout matter
Avoid using excessive technical terms and ambiguous words that are difficult to understand to your average customer. I always say that the best way to write copies is to write as a consumer; you know what will appeal to you as a customer, so do the same. Sell an experience to them that will always leave them wanting more and beat a path to your store.
It is all about the experience and personality you sell. It is good to proofread your content before you publish it on all your media platforms.
You need to know how to write product descriptions that sell. This takes time, effort, research and an insight into the minds of the consumers. You do not want to make mistakes about this.
Do you come across product descriptions that make you feel like the owner wrote it probably at gun-point or just because it was of necessity to put up a description?
How did you feel?
I bet it poisoned your mind with regards to the benefits that could have been derived from the use of the product or service. This should give you an inkling as to how important product descriptions are and how a mistake in this area can be costly to your business growth.
Ignoring the Appeal of Product Images and Relying Solely On Texts
This is a mistake closely following the point discussed above. There are some products like electronics, vehicles and so on; which have their selling points in images and video descriptions. Pictures of the product from different angles can go a long way to assure the buyer he is making the right choice.
Sometimes, your product image can boost your customer’s interest in your offer. The increasing growth in mobile devices equipped with good cameras makes it easy to create visual content and share it on different platforms in a matter of seconds.
If I am to buy a product online, I do not have the ability to hold it up for the close inspection of every single aspect. Already at a disadvantage, I have to rely on images from multiple angles with the option of zooming in. It is that important. What do you think is going to happen if the product image in the display is poor?
Visual content beats textual
Research has shown that 94% more total views are attracted by content containing images that are compelling than content that does not contain images. That is a high percentage and one that should not be taken lightly.
You may think the poor quality and blurry images used will go unnoticed. You could not be more wrong because they do not! Make quality your top priority in every visual product content you publish. Your customers will always notice all the details you put into your content creation and this will influence their final purchase decision.
Ensure that quality standards are established and with consistency in quality, you will attract more prospects to your site. Always remember that your product images are what the potential sees and bases his decision on. Ensure that your product images are of high quality.
Failing To Check for Product Content Mistakes before Publishing
It may not seem like such a big deal to forget to cross your “T’s” and dot your “I’s”; but it really is. Of course, the advancement of technology makes it easier to publish marketing content faster. Always resist the urge to hastily publish yours until you follow due proofreading protocols.
The presence of grammatical mistakes in your product content does not make you seem professional. I still feel I should repeat this for emphasis; always try to proofread your work thoroughly before publishing them with no expense should be spared.
Proofreading is more than just checking for misspelled words. Sentences with good intentions have been turned into embarrassing ones as a result of failure to proofread. Proofreading renders a high level of accuracy and quality even to an average work.
There is a long-term benefit associated with careful proofreading of your content. It can go a long way to help preserve your reputation as a credible brand and your relationships with your stakeholders. When you provide consistent product content that is well crafted and free of grammatical mistakes, spelling and factual errors to your customers, you position yourself as a trusted resource.
I am not saying all content you publish must be a hundred percent accurate; sometimes, product content mistakes are bound to occur despite our best efforts. After all, human error is inevitable. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could reduce the chances of its occurrence considerably? That is where proofreading comes in.
There are a lot of free software and tools you can use to proofread and double-check your product content for mistakes before publishing. A popular one is Grammarly. Remember, a poor content structure or grammar can chase a prospect out the door!
Underestimating the Social Share Button
A lot of companies fall victim to this mistake. When you underestimate the importance of social sharing, you miss out on a lot of opportunities that would have driven a lot of traffic to your site. Of course, this translates into a loss of prospects and loss of sales.
Gone are the days when social media was optional or just a connection platform for teens. Businesses have incorporated it as a strategy in their marketing activities. When your product content is not shareable on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+ among others, it limits the buzz that would have been created.
Your product content should be able to drive traffic to your web and your store and there is power in numbers. Having created great product content, you need to put it out there. Always ensure that there are social sharing buttons available for your customer or a random site visitor to share across different channels.
Make images you add in your contents more “pinnable” and always attach a share option to your content. Trust me, if the content is compelling enough, it will attract shares across numerous platforms and this will, in turn, increase awareness and generate revenue for your business.
Omitting Your Contact Details
It is not enough to write compelling product descriptions and content that makes customers run to your store, you should also make it easy for them to contact you. I guess the fear of most customers is that they want to be sure you will be readily available to them when they need help or information about your product.
A phone number, web address, email address or a toll-free line will do wonders for your customers and facilitate communication between you two.
Clear contact detail is a must. It is highly important that you include a contact detail in your product content and ensures someone is always available to respond to calls and reply to messages or emails sent. You should have an email address for customer service that will be easily accessible.
Excluding SEO Keywords in Product Content is a Major Mistake
If you want your site to be easily found, you are going to have to play by some rules. If you want to be easily found on search engines, there is a need for the inclusion of keywords that are relevant and effective to the product you are selling.
These keywords, when included, will help increase your online visibility and generate more traffic which can result in leads. This brings me to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) keywords. Don’t worry; I will explain if you are not quite familiar with it.
Think of SEO keywords as the phrases in your web or product content that will make it easy for people to find your site via search engines. Whenever you type in a word, phrase or sentence on your search engine, it will display millions of results often separated by pages. Implementing and taking note of this will give you an edge over your competition by ensuring your site ranks high.
With the inclusion of keywords, you can create great product content that answers the question of your prospects with their keyword searches; thus driving web traffic on your site.
Little or No Customer Relationship Building
You will discover that most consumers buy more than the product you are selling. They are buying a solution to their problems and they need to be able to trust you can deliver, which brings in the aspect of relationship building.
Building lasting customer relationships is the fastest way to reduce customer churn and improve your customer service. Don’t just take my word for it. A popular quote from Sam Walton comes to mind here, “the goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.”
In today’s competitive world, you do not want to be found wanting in this regard. It has become increasingly important to build customer relationships that add value to the entire customer experience over their lifetime.
Communicate like a human
Through your product content, you need to communicate like a human being and not a heartless machine. Your content should not sound stiff and memorized; instead, go for conversational and friendly. After all, customers really want to communicate with your brand as a person.
You need to see every interaction you have with your customers as an opportunity to build a lasting relationship with them. Through this connection, it will be easy to be the top choice among different alternatives they may come across.
Follow up comments, inquiries, and complaints about your product content and respond adequately. Do not end your relationship with the closing of a sale but follow up even after the sale.
Remember to communicate relevant and correct information in your product content because this will help boost your goodwill and increase your credibility with your customers.
Avoid Product Content Mistakes
In your product content, you need to create buyer persona which becomes the version of the customers that are ideal for your product or service. What am I trying to say? Write your product content with your specific target customer in mind. This entails that you take time to carefully research on your customers and their specific needs and interests.
Everyone will never be your customer so do not make the mistake of writing just to anyone who will visit your page. Understand the needs of your target audience and write to them specifically. If you have a broad customer base, you will not be able to effectively engage with anyone; so focus on a few instead and make it personal.
Invoke creativity in your content
As earlier said, your product content should not lack enthusiasm or creativity. This is even more important for online stores as it is the information you provide that makes them see the product in their mind’s eye to make an informed decision.
I dare say, the more description you can give, the better for your store. This will go a long way to help your customers feel like they are already using the product.
Keywords are key, hence the name
Much attention should be given to customer relationship building. Open communication strategies should be drafted to build relationships and create more value for your customers. It will definitely pay off in the long run.
I always stress the need for consistency in driving brand loyalty. Consistency can shape the direction of a business. As Anthony Robbins rightly said, “it is not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It is what we do consistently”. Always remember that content marketing is not a one-off activity but a long-term commitment.
Speak to your customers
A good product content places much emphasis on the prospects and what they are actually interested in, and not what your company is. You are not designing your product content for yourself but for your customers. This means that your personal needs are not important. The needs of your customers should always take precedence over yours.
You need to ensure that you also distribute and promote your content. The goal is to get the word out there and distribute it to the people who will benefit from it. This means you should carry out offline and online advertising and promotional activities to be able to achieve your target.
Finally, in the marketing world today, content is highly important. Potential customers to your site consume the content you produce and they will keep returning if you always have something interesting to tell them.
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