The curse of fragmented content and how to solve it
We need another post. Let’s just write a blog on this. I’ve written a web page for you to use.
All things that make us marketers shudder. But for a lot of us, that’s our reality. We’re under pressure to create more and that means we’re creating the wrong thing in the wrong place with the wrong message.
We’re creating fragmented content, and trust me, that’s damaging your business.
What is fragmented content?
Fragmented content is when we have disparate pieces of content which all vary in tone, messaging and purpose.
In an ideal world when we create new content it should have a purpose. That purpose might be to drive sales, increase web traffic, build relationships, encourage engagement or maybe something else. It should be a piece of the puzzle leading your audience from cold to piping hot.
We don’t live in an ideal world, and often what we see are orphan pieces of content created for the sake of it and scattered all over the place. That’s fragmented content.
Why do we fall into that trap?
Too little time, too much pressure is the short answer.
In marketing we’re always trying to do everything, often at the same time without the resources we need. That means we respond to whoever shouts the loudest, whatever deadline is approaching or whatever is quick and easy. While we know that we should stop and evaluate what we’ve got and what we need that takes time we often don’t have.
But it’s also because the customer journey has changed. It’s no longer a linear one, it’s omni-channel, it can take longer, it’s more nuanced. Google has found that the average customer journey spans 7 hours of engagement, across 4 different locations, including at least 11 pieces of content. That means that every channel needs to be linked with complementary content across them all so your users are having different content at every touchpoint rather than seeing the same information regurgitated.
It’s a lot. It requires an overhaul of how we create content and, quite simply, we don’t have the time.
It all starts with a solid plan
You might have already guessed it but the only way to make cohesive content is through a solid plan. Not just a plan though, but an audit. To build you need to know what foundations you have.
Auditing your existing content provides you with the opportunity to update, tweak, change CTAs and overhaul what you already have. This doesn’t have to be in one go, you could drip feed the updates alongside new content or even instead of writing more. Understanding where your existing blogs, articles and thought leadership pieces sit in your client’s buying journey will help you create a web of content that interests them.
When you’ve done your audit you’ll also be able to identify gaps, allowing you to create new content that has a strategic purpose. You can see what’s missing, what’s needed and where those missing pieces are that will help convert your audience.
I like to say that your content web should be like the London tube map. Lots of different lines connecting different stations. Someone can go from A to B but they might divert to C on the way. Regardless of their journey they end up in the right destination for them.
One line of narrative
The important thing to bear in mind when you’re creating your tube map is that you have one line of narrative. One core message that runs throughout all of your content. Yes, the topic will change but throughout all of your content is the same core message, core values and core tone that relates back to your business.
When that line of narrative chops and changes it’s confusing for your audience. Think about it, if you’re on an accountants Facebook page and they’re dropping memes left, right and centre, then you go to their website and it’s a strait laced as they come, something feels off, you lose that sense of connection and you move on.
The only way to keep your audience engaged throughout their 7-4-11 journey is maintaining that core narrative. As time goes on that might change, and that’s ok, but that’s why you need to do your audit. So you can catch those pieces which aren’t on message and update them.
Content isn’t a one and done job, much as we might like it to be. It’s constantly changing and your content needs to become living and breathing pieces, all playing their part in your marketing strategy.
Staying on track
If everything is always shifting, and we’re already busy, how the heck are we meant to keep on top of this process?
Break it down. You’ve got two options.
Option 1 - when you create a blog or article, diarise a review in 6-months time, do that every time you create a big piece of content.
Option 2 - block out two days a year to run a mini content audit. Go through what you’ve created in the last 6-months and audit it.
Whichever option you choose you need to act on the review. Put the deadlines in your diary or project management system, and build content reviews into your schedule.
When you break it down and it becomes part of your daily marketing activities it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. But what you’ll notice is the quality of your content will improve, it’ll be more relevant, you’ll know what you’ve got, you can save time through repurposing, your SEO ranking will improve, your conversion rates will increase.
There is honestly no downside to regularly reviewing your content and creating cohesive customer journeys. None.
Ok, there’s one. Time.
If you’re already stretched paper thin then chances are you’re reading this saying - this is all well and good but when am I meant to fit this in?
Sound familiar? Well that’s what I’m here for. I work with businesses, like yours, to audit their content, review, update and set the strategy going forward. Then you can take that and run with it or I can help produce the content too.
We can’t keep on writing content for the sake of it. More isn’t better. More is sometimes more damaging than less but higher quality. Drop me a message and let’s talk about how to tighten your content strategy so it’s doing its job, leaving you time to focus on yours.
