The Importance of Quality Over Quantity in Content Marketing
Is your content marketing falling short? Maybe it’s time to focus on quality over quantity to make sure your content is delivering value to the audience.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Digital marketing is made up of many components, but the most essential and effective component is content marketing. Content is the foundation upon which all other marketing efforts often rest. You must produce good content if you want to reach your audience and rank high on Google search engine results pages (SERPs).
Unfortunately, many businesses mistake this notion that content is vital to mean they must produce as much content as possible — but in content marketing, quality is better than quantity.
If you are struggling with your content marketing and failing to get desired results, it is potentially because your focus is on how much content you are producing when it should be on the quality and level of your content. This article will explore the importance of quality over quantity and discuss strategies for creating higher-quality content.
Content Is King, but Too Much Content May Harm Your SEO
You’ve likely heard the phrase “content is king,” as it’s a fairly popular saying in the world of marketing. However, in an endeavor to nail home the point that content is so important, we’ve missed the true meaning of the phrase.
Yes, content is vital, but that doesn’t mean you should rush around trying to produce as much of it as possible and hope for good results. Content is king, but only when it’s done well. Simply creating large quantities of content does not mean you are winning the content game. Unfortunately, that is what many have taken “content is king” to mean.
Instead, for content to truly reign supreme, it must be of high quality. And in truth, too much content can harm your SEO strategies. It is better to focus on the relevance of your content vs. how much content you are putting out.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t continue producing content regularly, as consistent and fresh content is vital to maintaining relevance and keeping traffic flowing to your site. It is more to say that when you do produce new content, let it be meaningful, high-quality, and relevant, as opposed to quickly filling an empty slot where you think you need more content.
The Benefits of Prioritizing Content Quality Over Quantity
According to HubSpot, “Consistent, high-quality, and engaging content impacts audience decision-making more than any other technique.”
When you consistently produce good content, it helps you build trust and develop better relationships with customers because you are regularly writing content that engages their interests and answers their questions.
Furthermore, today’s consumers are more discerning than they were in the past, so not only do they desire high-quality content, they demand it. If a brand fails to deliver great content, consumers are only too happy to find another brand that is more engaging.
If this isn’t a convincing enough reason to prioritize quality over quantity, let’s take a look at some of the many benefits of high-quality content marketing:
- Consumers will stick around longer: When you deliver consistent, high-quality content, you engage your audience’s attention more, which means they will have more positive experiences with your brand. And when you deliver better experiences, your customers will stick around longer and keep coming back for more.
- You’ll build better trust with consumers: Creating content that answers your customer’s questions helps you build trust. They will see you as a trusted source for advice, recommendations, etc.
- You’ll generate more leads and increase conversion rates: Good content will inspire your audience to make purchases, turning them into returning customers. And if you use calls-to-action in your content, it will help you generate more leads.
- You’ll have more visibility and build brand awareness: When you produce higher quality content, you gain more attention, which increases awareness of your brand. And if your content also has a quality SEO strategy, it will increase your visibility across the internet.
- You’ll establish your business as an authority in your industry: Finally, higher-quality content helps you establish yourself as a credible source, which helps build your authority online. This means more consumers will trust that you are a reliable brand and that you are an expert in your industry, which means that they will gravitate towards you more often.
What Defines Quality Content?
Definitions of what makes for good content can change over time. Internet trends are often fleeting, so the dos and don’ts of content today might not be the same five or 10 years down the road.
For example, when keywords became a thing, it was popular to do keyword stuffing in content, which did work for a while. But today, keyword stuffing is considered a big no-no.
That being said, there are certain content strategies that will likely forever hold true, as they are the basics and foundation of what makes for quality content. So, how do you define quality content?
Any content that provides value to the reader is quality content. In other words, your content should be written for your audience rather than for search engines. It should be fresh and exciting to your readers rather than something you write simply to improve your rank on Google SERPs.
Yes, SEO and search engine rankings are important, but if your content is only written with that sole consideration in mind, then your readers will be able to tell, and they will lose interest. So, your content should be written for your consumers while also keeping SEO in mind.
A simple way to accomplish this is to put yourself in the place of your target audience and consider the following questions:
- Is it relevant?
- Is it educational or informative?
- Does it add value?
How To Create High-Quality Content That Resonates With Your Target Audience
We’ve explained the “what” and the “why” of quality content, but now it’s time to dive into the “how.” How do you create quality content? How do you write better content that resonates more with your readers?
1. Understand Your Target Audience
If you want to create content that resonates with readers, you need to understand who they are and what’s important to them. Before you start writing your content, take some time to research your target audience so you can specifically tailor your content to their interests and needs.
2. Know Your Competition
In addition to researching your audience, it’s also helpful to research what your competition is doing. This will give you an idea of content that is trending and what you need to do to stand out from your competitors or at least join them in the race.
However, your “competition” isn’t just fellow brands; it’s also buyer concerns. If your content does not address these concerns, you will fail to remain relevant to the consumer. So if you want to stay ahead of the game, always address buyer concerns and indifference to keep them interested and more deeply engaged.
3. Be Entertaining and Informative
Content that is valuable to the reader is content that entertains them and educates them. If your content does neither of these, then it holds no meaning or value and thus will fail to retain your customer’s attention.
Be mindful, however, not to go too far in either direction. Content that is all fun and entertainment but not informative holds no substance, and content that is purely informative but not entertaining is dull. It’s all about finding that balance between the two.
4. Think Differently
While it’s good to create content that is on trend, it’s also important to try to break the mold and create something different. Trendy will keep you in the running with your competition, but unique and innovative content will help you stand out and gain your brand a place in the spotlight.
5. Be Authentic and Transparent
Consumers today are much more critical of the brands they choose to engage with. In other words, flashy marketing tactics of the past no longer work. If you truly want to engage your audience and grab their attention, it’s important to be authentic and transparent with them.
Consumers don’t want brands that are simply putting on a show for them. They want brands that are willing to get real with them. Honesty, authenticity, and transparency are much more meaningful to consumers today than a catchy ad.
Make sure your content is transparent and serves no hidden agenda that your readers aren’t aware of. If your content is simply a veiled attempt at making a sale, your readers will see right through this.
6. Know When To Post and When To Hold Back
When delivering high-quality content, it’s not just about being mindful of quantity; it’s also about being mindful of timing. Even if your content is of good quality, it still might not be as effective as you’d like if it’s not delivered at the right time.
This is where content scheduling software can be beneficial. It can help you create the right schedule for when your content will be most effective.
However, keep in mind that some content is better posted right away. For example, certain trends on social media can pass and grow old and tired within just a few days, so if you want to take advantage of those trends, you often have to act fast.
7. Think Short and Long Term
Content that delivers topical value today is just as important as evergreen content that will deliver relevant content for years to come.
Topical content is that which is more seasonal or time-sensitive. It’s content that takes advantage of trendy topics and things that are creating a buzz. Evergreen content is timeless — it is content that you can easily use time and again because it will always be relevant.
It’s important to have a balance of both when creating your quality content. Topical content will get you quick hits, while evergreen content will bring in a continuous and steady flow of traffic over time.
8. Test and Measure Results
Finally, to ensure your content achieves desired results, you must use data to test and measure your efforts. If you have a campaign, for example, you don’t want to wait until the end to see if it worked or not, as that could lead to wasted time and money.
Instead, you want to regularly measure results along the way, so you can make adjustments as needed. This way, you will always be in the know about how well your content is or is not being received. This allows you to fix things that aren’t working as you go, rather than waiting until the end of a time period to find out if your content was a success or not.
In Summary
There are countless tips on how to create high-quality content, perhaps too many at times — it can feel overwhelming. So if it ever feels like too much or you are struggling to even know where to start, just remember to ask yourself these three questions: Is it relevant? Is it informative? Does it have value? As long as you focus on those three elements, your content will be more meaningful and engaging for your readers.
