Content Marketing: How Much Content is Too Much?

Research consistently shows that more content means more traffic, which means more leads.

There is obvious logic behind this. The web has become a ravenous consumer of content. The more content you generate, the more searchable data is available and the more material to feed social media conversations. Social media has become an incredibly noisy online cocktail party where you have to shout louder to get someone’s attention. Consider that every minute:

  • Facebook users share more than 2.5 million pieces of content.
  • Twitter users generate nearly 300,000 tweets.
  • Instagram users post nearly 220,000 new photos.
  • YouTube users upload 72 hours of fresh video content.
  • Apple users download nearly 50,000 apps.
  • Email users send over 200 million messages.
  • Amazon generates over $80,000 in online sales.

Those organizations generating fresh content on a regular basis are the ones that are getting the attention, or are they?

Content only matters if it’s relevant to your audience. Posting irrelevant or poorly executed content generates noise, not conversation, and will have an adverse affect on your online traffic over time. The Web has become a very noisy place, and web consumers aren’t going to waste time reading drivel. If you have something relevant to say that adds to the conversation or promotes new thinking, then by all means share it. However, just posting for the sake of posting won’t help build your brand.

It should never about how much content you post, but about the quality of the content. You need to have something relevant to say that is interesting and promotes interaction.

Here are three criteria to consider when generating material for your content marketing campaign;

  1. Quality counts – Don’t worry about how much content you post but about how good it is. Is it effective? Does it meet its goals? You should understand what your content objectives are before you start so when assessing content, ask yourself if it does the job to promote connections, build brand, or promote new business?
  2. Be concise – You don’t have to tell your entire autobiography in a single blog post, or impart the history of your latest new product. The web was designed to handle shorter bits of information. Attention spans are brief, and you need to get your point across quickly and in a compelling manner.
  3. Measure the results – Keep track of your content traffic and determine what approach suits your target channels. You need to adapt you content for the channel, so measure the response and refine the message accordinglyh.
  4. Consider your audience – Thinking about the needs and interests of the target reader is something many marketers often overlook. Have a clear understanding of who your target audience is and develop content specific to that group. Your objective is to cut through the online noise and speak to your target audience using a compelling story that will engage them, and have them coming back for more.

So while it is important to feed the machine, you should feed it with better quality content rather than just more content. A lean and well-thought-out content marketing program will outperform a program that uses poor content to generate more noise. The proof is in the results, so have your metrics ready before you begin.

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