Nothing will ever be perfect in content marketing, so getting to ‘good enough’ is often a greater ambition

“A good plan today is better than a perfect one tomorrow” – General George Patton, one of the most successful United States field commanders of any war

In a market saturated with competitors, it is important to make your company stand out from the crowd. According to a survey from Meaningful Brands, 84% of people expect brands to create content. Content marketing is often the best choice to create better awareness and provide informational and even fun content for your audience. This drives traffic and creates a community of potential customers. 

When most young companies first start creating content, they strive for perfection. But the best graphics and Pulitzer Prize-winning prose will only get you so far. One of the principles of sales is that consumers only buy products and services that they believe will benefit them. Your job is to show that your product or service is beneficial to the consumer and that they can trust you.

According to a Forrester report, the average person consumes around 11.4 pieces of content before making a purchase. So, while your one piece of perfect content might be amazing, the customer needs much more content before deciding to buy from you. 

That’s not to say you skimp on the actual content. You should never publish a mediocre job or produce a poor-quality product. You should always aim to create the best content you can, as it is an extension of your brand, but it will never be as perfect as you want it to be. And by the time you think it’s ready to be shared after constantly editing and re-editing, your audience will have moved on and your potential customers are lost. 

Here is why ‘good enough’ is better for your brand than ‘perfect’:

Regular posting keeps customers’ interest

According to Salesforce, 75% of consumers expect a consistent experience wherever they engage with your brand. Content marketing keeps your brand on peoples’ minds, which is why they need consistent pieces of content.  

‘Done is better than perfect’ is the motto you should aim for. If you are constantly striving for perfection, you will never be able to post any content. 

Your goal is to capture the attention of customers and increase engagement and traffic. Focus on shareability and engagement instead. By publishing content regularly, you show commitment and consistency, and your readers will commit to you too.

There is more content to share

There is a need for volume in content marketing. It is not about creating a handful of really good posts, it is about making a lot of ‘good enough’ pieces and getting those to the audience at regular intervals.

Publishing one excellent article or an exceptional video every three months is not enough. It may grab attention, but without more content to captivate the audience, they won’t stick around. Plan your content for different channels, audiences and purposes. And when you stick to the ‘good enough’ strategy, you will have much more content to share and engage with the audience. 

It’s an effective use of time and money

Your company might be growing fast, but you might have very few resources when compared to larger businesses. A larger company can have dedicated teams working on content, but a smaller group needs to utilise their resources effectively. You can’t spend too much time or money on content when you’re trying to grow your business, which is why sticking to ‘good enough’ is an important strategy. Customers want content, they don’t care about perfection. 

You are the expert for the audience

Your company might have products/services which are brand-new to the market, so there may not currently be a lot of content available to customers. This means you don’t have to worry about other experts or competition writing content. Creating ‘good enough’ content for the audience is acceptable, as they don’t know enough about your product/service in the first place. They need to know the basics and get to know you as a brand - there is no need to be pitch-perfect.

Five top tips on how to get your posts ‘good enough’

  1. Have only one person editing the piece
    You don’t want 10 different department heads all making corrections, because the piece will never be finalised and it will take too much time. You might even get a few arguments! Filter any corrections to a piece through one person, as this not only saves time, but will also prevent a case of too many cooks.
  2. Keep it short:
    Try to keep a typical piece between 400 and 600 words if possible. This keeps it short, concise and easier to edit and publish on time. The audience can also read it much quicker, so even if the piece is only 80% ‘perfect’, the audience has not invested too much time for them to care. They only want ‘good enough’.
  3. Make one point:
    Don’t clutter your posts, focus on one thing at a time. If you are a marketing company, don’t write about marketing in general as it is too vague. Instead write about one aspect, such as digital marketing for tech companies. This not only makes it easier to write it in a concise fashion, but easier for the audience to read and understand the value of the piece.
  4. Add imagery:
    Including any kind of imagery such as pictures, videos, infographics or illustrations to your post helps to demonstrate your points better. It will keep the audience engaged and also helps with content creation - a picture says a thousand words. Statistics which take a full paragraph to explain could be shown quicker and more appealing to the eye in an infographic.
  5. Look for blue ocean:
    If you are an expert at something that doesn’t have a lot of content available, write about it! Try to delve deeper into a topic and answer the difficult questions that your competition overlooks. If you provide valuable information to your audience that they can’t find anywhere else, this will establish you as an authority and ‘good enough’ is perfectly fine.

 

KEEP ME INFORMED 

Sigurd Gran

Written by Sigurd Gran