You know how valuable content can be. You know that, if people would just read the damn blog, that they’d find solutions to their problems.
You’ve seen just how content can connect others with their target audience, and even reach new audiences. You also know that consistent content can increase brand awareness. Maybe you’ve seen how evergreen content keeps website traffic steady and SEO on point.
That’s why you keep brainstorming and writing and publishing content. You know that it works, because you’ve seen its benefits, whether in your business or in others. But what happens when it doesn’t work — or stops working? Why does your content sometimes slow to a halt when it comes to conversions?
Gather round, kids. We’re about to uncover the long lost answer to a question that has plagued small biz owners since the dawn of…the internet. “Why isn’t my content converting, dammit?!”
Your brand voice is inconsistent
If you’re a veteran reader of the Uncanny Content blog, you might’ve seen us talk about brand voice from time to time. It’s kind of our thing.
Brand voice, in case you need a refresher, is the voice you use to communicate to your audience. It’s your choice of words, tone, attitude, and personality. It’s also how you aim to make your audience feel.
Your brand voice should be consistent across all your outgoing comms. That includes your:
- Website
- Blog
- Social media pages
- Email newsletters
- Product or service pages
- Downloadables like infographics, tutorials, eBooks,
- Events like Facebook Lives, Instagram Lives, or webinars
- Podcast episodes
- YouTube videos
- Community forums
- Guest blogs or articles
Why should your brand voice be uniform in all your content? Because that’s how you build a recognizable brand. That’s how you create a loyal following of people who trust your brand, because they connect with it and know what to expect from it.
If you’re following your guidelines for brand voice in blogs and emails (or having your writing team do it), but you’re not doing the same thing for impromptu Q&As on Instagram Live, you need to rediscover your brand voice, and find ways to really stick to it.
You’re using the wrong strategies
Sometimes it’s not the message, but the medium. Your content itself may not be the problem, but it may be how you’re presenting it to your audience. More specifically, you may be using sales strategies and popular frameworks that people:
- are very familiar with because everyone uses them
- don’t want to support anymore.
This is a huge pet peeve of ours, and we can’t say it enough: what worked for someone else does not guarantee it’ll work for you.
Those funnels, sales pages, or email outlines someone convinced you that you needed for your biz? You’re not the only one buying and using those templates! So what happens when your audience sees these cookie cutter content pieces over and over and over again?
They recognize them, and they start avoiding them. Or rather, they avoid the brands that use them.
Your target audience is not dumb. They can spot the same recycled shit they’ve seen on other brand websites. Deliver your content in a format that feels like your brand (remember how important brand voice is?) and actually attempts to connect with your people.
You’re not going where your people are
Another thing? You may need to really evaluate the platforms you’re using. If you’re only writing on your blog, but not repurposing that content into emails, social posts, or even video, you’re probably not converting. It’s not 2008. People aren’t reading RSS feeds of blogs anymore.
If your content isn’t converting, consider a new medium — and repurpose your content. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel for each platform. Just share the same information in the way that is best suited for the app (just stop pointing and dancing on TikTok and Instagram Reels, ok?).
Take a look at where your best clients or customers “play” online. Do they prefer YouTube? TikTok? Are they mostly email people? Think about that first, and then decide where to put your best content.
You’re not providing value
Why should people buy your products or services? “To support women-owned businesses” or “to stimulate the local economy” sound like great reasons in theory. Those reasons may influence which business a person chooses, but that’s not the core reason they buy.
People buy a product or service because they need it or want it. As a small biz owner, you can tap into that need by providing value to your potential customers in the form of freebies.
Freebies are a great way to encourage conversions on a small scale, so people get a feel for your expertise and style. You want to entice customers to spend money on your offers, right? Well, why should they if they don’t truly know what you’re offering or if they can benefit from your service or product? Without valuable freebies, you’re asking people to take a leap of faith and spend money on your biz. It’s much easier to give away a taste of your offer first and get conversions that way.
Think of freebies as Costco samples. (Man, we miss those. Thanks, COVID.) You’re not sure about buying that tasty-looking popcorn mix or fruit juice until you try a free sample and bam! You’re instantly sold.
Stop worrying that you’re “giving too much away” and that “if someone wants it, they’ll pay for it.” You have to prove that your business is worthy of your customer’s money first.
There’s another reason (that you’ll have to figure out)
These are just a few common reasons why your content may not be converting. There are plenty of other issues that may be affecting your conversion rates, like having hard-to-find content or having content live outside of your website. The possibilities abound.
But if you suspect one of these three reasons may be the culprit, it’s up to you to dig deeper and fix them. One thing they all have in common? You’re not taking your target audience’s needs into account.
Inconsistent brand voice, douchey marketing strategies, being stingy on valuable, free, and low-priced resources — these all point to ignoring what your customer wants in favor of what you want. You might wanna work on that.
