Marketing is hard. Contrary to what those in sales commonly think, we’re not all super chill creatives running around the office with paintbrushes, Macbooks and fluffy ideas.

I’m actually the direct opposite. I’ve had my fair share of deadline-induced migraines and in my professional opinion, Macbooks are better doorstops than they are workstations.

However, as a lover of intricate details, analytics and marketing strategy (yes. I’m fun at parties) I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of brands that are totally missing the mark when it comes to social media.

How, you ask?

Unfortunately, a large portion of marketers seem to be blinded by the smokescreen of “quantity over quality” and in turn, they’re churning out crap.

What they don’t know is, by doing this, they’re actually harming their brand. 

If you’re still with us by now, something’s hit home. If you’re guilty of pinging out content for content’s sake, then don’t worry. I’ll impart some of my marketing wisdom upon you. 

Give this blog a full gander while you’re having your tea and I promise you, you’ll be able to confidently identify why your social media content’s falling on its arse.

WHY BAD CONTENT IS KILLING YOUR BRAND

YOUR CONTENT DOESN’T LAND.

Good content doesn’t just look good. It solves a problem, sparks curiosity or answers questions. Even if they are painfully stupid questions. It still addresses a need, a want or a nice to have.

I’ve seen my fair share of shoddy content. And usually, it’s from brands that have no real understanding of who they’re trying to sell to, so instead, their content feed consists of short form sales pitches, seasonal trends or industry buzzwords.

It’s all stuff that their audiences genuinely couldn’t care less about. What they really want is something much more mentally stimulating, fun, relevant, thought provoking and rewarding. 

They want to be sold an idea or a product without feeling like they’re being sold an idea or a product.

And that’s the power we marketers behold. We can make even the dullest concepts seem somewhat exciting. 

Buying behaviors are rapidly changing, and in a world where every Tom, Dick and Harry is trying to flog you something through your LinkedIn inbox, it’s easy to understand why so many people want to be able to make those decisions for themselves.

But hey. I’m not here to teach you how to make babies. If you’re already striking a balance between the boring and bold, then I’m sure there’s better ways to spend your time. 
But if you’re genuinely stumped (not surprising considering only 42% of marketers have a documented content strategy) then keep on going.

There’s a few more gold nugs in here that I’m sure will alleviate some of your content stresses.

YOU USE TOO MUCH AI.

Undoubtedly a pretty controversial take depending on who you ask. And no, before you start… This isn’t a blog bashing the capabilities of AI. Far from it. 

AI’s come on leaps and bounds from what it used to be (and if you’ve been on the internet for as long as I have, you’ll remember Cleverbot and how mind blowing that was way back when..)

I don’t hate AI. I hate how marketers are using AI. AI is good, but when you’re using it to offset the value of hard work or you think your target audience is too dumb to recognise when something is spewed out by ChatGPT or through other content generation tools.

It’s lazy. It looks lazy. It makes you look lazy.

Customers often turn to a brand’s social media to find trust signals, get a feel for its personality, and better understand its products or services. And keep in mind, people like buying from other people.

If you’re relying on an LLM’s interpretation of what a human looks like (here’s a hint – they usually don’t have 8 fingers on each hand) you’re pouring all of this hard earned trust & credibility straight down the proverbial drain.

I’ll concede on the point that yes, it is all about context. But for me, authenticity wins every time, and you can’t replace skill and talent with a ChatGPT-4 subscription. Just saying.

(And PS, if you’re using ChatGPT to generate accompanying copy, at least remove the em dashes… Come on.)

YOU’RE HARD SELLING.

Way too much. No. Really. Every piece of content you publish is a pitch. Stop it. Please.

If everything you publish is a concealed pitch, or nothing short of a hard sell, you’re going to alienate your target audience in record timing.

I won’t bang on about brands overly hard selling, but it’s definitely an honorable mention. 

Make sure you’re not shoving your products or services down the neck of every person that comes across your content, because it won’t work.

What you can do is make sure that all of your content aligns to where your customers are at in their buying journey and use sales-heavy content where relevant. On to the next point.

YOU IGNORE DATA.

I’m not asking you to go out and splurge half your yearly budget on a social media data tool. That’s probably the least productive thing you can do (unless you’ve got budget flowing out of your ears. Go nuts!)

However, if you aren’t taking the time to look at the performance metrics each piece of published content drums up, you’re probably missing out on crucial insights. And you don’t really have an excuse either, considering every major social media platform will willingly hand over performance insights at no additional cost.

If you have a drastic phobia of numbers (which apparently does exist; it’s called numerophobia) then fair enough. But – if you’re just half assing your job and punting content out into the ether with no real guidance, care or attention, you might need more guidance than a blog post can offer.

But no, seriously. Everything we marketers do should be guided by some level of data. If you haven’t got your ear to the ground every time you put something out there, how will you ever know what works and what doesn’t?

THE “ONE AND DONE” MENTALITY.

Ah, yes. The one and done mentality. Often the reason why exceptional content falls off a cliff and doesn’t get the credit it’s due. Ask any creative here at Good Good Double Good what their pet hate is, and you’ll find this to be the answer nine times out of ten.

Exceptional content is about as good as the deployment strategy it’s given. If you’re only posting it on LinkedIn once before you wash your hands with it, then what was the point?

Much like that office chair with the wobbly arms. You know it’s squandered potential and a total waste, and you’re aware of the many ways it could be repurposed, but you don’t make any real use of it. It sits there, gathering dust, until the day it’s finally considered obsolete. 

Poor chair.

Don’t be a one-and-done-r. Make sure you squeeze your content for maximum impact. Repurpose it in many different ways. That video you made highlighting a new product feature? Throw it in a newsletter. Turn it into a blog. Don’t. Ever. Waste. Good. Content.

ARE YOU A “ONE-AND-DONE-R?”

It’s okay to speak up. Whether it’s due to time constraints or you just generally lack the know-how on how to get the most out of your content, you’re in good hands. Why?

We’re Good Good Double Good, and we’re on a mission to make sure brands get the most out of their marketing, across research, creative, rollout & results.