You Can Do Your Own Content Marketing – But Should You?

Have you ever tried to solve a problem with just a little bit of information available? Perhaps it’s how we’re programmed as humans, but people often assume they know what they’re talking about after only a brief introduction to a subject. In the digital age, it’s easy to think that reading a few articles or taking a free course can turn you into an expert in any field, including content marketing. You may have searched for how to attract new clients in Charlotte or looked up marketing tips for companies in Charlotte. The Internet probably gave you a lot of good advice, and maybe you think, “Ok, this will be easy. I’ve got this.”

You quickly find out, however, that while the Internet can provide good advice, the experts giving that advice make things look easy because, well, they’re experts. Charlotte, NC, is a highly competitive market, and you need more than just basic writing skills and a few blog posts to see results from content marketing. If you don’t understand content marketing strategies, or worse, you have no plan, you’re simply wasting your time and resources.

But you said…

Wait, You Said I Can Do My Own Content Marketing

In the title of this post, we said you can do your own content marketing. Note the caveat: “But should you?” Yes, you can handle your own content marketing, and the Internet does offer some good advice. This advice, however, doesn’t consider the unique needs of your business and, more importantly, its customers.

At the end of the day, this latter point is the most essential part of this - Content marketing isn’t about your business; it’s about your customers. Yes, we want to improve the visibility of your business in Charlotte using content marketing. Yes, we want to leverage content to help your business engage with customers, prospects, and leads. Still, the ultimate goal should always be to provide your customers, prospects, and leads with value. If your content doesn’t provide value or serve a directed purpose, it isn’t doing its job.

Are Beginner Tips Good Enough?

Suppose you glance over some beginner tips or watch an overview video on content marketing in Charlotte, NC. You might start feeling like you’ve got your hands around the subject, and so you create a blog post to help search engines associate your brand with a particular topic and keyword.

You also watched a content marketing video that said to use your keywords in the first paragraph, but what you didn’t know about was keyword clustering. Without understanding topics like keyword clustering and natural language processing, you may miss some key opportunities to attract buyers who are already looking for the products and services you offer.

The truth is that beginner tips are perfect for beginners, but when it comes to your Charlotte-area business, you can’t afford to use entry-level marketing strategies. Any tutorial video can tell you to post content to social media or send out a newsletter. It’s how you develop that content and what your goals are for the content that matters. Entry-level tips can’t provide that kind of thinking, and they also can’t act as a stand-in for an experienced content development team.

Beginner tips are fine for beginners, but your business needs a deeper dive

Why Your Business Needs a Deeper Dive

Something else to consider is how deep of a dive is required based on the importance of the project and the outcome. I can watch a video on YouTube about re-wiring my house, but does this video explain what happens if something goes wrong? Does it provide information specific to my home regarding power requirements? Does it cover the details about Mecklenburg County’s building codes?

There are just way too many variables for me to feel comfortable tackling something so important on my own. I can’t risk my home or my family’s safety, and you can’t risk your business or your company’s reputation. In my case, I’m going to call an experienced electrician. In your case, you need to partner with a content marketing expert to fully support your brand.

Collaboration is Vital From the Start

Collaboration with an expert is one of the most critical components of content marketing. Listen, I have a little bit of experience installing lighting fixtures around our family’s home. In fact, like any man, I’m somewhat proud of my DIY prowess (even if I don’t always get it right the first time.) Even though I can get some basic electrical work done around the house, I’m calling an expert if I need a complex job completed. I may know the basics, but I’m not taking chances if it requires more than just disconnecting and reconnecting some wires.

The same thing applies to your content marketing strategy and development. Maybe you’re a great writer. Perhaps you have specific goals in mind. That’s fantastic! Now, do you have the time and experience to devote to accomplishing your goals? Do you know how to analyze your efforts compared to your competitor’s content? What are some strategies you can use to get ahead of your competition using content? These are questions that a YouTube video can’t answer, but our content marketing agency in Charlotte can answer these questions and provide personalized support for your brand.

What you don’t know can hurt you and your content marketing efforts

Unknown Unknowns - The “What-Ifs” of Content Marketing

If you choose to tackle content marketing on your own, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you know the most effective and efficient ways to get things done?

• Aside from the development of quality content, do you understand the technical aspects of on-page SEO?

• Do you know how to support your efforts with content that utilizes off-page SEO and link building?

• How do you plan to incorporate those strategies into your content development?

• How do you content factor into your overall marketing plan?

• Are you using content to lead website visitors along the buyer journey?

• Do your emails support and guide customers to an intended target?

• Are you leveraging the right types of digital content on the right channels to be as effective as possible?

If entry-level tips aren’t providing the answers to these questions, you need to trust a content marketing professional for help; this is where collaboration comes into play.

We value each client relationship at Charlotte Content Marketing because we understand you need a collaborative partner. You’ve worked hard to build your business – we’re here to help you take it to the next level for your customers. We believe in collaboration as a business principle because no mountain is moved alone. Yes, you can handle your own content marketing, but our experience tells us that you’ll find it’s best to work with experienced content development professionals instead.

The Value of Trusting Your Content Marketing Team

Trust is a crucial aspect of any successful collaboration effort as well. At Charlotte Content Marketing, we know that “just enough” isn’t going to cut it in the long term, which is why we take a comprehensive approach to each content marketing strategy. If you try to handle your own content marketing, you have no one else to bounce ideas off of, and you may overlook some crucial details because you’re too close to the problem. When you trust Charlotte Content Marketing, you get a partner you can count on to provide guidance to accomplish your company’s goals.

Our team brings years of experience and a deep understanding of the Charlotte market to the table. Then, we work with you to create a tailored strategy that meets your specific needs and goals. From content writing to local SEO and traditional search engine optimization to digital content planning and everything in between, we’re with your brand every step of the way.

DIY content marketing makes it difficult to remain consistent

Consistency is the Key to Branding and Content Marketing

Something else to consider - Consistency must be maintained across all of your content marketing efforts. If you have one piece of content that uses a formal tone and another piece of content that presents itself as nonchalant and aloof, you’re going to send mixed signals to customers. This can hurt your branding and undo all the work that’s gone into your content marketing efforts. It also confuses your content strategy, and this leads to wasted time and resources as well.

To remedy this, our Charlotte content marketing experts work with each client to lay out brand voice and style. These will be used across all types of content produced by our team, including content writing, video, audio, and graphics. We cover the key takeaways you want customers to obtain from any and all content your brand puts out. Everything is codified in your content style guide to match each puzzle piece.

The Pros & Cons of Handling Content Marketing Yourself

There are pros and cons to any DIY marketing. Below are some considerations when it comes to creating your own content:

Pros of Doing Your Own Content Marketing

• May save money in the short-term

• You write your own content

• You choose your keywords

• You post on your schedule

Cons of Doing Your Own Content Marketing

• Likely to cost money in the long term

• You have to spend the time to develop and write your own content

• Using AI writing tools produces content that may not rank and can devalue your site

• The lack of a content calendar hurts your ability to plan content for product rollouts, service intros, and sales

• You may not have the tools to perform in-depth keyword research

• Mistakes can result in penalties for your site and the devaluation of your brand

• Not having an established voice across channels can hurt branding

• Inconsistent posting of content can hurt search engine rank

• Lack of access to tracking tools means you can’t see what content is performing to duplicate its success

The truth is that content marketing takes a lot of time, planning, and work. Asking ChatGPT to spit out a blog post can hurt your site’s rank and won’t produce engaging content either. Always remember that content marketing is a multi-pronged, long-term approach. You want to use content to tell search engines about your site and your brand, but simultaneously, you want customers, prospects, and leads to actually read the content and act on it.

You don’t have to go it alone - trust your content marketing team

Why Trusting Your Content Marketing Team is the Key to Success

The bottom line is that you cannot achieve the same level of success by trying to do everything yourself. Just like I’m not going to attempt to rewire my house without expert guidance, we recommend you partner with a content marketing agency in Charlotte to take the pressure off of your business to handle everything. Trusting your content marketing team is essential if you want to create content that drives traffic, engages your audience, and helps you achieve your business goals.

At Charlotte Content Marketing, we specialize in creating content that speaks for your brand. We serve as a virtual representative working 24 hours a day on the web to reach new customers and build upon existing customer relationships. From developing a comprehensive content strategy to creating high-quality content that resonates with your audience, we’re here to help you every step of the way.

If you’re tired of racking your brain trying to figure out how to handle your brand’s content marketing in Charlotte, NC, let our team make life easier. Contact Charlotte Content Marketing today to schedule your personalized consultation by calling (704) 323-6762, or click to schedule your consultation online using our contact form right now.