Everyone talks about content marketing as if they know everything about it. With most people you quickly figure out that they only have misconceptions about content marketing. This is exactly what happened a few days ago when I had a discussion with a friend. Unfortunately, most of his ideas about content marketing were wrong. This was because of several misconceptions that he had.

Although there are many articles written about content marketing misconceptions, I decided to write one more. Maybe there is at least one misconception below that you have and that will be dismissed from now on. If so, mission accomplished.

01 Content Marketing Is A Brand New Concept

I am always mad when I see a marketer that says this. Content marketing is not invented by the internet marketer. It is not something that is new. It is actually over 100 years old and it was used before the online world was even considered to promote a business.

A simple example is a guide that is printed, branded and then offered to a group of people. This tactic is really old in marketing. We have content that is created and that is then used to market products or services.

02 Content Marketing Is Only Done Online

Based on the example highlighted above, it is clear that this is just a misconception. So many content marketing strategies are nowadays developed and used outside the online world. Companies often create industry reports, organize conferences, workshops and seminars. These are all examples of situations in which content marketing can be highly effective.

We need to look at content marketing as being the practice of creating and then promoting relevant and useful content. So many content forms exist so let us not make the mistake of being restricted to online content marketing campaigns.

03 Content Marketing Is Cheap

We have access to high value when using content marketing. However, this does not mean that we do not need resources and an ongoing budget.

Creating high quality content is not cheap. You cannot hire a freelancer on Upwork for $5 per article and expect huge results.

04 Anyone Can Write So Cheap Outsourcing Is Good

This is a continuation of myth 3. There are obviously writers that are much cheaper than others. However, in most situations the quality of the writing is lower with the writers that charge less. This applies to anything, including actions like creating infographics for content marketing campaigns. It is difficult to find great writers that can add real value to the campaign and you can be 100% sure that they will not be cheap.

05 You Only Use Blogging For Content Marketing

Blogging is definitely an important content marketing outlet but so many other platforms can be used. The two options that are quickly gaining popularity and that you want to consider using are webinars and YouTube videos. They are perfect for sharing tutorials. We also have email campaigns and newsletters that can be used to share high quality content. These are just some examples of other outlets the content marketer can use.

I should add that it is a huge mistake to remain focused only on blogs to promote the content that you create. This can only lead towards limitations. Identify promotion channels that can help you reach your target audience and use them.

06 All You Have To Do Is Create Content

This common “Build it and they will come” attitude is one of the reasons why many business owners think that content marketing does not work. They think that they just have to offer high quality content. Then, it is posted on a blog and shared on social media. That is definitely not enough.

07 The Content Producer Is A Content Marketer

There are some people that produce content and say they are content marketers. You are not a content marketer if you are the person that creates the content. The marketer is that guy that promotes that content. In many situations the content marketer does not develop the content. He hires someone that has experience in content creation. Then, he works on promoting that content that is created based on reach, target audience, channels, a huge research and many other factors that are considered.

08 Content Marketing And SEO Are Synonyms

This is a relatively new myth but it is a shame to see how often it starts appearing in conversations. Many say that SEO is dead and that content marketing is the future. This is obviously debatable but the important thing is that SEO and content marketing are in NO WAY synonyms. There is a clear connection between the two in the reliance on high quality content.

09 You Cannot Use Content Marketing In All Industries

This is just an excuse. You always have the possibility of creating high quality content, no matter what industry you work in. People think that there has to be a strict connection between what product is promoted and the content that is created. This is incorrect. As a fun example, if you want to promote a toilet brand, you do not necessarily need to write about toilets. You can, for instance, talk about personal hygiene.

Creativity in content marketing is high. Everyone says they are creative. In such situations you clearly figure out that some people are not actually creative.

10 Content Marketing Is Only Successful If Sales Are Made

Business owners want sales. The content marketer has to explain that content marketing is so much more than making sales. Sales are normally the ultimate goal associated with content creation but it is definitely not the only goal that has to be tracked. We see this as being especially the case when referring B2B sales. Common examples of other results that are a success for content marketing campaigns include signing up for newsletters, visiting a page or following a Facebook page.

11 Content Marketing Is Successful When Content Goes Viral

I wrote an article some time ago that said you will never create viral content. I was a little harsh but this is the idea that you want to start from. Your content does not actually have to be vital in order to be successful or fight the target audience.

12 Content Marketing Is Always The Best Option

There are people that now think that content marketing is god and that it will always bring in the best possible results. Unfortunately, this can lead towards huge problems and you can lose so much money in the process. You want to assess if content marketing is the best option for you. While all businesses would benefit from content strategies, you want to use what is most beneficial at all times.

13 B2B Content Marketing Has Businesses As Targets, Not People

Content marketing always has people as the target. If you see a marketer that tells you that in B2B content marketing you target the business, you need to work with someone else. It is as simple as that. As a simple example, if the CEO of a company finds something that he likes, he might be personally inclined to talk with you. Subjectivity is big in business. Content marketing campaigns always target people.

14 Content Marketing Is A Campaign

It is much more fair to say that content marketing is a business strategy rather than a campaign. You create content marketing campaigns but we cannot say that content marketing IS a campaign. As already mentioned, content marketing is so much more than only the content. It is strategic and a combination of sharing content, publishing, producing and then interacting.

I should also add that people argue that the word CAMPAIGN should never follow CONTENT MARKETING because the end goal of content marketing is not that strict.

15 Content Marketing Is Fast

There are many situations in which you need to wait around 6 months in order to actually start seeing results. Traditional ads automatically bring in results, either success or failure. This is not the case with content marketing.

You need to look at content marketing as being a marathon. It is definitely not a sprint!

16 The More Content You Create, The Higher The Reach!

I had articles that reached thousands of people. I had articles that reached 2 people. This is exactly how content creation can go. The fact that you create more content does not mean that you will have a higher reach. You need to always focus on the best possible content and have a distribution plan that you would use. That is much more important than simply creating as much content as possible.