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It’s nearly Q4. How are you feeling about your marketing right now? Maybe it’s doing OK but could be better. Maybe you have no idea. Or maybe you really need a content marketing strategy so 2026 will be amazing for your business.
Here are five signs you need someone to point you in the right direction.
5 signs you need a content marketing strategy
1: You don’t know what marketing channels to focus on
So many of my clients are lost when it comes to social media marketing, so if you’re in this boat, too, you are in excellent company.
If you started your business 15 years ago, Facebook was the place to be (it’s not anymore). So where should you be creating and sharing content? Newer channels, like Snapchat and TikTok? What about the older channels no one really talks about anymore, like Pinterest?
The idea of creating lead magnets often languishes – who has the time? And is it worthwhile?
And then there are automated lead generation email series. You can create them for lead magnets, new email newsletter subscribers, and event attendees. But what do you say in each email? How long should they be?
It’s all very confusing.
And that’s just three examples!
2: You’re not sure about best practices
Best practices change as platforms evolve and new technologies come online (looking at you, AI!).
The most common mistakes I see, though, are not tied to new technology. They involve:
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Email subject lines
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Hashtags on social posts
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Copy on website home pages
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Headings in blog posts
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Optimizing content for search
Unless you are in marketing, there is no way you can keep up with every single best practice. Your job is to keep up with best practices, continuing education, new laws and regulations, etc. in your own industry.
3: You don’t know how to reach your ideal clients
This is a common theme I hear from clients. It could be a channel issue, a messaging issue, or both.
Maybe you only share content on Instagram when your clients prefer email and podcasts. Or maybe you send the same information to everyone in your audience when you have three distinct segments who really need to receive different information.
My favorite example here is a financial advisor. A single person three years into their career, a married couple with two young children, and a 63-year-old about to retire are in different stages in their lives and therefore have different financial concerns and needs.
Each segment should get their own email.
When it comes to your message, you can’t be everything to everyone! I give you permission to stop trying. You really need to zero in on who your ideal client is, what their challenges are, and the value you provide. Once you can clearly articulate that, content marketing becomes much easier.
4: You struggle with consistency
Being consistent with your blog, social posts, and emails is hard. You haven’t written a blog post in four months. LinkedIn activity has fallen off because you don’t have fresh new content to pull from.
And you keep rushing to get your monthly email newsletter out, so your open and click-through rates are suffering as a result.
The lack of consistency is hurting you, but you really don’t know how to get and STAY on track.
Are there easier ways to create and share content so you can be more consistent? Maybe, but who knows what those are!
It is frustrating for sure.
5: You have no idea what’s working and what’s not
This is by far the biggest sign you need a content marketing strategy. Most of my clients do not know what metrics to look at or even how to interpret them.
For example:
- Do reach and impression rates on social media matter?
- What keywords are people using to find my website?
- Is a 25% email open rate good? If not, how do I improve it?
You might have marketing goals, but if you don’t know how to track progress or tweak your strategy to reach or exceed your goals, you’re basically driving in the pitch black with no headlights or streetlights to guide you.
It’s not a fun place to be.
A content marketing strategy can help you hit your 2026 goals
A content marketing strategy tells you:
- What topics to write about
- Where to share your expertise
- How often to do the above
- Best practices to follow
- Opportunities to pursue
- What you can stop doing
One of my favorite parts of a strategy is saying, “You can stop doing these activities.” It’s such a relief for business owners. I prefer you to invest your time and money in the marketing activities that will provide an ROI, not check a box.
Essentially, a strategy takes the guess work out of your marketing and ensures you get the right messages to the right people on the right channels at the right time.
Even better, you can probably do at least some of the activities yourself. I just delivered a content marketing strategy to a client, and I pointed out what they can handle in-house and what my team can manage. My client was surprised and delighted by how much they could do themselves.
Related: From Bounce To Booked: How To Turn Website Visitors Into Paying Clients