It’s been a big year in marketing. The rise of AI and market changes have kept everyone on their toes. Despite shifting strategies, content is still a marketer’s most powerful tool. But not all content marketing is created equal. This begs the question: Is it quantity or quality content that matters most? There are arguments for both, but we’ve seen time and time again that quality is what will make or break your brand.
The Quantity vs. Quality Content Argument
With budgets being reduced and marketers being asked to do more with less, scalability has been a big buzzword in content marketing. That’s why we keep hearing people claim that the best solutions are the ones that can scale efficiently. There’s one flaw in this focus on scalability: It assumes that the ideal marketing operation is one that constantly pumps out content like a well-drilled assembly line.
42% of b2b content marketers say creating the right content for their audience is a top challenge. Unfortunately, many marketing conversations revolve around the volume of content brands produce.
This isn’t completely wrong, as you do need to produce a certain volume of content to maintain a consistent connection with your audience. But the focus on scalability inherently assumes quantity is the recipe for surefire success.
Not only is quantity not the secret tool for success but it can actually hurt your brand.
What happens when you…
- Spam people with too many emails?
- Shove too many messages into your content?
- Create content that’s too off-topic?
- Try to emulate your competitors?
- Throw anything at the wall to see what sticks?
Too much marketing material with too many messages ends up diluting and distracting from your core brand story. At best, you confuse your audience. At worst, you slowly and steadily erode confidence in your brand. This is hardly a recipe for success and longevity.
(For the record, we’ve been guilty of this ourselves—and I think many brands have cycled through this phase.)
Content marketing is complicated, and it takes persistence. But if you want to be successful, you can’t spam your audience into converting. Quantity may help you enter in the game, but quality is what will help you win.
However, quality takes more work, more focus, and more energy to produce. So how do you prioritize quality, and can you do it efficiently? That’s the real challenge.
How to Focus on Quality Content
We’re not saying quality is the only thing to focus on. Again, you need a consistent cadence to connect with your audience. But figuring out how to improve the quality of what you produce—and do it in an easily repeatable process—will help you get better results long term.
It isn’t easy, though. If you’ve fallen into the quantity trap, here’s how you can course-correct.
- Slow down. Here’s an edgy idea: Take a month off from creating all new content. Seriously. One of the highest-leverage brand moves a company can make is pausing content and taking a step back to realign. This allows you to see what’s working and what isn’t working. Trust us, if you have fewer plates you’re frantically trying to spin, you can better evaluate performance critically and apply those insights to future work.
- Get clarity. Align your brand and content, clarify your brand messaging, and have hard conversations with your team to make sure everyone’s on the same page. (If you need to reassess your brand messaging, use this framework template to get it on paper.)
- Create better systems and infrastructure. It’s true you may not come up with instantly scalable solutions, but the more you can take a step back and reassess the processes and tools that are or aren’t working, the more you can identify pain points and solutions to better navigate them. (BTW, see our best tips to optimize your production process and explore these 50 AI tools to boost your content marketing strategy.)
- Preserve and protect your brand. The way you show up to your audience matters. Your visual identity, your voice, and your personality all contribute to your brand perception. To establish consistency and become an instantly recognizable and trusted resource, make sure that any piece of content tells the right brand story. (It’s especially helpful to create a checklist to ensure all content is on brand.)
Remember: Building your brand through content marketing isn’t a short-term practice. It’s a constant, ever-evolving exercise. Good content marketing is about doing less of the things that don’t work and more of the things that do—and then doing that forever.
To win, you must listen more deeply to your customers. You must always look for better ways to get your message out to folks. You can’t rest on your laurels or settle for past results.
That said, we know these steps can be scary or intimidating, especially if you’re not sure what move to make next. If you’re looking for some support, find out what you should look for in an agency, or learn more about how we work with brands. Most importantly, stay up on the latest best practices and keep experimenting. That’s the smartest way to win.
