Why content marketing fails for many businesses (and how to fix it)

Content marketing can be one of the most profitable digital ad strategies of all. So, why do so many businesses struggle to make it work?

Surprisingly, only 49% of businesses consider their content marketing as effective, according to a survey by SEO research platform Semrush. And it's often due to common pitfalls that are completely avoidable! Let’s talk about those.

A Lack of resources

It's hard to deliver quality content when you’re working with limited time or money. In fact, 71% of surveyed businesses said they spend less than $1,000 on content marketing each month, and 77% say they can't produce content fast enough.

You can’t expect much impact without investing properly in content creation. But we get it: it’s a chicken-and-egg situation! You can’t afford to spend more on content until you see some results, but you won’t see those results until you’re able to invest more.

On platforms like TikTok, many brands struggle to produce enough video content due to the need for a strong on-camera presence. Finding people who are comfortable in front of the camera and can represent your brand authentically is difficult, which limits the ability to jump on trends and create consistent content.

Plus, the fast-paced nature of TikTok means that, by the time a brand is ready to participate in a trend, it might already be declining in popularity.

It’s a frustrating cycle, but there are ways to break out without burning through your budget, like:

• Building a system of repurposing or atomising existing content

• Streamline content production pipelines with batch creation and well-planned calendars

• Leverage user-generated content, and even work with creators to do the content development work for you

• Identify some members of your team who you can entrust to make content in-house

Quantity over quality

On the flipside... the obsession with pushing out loads of content just for the sake of it can actually backfire.

Churning out mediocre articles just to “keep the blog alive” can hurt your site’s overall performance. Instead, focusing on high-quality, meaningful content will take you much further.

Think: "What would my audience REALLY find valuable?" rather than "How much can we publish this month?”

This is especially true for social media, where different influencers provide conflicting advice about content volume. Some say posting three times per day is the key to going viral, while others recommend quality over quantity.

Brands often feel stuck between these approaches, leading to rushed, low-impact content that doesn’t truly engage their audience. Understanding your specific audience and testing different posting strategies is key to finding the right balance.

Misaligned content and customer journeys

Many businesses pump out content without considering how it aligns with their customers’ journey. Trying to sell straight from a blog post meant for someone just starting their research isn’t always the best approach. It’s essential to map your content to the right stages of your sales funnels, whether it's awareness, consideration, or decision.

A common mistake on platforms like Instagram and TikTok is putting end-of-funnel messaging in top-of-funnel spaces. For example, a brand might push heavy sales-driven content in a space where users are primarily looking for entertainment or inspiration.

Instead, brands should focus on engaging, humorous, or informative content that builds trust before attempting to drive conversions.

Jumping on trend/meme bandwagons too late

If you want to stand out, it’s crucial that you match your content to user intent. Audiences are gravitating towards shortform videos, tutorials, and how-to guides, which get straight to the point.

For TikTok and Instagram Reels, brands must be mindful of evolving trends and algorithms. Sounds, effects, and challenges can rise and fall in a matter of days, meaning that jumping on a trend too late can result in minimal engagement, or even tarnished brand reputation.

Having a dedicated team or partner monitoring trends in real-time can be the key to staying ahead.

Over-reliance on social media

With algorithms constantly changing and paid ads often drowning out organic content, ROI via social platforms has dwindled over the years. A strong marketing strategy should diversify into other channels, too, like your website, blog, email newsletter, and so on.

Although having a strong social presence is still massively beneficial, views and likes don’t always lead to sales, and sometimes, these platforms almost disappear entirely, as we’ve seen recently with the decline of Twitter and the risk of TikTok being banned in the United States.

Investing in content channels and audience bases that you have ownership over gives you a lot more long-term stability.

The AI trap

While AI can be a time-saving tool for drafting or research, it's not without its downsides. Too many businesses rely on AI-generated content without human oversight, resulting in copy that lacks personality.

On social media, AI-generated content often lacks the authenticity that platforms like TikTok thrive on. Audiences gravitate towards real, unfiltered content that feels genuine rather than overly polished or robotic. Look at the comments on pretty much any generative imagery, and you’ll likely see brands being torn to shreds.

So, it’s okay to use generative tools for brainstorming and efficiency, but ensure that the end product remains personal and relatable.

Set it and forget it

Content is not a “one-and-done” resource. Businesses that produce content and leave it untouched for years are missing out on valuable SEO authority. Regularly updating your content ensures that it stays fresh, timely, and evergreen.

On fast-moving platforms like TikTok, content longevity is even shorter. A video that performed well a month ago may already feel outdated due to shifting trends.

The most successful brands are those that continually refresh their content strategy and adapt quickly to new formats and audience preferences.

Fixing your content marketing fails

Now it’s time to put all of this into action! Here are five key strategic changes you can start implementing right away:

• Streamline the systems you have in place for capturing, publishing, and repurposing content

• Stay ahead of trends, or even work with the kinds of creators who can help you lead trends of your own

• Build channels outside of social media, where you have firmer ownership over the content you put out and the audiences you nurture

• Make sure your content serves your customer journey — don’t try to shoehorn top-of-funnel messaging into a bottom-of-funnel asset, and vice versa

• Remember the immense value of human oversight while the rest of the world is rushing to generate everything with AI

Content marketing is far from dead, but, in a saturated landscape, it does require more thought and strategy than ever.

By avoiding the pitfalls I’ve written about here and implementing the right fixes, your business or brand can build sustainable, high-performing content marketing pipelines that drive real results.