Marketing Calendar 2024 With Template To Plan Your Content via @sejournal, @theshelleywalsh

Setting yourself and your organization up for successful marketing means understanding the interesting dates, holidays, and events throughout the year that you can leverage for your brand.

Pulling that information together takes time and effort, so we’ve done the legwork for you.

Our complete marketing calendar for 2024 with a template gives you all the information you need to plan your content.

You can customize this easily referenceable table and pull out the relevant dates for your business to create your own 2024 marketing calendar.

For planning content and social media campaigns, using a marketing calendar gives you insights and opportunities to tie your content into well-known events in engaging ways.

These range from big sporting events to awareness months that you can plan content around, to public holidays so you can leverage them for engagement.

Free Marketing Calendar And Template For 2024

Below, we have listed some of the major holiday highlights for 2024. We have also compiled a free spreadsheet that lists many obscure awareness days to help you plan content in any niche.

The full 2024 marketing calendar and template are available at the end of the article, with a breakdown of each month.

This calendar focuses mainly on the U.S. and Canada, with some major international and religious holidays included.

Your 2024 Holiday Marketing Calendar

January

January is a time of resolutions and fresh starts, with many picking a goal for the year or looking to make a change.

It can be a slow start, given that many people are still recovering from the end of last year, but that gives you time to plan your calendar and ease into a new year of content.

There are plenty of broad activities to lean into, like Veganuary and National Hobby Month, to connect with audience lifestyles.

Events in January always have all eyes on them, too, like the Golden Globes and Winter X Games, so content around them can kickstart your 2024 engagement.

Monthly Observances

  • International Creativity Month
  • National Blood Donor Month
  • National Braille Literacy Month
  • National Hobby Month
  • Dry January
  • Veganuary

Weekly Observances

  • January 1-7 – New Year’s Resolutions Week
  • January 1-7 – Celebration of Life Week
  • January 1-7 – Diet Resolution Week
  • January 8-14 – Home Office and Security Week

Days

  • January 1 – New Year’s Day
  • January 1 – Mexican Independence Day
  • January 1 – Global Family Day
  • January 2 – National Science Fiction Day
  • January 4 – World Braille Day
  • January 6 – Epiphany
  • January 7 – Orthodox Christmas
  • January 10 – Golden Globes
  • January 13 – Korean American Day
  • January 13 – Stephen Foster Memorial Day
  • January 14 – Orthodox New Year
  • January 14 – Ratification Day
  • January 15 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • January 15 – Civil Rights Day
  • January 17 – Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day
  • January 17 – Benjamin Franklin Day
  • January 18-28 – Sundance Film Festival
  • January 20 – World Religion Day
  • January 24 – Tu BiShvat
  • January 26-29 – Winter X Games
  • January 27 – International Holocaust Remembrance Day
  • January 28 – Data Privacy Day

Popular Hashtags for January:

  • #NewYearsDay
  • #ScienceFictionDay
  • #NationalTriviaDay
  • #NationalBirdDay
  • #NationalStickerDay
  • #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay
  • #CheeseLoversDay
  • #MLKDay
  • #NationalHuggingDay
  • #PieDay
  • #NationalComplimentDay
  • #PrivacyAware

February

Despite being the shortest month, February is full of interesting events you can leverage for your marketing campaigns.

The colder days can leave people looking for things to get involved with from the comfort of their homes. So, make sure your content is working in line with popular days to attract people to your organization’s content.

Spread the love on Valentine’s Day, celebrate the Lunar New Year, and embrace Black History Month as we enjoy a slightly longer February with 2024’s Leap Year.

Monthly Observances

  • Black History Month
  • American Heart Month
  • National Heart Month
  • National Weddings Month
  • National Cancer Prevention Month
  • National Library Lovers Month
  • Celebration of Chocolate Month

Weekly Observances

  • February 7-13 – African Heritage and Health Week
  • February 9-14 – New York Fashion Week
  • February 11-17 – Freelance Writers Appreciation Week
  • February 11-17 – International Flirting Week
  • February 11-17 – Random Acts of Kindness Week
  • February 18-24 – Engineers’ Week
  • February 19-25 – National Pancake Week
  • February 28-March 5 – National Eating Disorders Awareness Week

Days

  • February 1 – First Day of Black History Month
  • February 1 – National Freedom Day
  • February 1 – National Change Your Password Day
  • February 2 – Groundhog Day
  • February 4 – Rosa Parks Day
  • February 4 – World Cancer Day
  • February 4 – The Grammy Awards
  • February 7 – National Girls and Women in Sports Day
  • February 10 – Lunar New Year
  • February 11 – Super Bowl Sunday
  • February 11 – International Day of Women and Girls in Science
  • February 12 – Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday
  • February 12 – Red Hand Day
  • February 12 – Georgia Day
  • February 12 – Darwin Day
  • February 13 – Mardi Gras
  • February 13 – International Pancake Day
  • February 14 – Valentine’s Day
  • February 14 – Ash Wednesday
  • February 14 – Arizona State Day
  • February 15 – Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday
  • February 18 – NBA All-Stars
  • February 18 – Daytona 500
  • February 19 – Presidents’ Day
  • February 22 – George Washington’s Birthday
  • February 29 – Leap Day

Popular Hashtags for February

  • #GroundhogDay
  • #WorldCancerDay
  • #NationalWeatherpersonsDay
  • #SendACardToAFriendDay
  • #BoyScoutsDay
  • #NationalPizzaDay
  • #ValentinesDay
  • #RandomActsOfKindnessDay
  • #PresidentsDay
  • #LoveYourPetDay

March

March marks the beginning of spring, and the days start to get longer. Whether March Madness turns up the heat or Easter is on its way, there are plenty of exciting events to get your content involved with.

Some of the monthly observances, such as Women’s History Month or The Great American Cleanup, can serve as great causes for regular engagement this month.

Monthly Observances

  • Women’s History Month
  • Nutrition Month
  • Music in Our Schools Month
  • Craft Month
  • American Red Cross Month
  • The Great American Cleanup
  • Ramadan begins on March 10

Weekly Observances

  • March 10-16 – Girl Scout Week
  • March 10-16 – National Sleep Awareness Week
  • March 17-23 – National Agriculture Week
  • March 24-30 – National Cleaning Week

Days

  • March 1 – Employee Appreciation Day
  • March 1 – Zero Discrimination Day
  • March 1 – Global Unplugging Day
  • March 3 – World Wildlife Day
  • March 3 – National Anthem Day
  • March 4 – International HPV Awareness Day
  • March 8 – International Women’s Day
  • March 10 – Daylight Savings
  • March 10 – Ramadan
  • March 12 – 96th Academy Awards Ceremony
  • March 14 – Pi Day
  • March 15 – The Ides of March
  • March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day
  • March 17 – NCAA March Madness
  • March 17 – World Sleep Day
  • March 18 – Global Recycling Day
  • March 19 – Nowruz
  • March 19 – Spring Equinox
  • March 22 – World Water Day
  • March 24 – Palm Sunday
  • March 24 – Purim
  • March 26 – Epilepsy Awareness Day
  • March 27 – World Theatre Day
  • March 28 – MLB Opening Day
  • March 28 – Maundy Thursday
  • March 29 – Good Friday
  • March 30 – Holy Saturday
  • March 31 – Easter Sunday

Popular Hashtags for March

  • #PeanutButterLoversDay
  • #EmployeeAppreciationDay
  • #ReadAcrossAmerica
  • #DrSeuss
  • #WorldWildlifeDay
  • #NationalGrammarDay
  • #BeBoldForChange
  • #DaylightSavings
  • #PiDay
  • #StPatricksDay
  • #FirstDayofSpring
  • #WorldWaterDay
  • #NationalPuppyDay
  • #PurpleDay
  • #NationalDoctorsDay
  • #EarthHour

April

April is probably best known for April Fools’ Day, and a chance to get creative with parody and spoof content for your calendar that can make your customers smile.

Earth Month also means you can make more eco-friendly posts about your organization’s commitment to reducing its impact on the planet.

You also might want to get your cape out of storage on April 28th for National Superhero Day.

Monthly Observances

  • Earth Month
  • National Autism Awareness Month
  • Parkinson’s Awareness Month
  • Celebrate Diversity Month
  • Stress Awareness Month
  • Ramadan ends on April 8

Weekly Observances

  • April 15-21 – Animal Cruelty/Human Violence Awareness Week
  • April 21-27 – National Volunteer Week
  • April 21-27 – Administrative Professionals Week
  • April 22-26 – Every Kid Healthy Week

Days

  • April 1 – April Fool’s Day
  • April 1 – Easter Monday
  • April 2 – World Autism Awareness Day
  • April 2 – International Children’s Book Day
  • April 5 – Lailat al-Qadr
  • April 6 – National Walking Day
  • April 7 – National Beer Day
  • April 7 – World Health Day
  • April 8 – Total Solar Eclipse
  • April 10 – Eid-Al-Fitr
  • April 11-14 – Masters Tournament PGA
  • April 11 – National Pet Day
  • April 12-21 – Coachella Music Festival
  • April 13 – Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday
  • April 13-15 – Songkran
  • April 15 – American Sign Language Day
  • April 15 – Tax Day
  • April 15 – Boston Marathon
  • April 15 – Patriots’ Day
  • April 16 – Emancipation Day
  • April 21 – World Creativity and Innovation Day
  • April 22 – Earth Day
  • April 22 – Passover starts
  • April 26 – Arbor Day
  • April 27 – World Design Day
  • April 28 – National Superhero Day
  • April 30 – National Honesty Day
  • April 30 – Passover ends

Popular Hashtags For April:

  • #AprilFools
  • #WAAD
  • #FindARainbowDay
  • #NationalWalkingDay
  • #LetsTalk
  • #EqualPayDay
  • #TaxDay
  • #NH5D
  • #NationalLookAlikeDay
  • #AdministrativeProfessionalsDay
  • #DenimDay
  • #EndMalariaForGood
  • #COUNTONME
  • #ArborDay
  • #NationalHonestyDay
  • #AdoptAShelterPetDay

May

May brings a lot of variety with it as there are plenty of good causes to raise awareness for, plus major sporting events and unique celebrations you can join in with.

Cinco de Mayo, the Kentucky Derby, and Memorial Day are just a few examples of events that will have lots of people paying attention and can make for great marketing themes.

Monthly Observances

  • ALS Awareness
  • Asthma Awareness
  • Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
  • Jewish American Heritage Month
  • National Celiac Disease Awareness Month
  • Clean Air Month
  • Better Sleep Month
  • Lupus Awareness Month

Weekly Observances

  • May 5-11 – National Pet Week
  • May 19-25 – National Travel & Tourism Week
  • May 5-11 – Drinking Water Week
  • May 6-12 – Nurse’s Week
  • May 12-18 – Food Allergy Awareness Week

Days

  • May 1 – May Day
  • May 1 – Law Day
  • May 1 – Lei Day
  • May 2 – World Password Day
  • May 4 – Star Wars Day
  • May 4 – International Firefighters Day
  • May 4 – Kentucky Derby
  • May 5 – Cinco De Mayo
  • May 5-10 – French Open
  • May 6 – National Nurses Day
  • May 6 – Yom HaShoah
  • May 8 – World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
  • May 10 – World Lupus Day
  • May 11 – World Fair Trade Day
  • May 12 – Mother’s Day
  • May 13-19 – PGA Championship
  • May 14 – Yom Ha’atzmaut
  • May 15 – International Day of Families
  • May 17 – NASCAR Day
  • May 17 – Malcolm X Day
  • May 17 – Internet Day
  • May 19 – HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
  • May 20 – World Bee Day
  • May 20 – Victoria Day (Canada)
  • May 21 – World Meditation Day
  • May 25 – Geek Pride Day
  • May 26 – Trinity Sunday
  • May 26 – Indianapolis 500
  • May 27 – Memorial Day
  • May 28 – World Hunger Day
  • May 29 – Memorial Day

Popular Hashtags For May:

  • #RedNoseDay
  • #MayDay
  • #WorldPasswordDay
  • #StarWarsDay & #Maythe4thBeWithYou
  • #InternationalFirefightersDay
  • #CincoDeMayo
  • #MothersDay
  • #BTWD
  • #MemorialDay & #MDW

June

Once June has arrived, it’s finally starting to feel like summer. Everyone wants to make the most of the sunshine, and the positive energies are flowing.

Given that June also marks Great Outdoors Month, this is a great opportunity to make your brand a must-have companion for planning a beachside vacation or hosting a cookout.

You can also show your support for LGBTQ+ Pride, Flag Day, and Father’s Day, along with all the other events listed here.

Monthly Observances

  • LGBTQ Pride Month
  • Caribbean-American Heritage Month
  • Great Outdoors Month
  • Men’s Health Month
  • National Safety Month
  • National Zoo and Aquarium Month

Weekly Observances

  • June 2-8 – National Garden Week
  • June 2-8 – National Headache Awareness Week
  • June 10-16 – National Men’s Health Week
  • June 16-22 – National Roller Coaster Week

Days

  • June 1 – Global Parents Day
  • June 5 – Hot Air Balloon Day
  • June 5 – World Environment Day
  • June 6 – D-Day
  • June 8 – Belmont Stakes
  • June 8 – World Oceans Day
  • June 8 – National Best Friends Day
  • June 9 – Donald Duck Day
  • June 10 – Chinese Dragon Boat Festival
  • June 11 – Kamehameha Day
  • June 12 – Shavuot
  • June 13-16 – Bonnaroo Music Festival
  • June 14 – Flag Day
  • June 14 – Flag Day
  • June 16 – Father’s Day
  • June 16 – Tony Awards
  • June 13-16 – U.S. Open PGA
  • June 19 – Juneteenth
  • June 20 – Summer Solstice
  • June 23 – International Widows Day
  • June 29 – July 21 – Tour de France
  • June 30 – International Asteroid Day

Popular Hashtags For June:

  • #NationalDonutDay
  • #FathersDay
  • #NationalSelfieDay
  • #TakeYourDogToWorkDay
  • #HandshakeDay
  • #SMDay

July

July presents lots of opportunities for savvy marketers, from the 4th of July to the International Day of Friendship.

As we enter the summer slow-down period, there’s lots to celebrate that can help to feed your social media content to keep customers engaged.

So celebrate your independence, indulge in a little ice cream, and bring people together with one of the many events in July.

Monthly Observances

  • Family Golf Month
  • Ice Cream Month
  • National Parks and Recreation Month
  • National Picnic Month
  • National Independent Retailer Month
  • National Blueberry Month

Weekly Observances

  • July 15-21 – Capture the Sunset Week

Days

  • July 1 – International Joke Day
  • July 1-11 – Wimbledon
  • July 2 – World UFO Day
  • July 4 – Independence Day
  • July 6 – International Kissing Day
  • July 7 – World Chocolate Day
  • July 8 – National Video Games Day
  • July 11 – World Population Day
  • July 12 – Pecan Pie Day
  • July 16 – Moon Landing Anniversary
  • July 16 – MLB All-Star Game
  • July 17 – World Emoji Day
  • July 17 – Ashura
  • July 18 – Nelson Mandela International Day
  • July 20 – International Chess Day
  • July 20 – National Moon Day
  • July 21 – National Junk Food Day
  • July 24 – Amelia Earhart Day
  • July 26 – Aunt and Uncle Day
  • July 26 – August 11 – Summer Olympics
  • July 28-30 – Summer X Games
  • July 28 – Parents’ Day
  • July 28 – World Hepatitis Day
  • July 30 – International Day of Friendship
  • July 31 – World Ranger Day

Popular Hashtags For July:

  • #NationalPostalWorkerDay
  • #WorldUFODay
  • #WorldEmojiDay
  • #DayOfFriendship

August

We’ve hit the hottest days by August as back-to-school looms, and we welcome the return of football.

While many are topping up their tans and making the most of the final Summer days, August still provides lots of opportunities to align your content with wider events.

Make sure you’re using your marketing calendar to the fullest extent to post any sunny seasonal content promptly before fall arrives.

Monthly Observances

  • Back to School Month
  • National Breastfeeding Month
  • Family Fun Month
  • Peach Month

Weekly Observances

  • August 1-7 – International Clown Week
  • August 4-10 – National Farmers’ Market Week
  • August 25-31 – Be Kind to Humankind Week

Days

  • August 1 – National Girlfriends Day
  • August 1 – NFL Hall of Fame Game & Preseason
  • August 2 – International Beer Day
  • August 4 – National Friendship Day
  • August 7 – Purple Heart Day
  • August 8 – International Cat Day
  • August 9 – Book Lover’s Day
  • August 11 – National Son and Daughter Day
  • August 12 – Victory Day
  • August 13 – Left Hander’s Day
  • August 15 – Assumption of Mary
  • August 17 – National Honey Bee Day
  • August 19 – World Humanitarian Day
  • August 19 – Raksha Bandhan
  • August 20 – National Radio Day
  • August 21 – Senior Citizens Day
  • August 26 – Women’s Equality Day
  • August 30 – Frankenstein Day
  • August 30 – National Beach Day

Popular Hashtags For August:

  • #InternationalCatDay
  • #NationalBookLoversDay
  • #WorldElephantDay
  • #LefthandersDay
  • #WorldPhotoDay
  • #WorldHumanitarianDay
  • #NationalLemonadeDay
  • #NationalDogDay
  • #WomensEqualityDay

September

As fall begins, some of the bigger events happening in September are Hispanic Heritage Month, Grandparents Day, and, of course, Labor Day.

There are also plenty of other events to inspire you, from Oktoberfest to National Yoga Month. Plus, a National Coffee Day for those who struggle to start their day without a caffeine fix.

Monthly Observances

  • Wilderness Month
  • National Food Safety Education Month
  • National Yoga Month
  • Whole Grains Month
  • Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15)

Weekly Observances

  • September 8-14 – National Suicide Prevention Week
  • September 15-21 – National Indoor Plant Week
  • September 16-22 – Pollution Prevention Week
  • September 24-30 – National Dog Week

Days

  • September 2 – VJ Day
  • September 2 – Labor Day
  • September 4 – National Wildlife Day
  • September 5 – International Day of Charity
  • September 6 – National Fight Procrastination Day
  • September 8 – Pardon Day
  • September 8 – National Grandparents Day
  • September 11 – 9/11
  • September 11 – Patriot Day
  • September 12 – Video Games Day
  • September 13 – Uncle Sam Day
  • September 15 – Greenpeace Day
  • September 17 – Constitution Day
  • September 21 – Oktoberfest Begins
  • September 21 – International Day of Peace
  • September 22 – World Car-Free Day
  • September 22 – September Equinox
  • September 24 – World Bollywood Day
  • September 24–29 – Presidents Cup PGA
  • September 27 – Native American Day
  • September 27 – World Tourism Day
  • September 29 – National Coffee Day (US)
  • September 29 – Confucius Day
  • September 29 – World Heart Day

Popular Hashtags For September:

  • #LaborDay
  • #NationalWildlifeDay
  • #CharityDay
  • #ReadABookDay
  • #911Day
  • #NationalVideoGamesDay
  • #TalkLikeAPirateDay
  • #PeaceDay
  • #CarFreeDay
  • #WorldRabiesDay
  • #GoodNeighborDay
  • #InternationalPodcastDay

October

It’s that time of year when pumpkin spice lattes roll around again.

While October is known as the spooky season to many, there’s much more to this month than just Halloween – there’s Teacher’s Day, World Mental Health Day, and Spirit Day, to name a few, around which your organization can look to create content.

Monthly Observances

  • Breast Cancer Awareness Month
  • Bully Prevention Month
  • Halloween Safety Month
  • Financial Planning Month
  • National Pizza Month

Weekly Observances

  • October 8-14 – Fire Prevention Week
  • October 13-19 – Earth Science Week
  • October 20-26 – National Business Women’s Week

Days

  • October 1 – International Coffee Day
  • October 1 – World Vegetarian Day
  • October 3 – National Techies Day
  • October 5 – World Teacher’s Day
  • October 6 – Oktoberfest Ends
  • October 7 – Child Health Day
  • October 10 – World Mental Health Day
  • October 11 – National Coming Out Day
  • October 12 – Yom Kippur
  • October 14 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day
  • October 14 – Columbus Day
  • October 14 – Thanksgiving Day (Canada)
  • October 16 – World Food Day
  • October 19 – Sweetest Day
  • October 20 – Spirit Day (Anti-bullying)
  • October 22 – Make a Difference Day
  • October 24 – United Nations Day
  • October 30 – Mischief Night
  • October 31 – Halloween

Popular Hashtags For October:

  • #InternationalCoffeeDay
  • #TechiesDay
  • #NationalTacoDay
  • #WorldSmileDay
  • #WorldTeachersDay
  • #WorldHabitatDay
  • #WorldMentalHealthDay
  • #BossesDay
  • #UNDay
  • #ChecklistDay
  • #Halloween

November

During the month in which we all give thanks, there is also a wide range of causes you can help out with or raise awareness for, like Movember and America Recycles Day.

You should also mark your marketing calendar for arguably the biggest sales events of the year – Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Dec. 2) – which are sure to be on everyone’s radar.

Monthly Observances

  • Native American Heritage Month
  • Movember
  • World Vegan Month
  • Novel Writing Month
  • National Gratitude Month

Weekly Observances

  • November 11-16 – World Kindness Week (second week: Monday – Sunday)
  • November 18-22 – American Education Week
  • November 18-24 – Game and Puzzle Week

Days

  • November 1 – Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos
  • November 1 – All Saint’s Day
  • November 1 – World Vegan Day
  • November 2 – Melbourne Cup
  • November 3 – Daylight Savings Time Ends
  • November 5 – Election Day
  • November 8 – STEM Day
  • November 9 – World Freedom Day
  • November 10 – Marine Corps Birthday
  • November 11 – Veterans Day
  • November 13 – World Kindness Day
  • November 14 – World Diabetes Day
  • November 15 – National Entrepreneurs Day
  • November 24 – Evolution Day
  • November 28 – Thanksgiving Day
  • November 29 – Native American Heritage Day
  • November 29 – Black Friday

Popular Hashtags For November:

  • #WorldVeganDay
  • #NationalSandwichDay
  • #DaylightSavings
  • #CappuccinoDay
  • #STEMDay
  • #VeteransDay
  • #WKD
  • #WDD
  • #BeRecycled
  • #EntrepreneursDay
  • #Thanksgiving
  • #ShopSmall

December

December is here, and the end of the year is in sight.

Although 2025 is right around the corner, and you might want to start planning your content calendar for next year, don’t neglect your content in the run-up to the holidays.

Send your year off in style with marketing campaigns dedicated to events like Nobel Prize Day, Rosa Parks Day, Green Monday, and more.

You can even do a content wrap-up of your best moments from the year – and make sure to get your 2025 marketing calendar sorted early before the post-Christmas wind-down.

Monthly Observances

  • Human Rights Month
  • Operation Santa Paws
  • Safe Toys and Gifts Month
  • World Food Service Safety Month

Weekly Observances

  • December 9-15 – Human Rights Week
  • December 25 – January 2 – Hanukkah (Chanukah)
  • December 26 – January 1 – Kwanzaa

Days

  • December 1 – World AIDS Day
  • December 1 – Rosa Parks Day
  • December 2 – Cyber Monday
  • December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
  • December 6 – St. Nicholas Day
  • December 7 – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
  • December 7 – National Letter Writing Day
  • December 8 – Feast of the Immaculate Conception
  • December 9 – Green Monday
  • December 10 – Nobel Prize Day
  • December 10 – Human Rights Day
  • December 11 – UNICEF Anniversary
  • December 15 – Bill of Rights Day
  • December 18 – National Twin Day
  • December 21 – Winter Solstice
  • December 22 – Forefathers Day
  • December 23 – Festivus
  • December 24 – Christmas Eve
  • December 25 – Christmas Day
  • December 25 – Hanukkah
  • December 26 – Kwanzaa
  • December 26 – Boxing Day
  • December 31 – New Year’s Eve

Popular Hashtags For December:

  • #IDPWD
  • #NationalCookieDay
  • #NobelPrize
  • #WinterSolstice
  • #NYE

The Complete Marketing Calendar And Template To Plan 2024

You can find the link to our complete marketing calendar and template for 2024 right here.

By having a content plan set out months in advance, you can rest assured that you’ll have great ideas to work with throughout the year.

And just because you have a plan doesn’t mean you can’t adapt if something interesting happens later in the year.

Simply rearrange your calendar and work your trending content around key dates.

Keep track of what ideas work throughout the year and use them to help guide your marketing calendar for 2025, so you can double down on successful content ideas.


Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal

AI Can Kill Content Marketing

Content marketing is foundational for many businesses, especially those seeking ongoing customer relationships. 

Producing content, however, has changed since OpenAI released ChatGPT 3.5 in November 2022. Generative AI has made creating content faster, easier, and relatively less expensive. But it has not necessarily made content better. 

Here’s why.

Home page for ChatGPT 3.5Home page for ChatGPT 3.5

ChatGPT 3.5 can create content faster, easier, and cheaper. Is it better?

Nothing New to Say

Circa 2024, generative AI does not produce new ideas or even develop its own conclusions. Rather, it regurgitates information that it has indexed. 

Generative AI is excellent for some tasks. For example, gen-AI search results often answer a query on-site, which is handy for users but not website owners.

However, enter a generative AI prompt to produce content, and you can be certain it will not offer anything new. Instead, it will produce an article similar to everything else on the topic.

Careful prompting and editing help, but lack of originality is a fundamental problem with using generative AI for content marketing.

No Reason to Rank

In 2024, Google says it does not penalize websites for using AI-generated content. 

Nonetheless, if the content your company publishes is the same as everything else online, Google and other search engines will have no real reason to rank yours.

Search engines want to rank content demonstrating expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Thus, just taking the output from a generative AI verbatim may not lead to content that deserves to rank.

Not Your Brand

A key element of successful content marketing is a consistent, distinct brand voice that resonates with the audience.

Men’s clothier Mr Porter is a good example. Its “The Journal” blog publishes original profiles and apparel suggestions with an opinionated, modern vibe. AI-generated content might miss these nuances, leading to content that feels generic or disconnected from the brand’s identity.

Put another way, AI might not capture your audience’s needs, preferences, and feedback as human-created content can.

If a company has built a reputation for being a bold, strong brand that supports environmental causes, a middling composition could change customers’ perceptions of the business.

Screenshot of article on Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo BillsScreenshot of article on Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo Bills

Mr Porter’s “The Journal” publishes original, opinionated articles on men’s apparel, such as this profile of an NFL player.

Not Accurate

Large language models and other AI tools routinely produce inaccuracies. 

For example, in August 2023, the Associated Press published an article titled “Chatbots sometimes make things up. Is AI’s hallucination problem fixable?”

“Spend enough time with ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots, and it doesn’t take long for them to spout falsehoods,” wrote the AP’s Matt O’Brien. 

“Described as hallucination, confabulation or just plain making things up, it’s now a problem for every business, organization and high school student trying to get a generative AI system to compose documents and get work done.”

The most egregious have come more recently from Google’s Gemini and Adobe’s Firefly.

In February 2024, Gemini made headlines when it all but refused to produce images of white people because it had been programmed with diversity in mind. This programming resulted in wildly inaccurate images, which led Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai to send an email on February 27, 2024, ridiculing Gemini for its obvious bias.

In March 2024, Adobe’s Firefly reportedly produced historical images favoring diversity over truth.

Content marketers need to be on the lookout for “hallucination” and bias.

Not Your Content

Copyright infringement is an emerging problem for AI-generated content in two ways.

First, there are now legal fights over whether OpenAI or Google has the right to train models using copyright-protected materials. The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft is perhaps the leading example. Courts will resolve these copyright issues, but the outcome could impact the use of gen-AI for content production.  

Second, AI content generators could be plagiarizing. Plagiarism detection software found that about 60% of the copy ChatGPT 3.5 produces is plagiarized, according to a February 2024 Axios report.

Content marketers should check any AI-written copy before using it.

5 Content Marketing Ideas for April 2024

In April 2024, content marketers can tap into activities and niche holidays while introducing their products.

Content marketing is creating, publishing, and promoting content — articles, podcasts, videos — to attract, engage, and retain shoppers.

Content is the foundation for search engine optimization and lifecycle and social media marketing. It relies on reciprocity: Provide something of value, and readers will reciprocate by shopping in your online store.

Here are five content marketing ideas your business can use for April 2024.

Connect Activities and Products

Photo of hikers on the Camino de Santiago from the REI blogPhoto of hikers on the Camino de Santiago from the REI blog

REI’s blog includes posts that read like a magazine feature whilst promoting the products the company sells.

REI, the outdoor apparel and gear retailer, published an article called “How to Hike the Camino de Santiago” in January 2024. 

The article reads like an adventure magazine, with an overview of the trail’s history and useful information about making the trip. This piece could appear in search results about the Camino de Santiago or be featured in REI’s newsletter. 

The post, however, goes further. It includes a section about what to pack for the journey and links to several of REI’s products. The section makes sense in the article’s context, provides additional value to the reader, and helps REI sell.

For your company’s April content marketing, describe an activity your customers are likely interested in. Combine good, magazine-style writing with sensible product links.

National Welding Month

Photo of a person weldingPhoto of a person welding

National Welding Month is an opportunity to reach blue-collar readers.

April 2024 is National Welding Month. The American Welding Society established the occasion to remind us how important welding is in our daily lives and to call attention to the shortage of skilled welders.

Admittedly, articles about National Welding Month will not work for every ecommerce shop. Still, it’s an opportunity for the right merchant to reach an audience of blue-collar workers and well-funded do-it-yourselfers.

Potential article titles include:

  • “The Future of Welding. Trends and Technologies,”
  • “Careers in Welding: Opportunities and Challenges,”
  • “Essential Gear for Every Welder.”

Aim for content to share via an email newsletter or social media, but don’t forget to publish it on your store’s website for SEO.

National Car Care Month

April 2024 is also National Car Care Month. It’s an opportunity to publish automobile-related content even for seemingly unrelated products.

Take, for example, “Mr Eric Bana’s Top Five Classic Cars,” an interview on Mr Porter’s blog published during National Car Care Month in 2016 with the actor, car enthusiast, and occasional race driver.

Screenshot of Mr Porter's blog post with a rare car.Screenshot of Mr Porter's blog post with a rare car.

Mr Porter sells men’s clothing, but its online journal features all sorts of topics, including cars.

A similar article could include the favorite cars of your founders or top customers. Another could pair cars with the products your store carries. 

Imagine an online wine club with an article titled “If Brunellos Were Sports Cars, These Five Are Ferraris.”

National Burrito Day 

April 4, 2024, is National Burrito Day. The pseudo-holiday celebrates the ubiquitous Mexican-American dish. 

Traditional burritos are thin and simple, filled with meat, cheese, and little else. But in America burritos are often massive with diverse ingredients. 

For example, Iguanas restaurant in San Jose, Calf., makes a five-pound beast called the “Burritozilla” that could feed a family of four. And Better Homes & Gardens published a recipe for “Pad Thai Chicken Burritos,” demonstrating the diversity.

Screenshot of a promotion for the Burritozilla from the Iguanas restaurant in San Jose, Calf.Screenshot of a promotion for the Burritozilla from the Iguanas restaurant in San Jose, Calf.

At five pounds and 18 inches, Burritozilla could feed a family of four.

The flexibility of burritos could provide compelling content for your business. Here are a few examples.

  • Kitchen supply shop: “Secret Ingredients behind Authentic Mexican Burritos.”
  • Online apparel boutique: “Fiesta Fashion Essentials for National Burrito Day.”
  • Luggage merchant: “Best Destinations for Burrito Lovers.”
  • Online toy store: “Burrito-themed Games for the Whole Family.”

National Handmade Day 

Photo of a person knittingPhoto of a person knitting

National Handmade Day occurs on the first Saturday in April.

The craftsperson Amy Bierstadt created National Handmade Day in 2017 to acknowledge the work and love that goes into unique, one-of-a-kind items.

The celebration — on the first Saturday in April, the 6th in 2024 — fits merchants selling kits, tools, and handicrafts. Content examples include patterns, blueprints, tutorials, recipes, and many more do-it-yourself products.  

B2B Content Marketing Strategies For High-Quality Lead Generation via @sejournal, @sejournal

Content is key for generating high-quality leads in B2B marketing.

You must know how to leverage content to begin and nurture meaningful interactions. Words and graphics have the power to drive conversions and forge lasting connections.

Ultimately, successful content marketing isn’t just about being noticed but being remembered.

And generating leads isn’t just about numbers; it’s about connecting with real people.

If you’re ready to elevate your content strategy in 2024, our latest ebook, B2B Lead Generation: Create Content That Converts, is your playbook to providing maximum value to your audience next year.

This concise yet powerful guide is full of exclusive insights from high-profile experts, while drawing on our own internal expertise in delivering leads across multiple media types.

Here’s a peek at what you’ll find inside:

  • Using content innovation for lead generation: The oversaturation of content is a big issue in B2B today – and standing out isn’t just a challenge; it’s an art form. In order to elevate your brand and leave a lasting impression, you need the right combination of innovation and strategy. The key is in surprising your audience with content that feels fresh, speaks directly to their needs, and keeps them eagerly awaiting your next move.
  • Building sustainable and scalable lead programs: Remember, it’s not just about acquiring leads; it’s about making sure they feel valued and guided, and cultivating long-lasting relationships. To build a strong lead program, you must properly qualify and score your leads to determine how to best engage with and nurture them. Be sure to map out your customer journey, tailor your communication, and provide valuable touchpoints at every step to guide your leads from curiosity to commitment.
  • Mastering the knowledge exchange: Your goal should be to “add value before you extract value” – as Curtis del Principe, Sr. Marketing Manager at Hubspot, puts it. It’s all about crafting a win-win scenario between you and your audience. When you manage to address their biggest pain points and answer their most pressing questions, they willingly share their information in return. Create the kind of content that can captivate, engage, and inspire your leads to action.
  • Leveraging consumer psychology to forge meaningful connections: At its core, B2B is about humans connecting with humans. Although interactions can sometimes feel transactional, forging genuine connections and building relationships that go beyond the surface is crucial for success in this space. Try to understand why your audience does what they do so you can adjust your content to their unique needs and preferences. Offer value to them upfront and present solutions in a way that resonates with them personally.

B2B Lead Generation: Create Content That Converts

This digital handbook is tailored for the B2B marketing professional, whether you work within a specific brand or with an agency.

Grab your copy of B2B Lead Generation: Create Content That Converts for expert insights and actionable tips to help you start driving qualified leads and building genuine relationships.


Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal

Wide-base Strategy for Short-form Videos

TikTok’s algorithm surfaces new accounts. This has led some marketers to take a “wide-base” or “horizontal” approach to short-form video promotion.

With this tactic, a business owns several TikTok accounts. Each publishes the same or similar videos. The tactic aims to earn more total views than if the company had shared these short-form videos only on a single account.

New Heights

The wide-base account strategy appears most common with content creators.

For example, consider Travis and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, one of the most popular U.S. sports-related shows.

“New Heights Show” is one of the most popular sports channels in the United States.

The show’s primary TikTok account, @newheightshow, has 3.9 million followers.

According to an individual familiar with the podcast, several other accounts publish the show’s content under different names, such as @newheightsfootball, @newheightsrewind, and @newheightsclips.

“New Heights Football” publishes nearly the same content as “New Heights Show.”

Views before Followers

The wide-base strategy aims to get more views and earn more followers. The approach is noteworthy because the primary metric is how many times folks watch the content. The follower count — often the lead KPI for social media marketing — is secondary.

A hypothetical example might help. Imagine you are the marketer at Fee Brothers, a brand that makes cocktail bitters and egg replacers for drinks such as the classic whiskey sour.

Your content marketing efforts include a series of cocktail recipe videos.

The recipe videos are relatively long and published on X and YouTube. And each episode is sliced up into short clips. With the wide-base strategy, the brand would release those clips under several unique, albeit small, accounts.

TikTok’s algorithm would surface all the videos to relevant users, expanding or widening the impact. Fee Brother’s primary account may receive the most views, but the wide-base accounts would contribute, too.

If the aim is to sell more cocktail bitters and egg replacers, more video views could lead to more customers visiting the brand’s online shop. Mission accomplished.

Secondarily, those short-form clips introduce viewers to the long-form recipe show and the primary Fee Brothers account.

Account Ideas

Publishing identical clips on multiple accounts is likely effective, but a little variety doesn’t hurt either. Here is an example.

  • Primary account. Named after the business, this account publishes all of the clips and may have its handle (name) shown on the clips.
  • “Clips” account. This one has a handle such as “FeeBrothersClips.” It republishes just about everything from the primary account.
  • “Fans” account. This one also republishes nearly everything from the primary account.
  • “Best of” account. Named with “best” or “bestof” in the handle, it publishes top-performing and high-priority clips.
  • “Mistakes” account. This account shares clips featuring bloopers or behind-the-scenes action from the primary show. These clips may be unique, sharing the message and implied product promotion.

Follow a similar pattern to create a wide base of small accounts.

Short-form How-to

Marketers should monitor short-form views across all accounts. Follower count, the secondary KPI, is measured only for the primary account.

To connect views to sales, include a coupon code in the clips or otherwise track when clips correspond to increases in traffic and transactions.

For best wide-based results:

  • Use the proper format. Even if your primary videos are in a standard horizontal format, make vertical clips for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat, and X videos.
  • Have a clear hook to grab attention. This might be an image, the video clip’s title, or a thumbnail.
  • Keep it short. Seasoned marketers typically recommend 11-to-17 seconds for TikTok, about 10 seconds for Instagram Reels, and up to a minute for YouTube Shorts, X, and Snapchat.
  • Post consistently. Short-form video platforms often have a target cadence. WordStream, an agency, recommends publishing one to four times daily for each TikTok account.
  • Show products in use. Remember the hypothetical Fee Brothers example. A long-form cocktail recipe shows the company’s bitters in use. Do the same whether you sell clothes or power tools.
  • Use humor. A short-form video is often best when it is funny and informative. Don’t be afraid to make viewers laugh.

Execution

This wide-base video clip strategy is meant to produce relatively more short-form video views than a business can generate from a single account. It appears to work best on TikTok, although it’s worth testing on any social media network.

5 Content Marketing Ideas for March 2024

Content marketing in March 2024 can go beyond St. Patrick’s Day and college basketball. Instead, marketers could focus on puppies, other forms of “March Madness,” the time change, spring fitness, and do-it-yourself crafts.

Content marketing is the act of creating, sharing, and promoting content such as blog posts, videos, or podcasts to attract, engage, and retain shoppers. Content marketing can be a key part of search engine optimization, lifecycle marketing, and customer loyalty.

What follows are five content marketing ideas your business can use in March 2024.

National Puppy Day

If content marketing is about attraction, National Puppy Day on March 23, 2024, might be one of the best topics. Puppies are fun, cute, and adorable.

Photo of three brown puppiesPhoto of three brown puppies

Puppies are so cute they attract prospects, which is one of the main goals of content marketing.

Like many “greeting card” holidays, National Puppy Day’s origins are unclear. However, the American Kennel Club and numerous animal advocacy groups support the event.

Online shops selling pet products will have the most opportunity to publish National Puppy Day blog posts, podcasts, and the like. Still, all sorts of ecommerce businesses can produce puppy posts. Here are a few examples.

  • Online used bookseller: “10 Top Puppies from Fantasy Literature.”
  • Garden supply store: “How to Grow a Puppy-friendly Garden.”
  • Internet camera shop: “How Your Pup Can Help Build an Instagram Following.”

March Madness but Not Basketball

Photo of a basketball with an X on it.Photo of a basketball with an X on it.

“March Madness” content does not have to be about basketball.

Ecommerce content marketers can take some liberty with “March Madness” and focus on “mad” activities that don’t include college basketball.

For these articles, frame the products your store sells or the shoppers it serves as some kind of “March Madness.” Here are a few examples.

  • Movie memorabilia merchant: “March Movie Madness: 10 Best Movies Ever Released in March.”
  • Women’s apparel boutique: “March Fashion Madness: 10 Spring Outfits to Up Your Dating Game.”
  • Online Toy Store: “March Madness: Top 25 Toys Right Now.”

Daylight Saving Time

AI-generated image of Ben FranklinAI-generated image of Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin was among the first to recommend daylight saving time.

On March 10, 2024, the clocks in the United States will spring forward for daylight saving time. Searches on Google for the term will soar in early March.

Marketers can use the heightened interest to produce content related to the time charge.

The aim is not to create a sales pitch but rather to offer engaging, educational, or helpful content relevant to the products sold and the industry served.

Here are a few example article titles.

  • Workwear store: “The Ultimate Guide to Spring Workwear.”
  • Art supply boutique: “Spring Art Projects Inspired by Longer Days.”
  • Online game stop: “Adjusting Your Play Schedule around Daylight Saving Time.”

Another angle could be historical or political. For example, a rare book merchant could publish an essay about the history of daylight savings time and how it impacted America’s growth. The essay might mention several rare books on the topic, making the connection from content to products.

Spring into Fitness

Photo of a male hikingPhoto of a male hiking

Spring fitness can be a good content marketing opportunity.

Jay Baer’s book, “Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype,” was published in 2013 but remains relevant for content marketing.

One of Baer’s concepts in the book was that content marketing works best when it assists the marketer’s audience to achieve a goal or decision.

“Spring into fitness” could be a March 2024 content marketing idea that does what Baer recommended. Stores that sell products related to health, fitness, getting outdoors, travel, or similar healthy habits can create content that teaches, engages, and ultimately aids their readers.

National Craft Month

Photo of yarn in a basketPhoto of yarn in a basket

Crafty content in March could include profiles of a store’s customers.

March is National Craft Month in the U.S. The event emphasizes the broad range of crafts folks might participate in.

National Craft Month can be a good opportunity for content marketers to showcase customers. Start in February by identifying and interviewing customers who have used the products a store sells to build a project. Then, profile those customers throughout March.

These efforts combine good content with word-of-mouth marketing since every featured customer will likely share and promote the profile to their family and friends.

Reminder: Google Enforcing New Email Rules Next Month via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Next month, Google will enforce stricter rules for businesses and groups that send large volumes of email to Gmail accounts.

Initially announced in October, these new policies are intended to reduce spam and make email more secure.

New Standards For Bulk Email

Any entity that sends more than 5,000 emails per day to Gmail addresses must now follow specific guidelines.

First, bulk email senders must authenticate their messages using protocols like SPF, DKIM, or DMARC. This validates that the emails come from the claimed sender and establishes trustworthiness.

Additionally, Gmail now requires that high-volume emailers give recipients an easy, one-click option to unsubscribe. Senders have to honor unsubscribe requests within two business days.

Finally, bulk senders must stay under a clear spam threshold set by Google to avoid having their emails marked as spam. Those who go over the limit risk having their emails filtered out as spam.

Preparing For February Deadline

Google thinks most reputable companies already follow good email practices, or “email hygiene.” But for any businesses that need help putting these into action, here is some guidance:

  • Use a trusted email-sending service.
  • Keep your email list updated, removing people who are inactive or not engaged.
  • Separate your list into different segments so emails can be more targeted and relevant.
  • Make the content of emails more personalized to improve engagement and reduce spam reports.
  • Allow easy unsubscribing from emails.

Companies with over 5,000 subscribers on their email list must follow the new requirements and make any needed changes by February. However, those with smaller email lists can benefit from following the new standards, as it can improve email deliverability.

Looking Ahead

Google’s new requirements are not a perfect solution, but the company believes they’ll help reduce spam and abuse.

The key takeaway is that email marketers who follow the new rules can keep reaching their subscribers.


Featured Image: Cherdchai101/Shutterstock

5 Content Marketing Ideas for February 2024

In February 2024, content marketers can produce articles and videos about pizza, marriage, evolution, wine, and the rarest of birthdates.

Content marketing is the act of curating or creating content to attract, engage, or acquire customers. What follows are five content marketing topics your business can use in February 2024.

1. Pizza Day

Photo of a pizza on a restaurant tablePhoto of a pizza on a restaurant table

Pizza Day is an opportunity for content marketers to tap into something most folks like.

February 9, 2024, is National Pizza Day in the United States. While the pseudo-holiday’s origins are unclear, pizzeria owners and pizza enthusiasts presumably don’t need much of an excuse to celebrate and enjoy a good pie.

The task for ecommerce content marketers is connecting that pizza enthusiasm to their products. While the most obvious fit is merchants selling kitchen-related items, pizza is a broad enough topic for different kinds of shops.

Here are a few examples.

  • A travel brand such as Away, which sells luggage, could publish a “Pizza Tour Guide” for major cities like New York or Chicago.
  • Party City and similar shops might publish a pizza-party-planning post.
  • Plant and seed sellers such as Woodies Garden Goods might produce a “how to plant the perfect pizza garden” article or video.

Content for National Pizza Day could include social media posts to attract shoppers. Or it could be featured in an editorial email newsletter to engage loyal subscribers.

2. World Marriage Day

Photo of a bride and groom in a weddingPhoto of a bride and groom in a wedding

Wedding Day could interest couples, wedding planners, or folks looking to improve their relationships.

World Marriage Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in February each year. In 2024, it falls on February 11. This special day is dedicated to honoring the beauty of marriage and the importance of strong, loving, and committed relationships. It’s an occasion to celebrate and reflect on the significance of marriage in our lives. 

For ecommerce content marketers, World Marriage Day provides an excellent opportunity to create content that resonates with couples, those planning to get married, and anyone interested in strengthening relationships. 

The content might include gift guides, dating ideas, book reviews, couples wellness, or wedding planning, perhaps including a subscription or product bundle offer. 

3. International Darwin Day

AI-generate image of Charles DarwinAI-generate image of Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin is a celebrated researcher. His birthday is an opportunity for marketers interested in science and evolution.

International Darwin Day occurs annually on February 12, commemorating the birth of Charles Darwin, the famous English naturalist, biologist, and author of “On the Origin of Species.” 

Darwin Day is dedicated to promoting science, popular reason, and the contributions of Charles Darwin to our understanding of evolution and the natural world.

For an ecommerce content marketer, International Darwin Day is an opportunity to create engaging content aligning with science, evolution, and intellectual curiosity. 

Here are a few possibilities.

  • STEM toy store: “Darwin’s Discoveries: Toys Showcasing the Wonders of Evolution.”
  • Christian book shop: “Books That Challenge Evolutionary Theories.”
  • A home decor retailer: “Evolutionary Home Decor Trends for a Stylish Space.”

4. National Drink Wine Day

AI-generated image of a female holding a glass of wineAI-generated image of a female holding a glass of wine

Wine is a popular and celebrated beverage worldwide. Its production is an art form.

National Drink Wine Day is observed on February 18 each year. The occasion celebrates the enjoyment of wine in various forms and flavors. It’s a fun and engaging opportunity for content marketers, particularly those in the wine and beverage industry, to connect with their audience while recognizing the importance of responsible drinking.

As with every idea on this list, content for Drink Wine Day should help, inform, or entertain customers and prospects to drive sales. Hence be sure to connect that content with the products your shop sells.

For example, a woodworking retailer could publish a tutorial for building a wine cabinet using an associated kit for sale. The tutorial article and videos demonstrate how to build a great-looking cabinet, while the kit, which can be ordered online, provides the materials and tools.

5. Leap Year Day

February 29 is an opportunity to celebrate and profile individuals born on that date.

February 29, Leap Year Day, occurs once every four years to sync calendars with Earth’s orbit around the sun. It’s a rare date and thus a special occasion for those born on that day. It’s also a good content marketing opportunity.

Ecommerce marketers can identify related celebrities, innovators, or leaders with February 29 birthdays.

An example for music stores is Gioachino Rossini — the Italian opera composer of “The Barber of Seville” and “William Tell “— who was born on Leap Year Day. A music shop could publish a Rossini profile and offer related products.

AI Tools for SEO Content Briefs

A content brief is a summary of what to include in an article. It provides info for search engine optimization, such as primary and secondary keywords and questions and answers. Briefs help writers and editors ensure an article addresses essential components.

Generative AI streamlines the making of content briefs and enhances the SEO benefits by using data from Google’s organic search results and elsewhere.

Here are three AI tools to consider.

Keyword Insights

Keyword Insights uses AI to discover and cluster keywords, optimize for intent, and generate content, including briefs.

To create a brief, provide your target keyword and language. The tool then scrapes headings from Google’s top 20 ranking pages, “People also ask” boxes, Reddit, and Quora.

For every competing article, click “Extract all key points” for a detailed outline and inclusion in a brief. For every brief, generate the article’s title and meta description.

Review the analysis and choose the subheadings. Then write an original article — don’t direct the tool to generate it.

Keyword Insights offers a four-day trial for $1. After that, it’s $58 per month.

Screenshot from Keyword Insights showing the analysis for a content briefScreenshot from Keyword Insights showing the analysis for a content brief

Keyword Insights scrapes headings from the top 20 ranking pages, “People also ask” boxes, Reddit, and Quora. Click image to enlarge.

MarketingBlocks

MarketingBlocks is a comprehensive, AI-powered content suite. To create a brief, enter a keyword and target country. The tool then pulls info from multiple sources (similar to Keyword Insights), including:

  • Google’s search results — an overview of each ranking article with its heading and subheadings,
  • Questions from “People also ask,”
  • Reddit and Quora discussions.

Select headings and subheadings from the tool’s output to form the brief. (Users cannot work on multiple briefs simultaneously, however. I would have pulled headings from one brief to start another for a separate article.)

With a completed outline, MarketingBlocks will generate a title, meta description, and even content for each section, although, again, original writing from humans is best.

The tool offers a five-day free trial, credit-card required. Paid plans start at $47 per month.

Screenshot showing titles of discussion threads from Reddit.Screenshot showing titles of discussion threads from Reddit.

MarketingBlocks pulls info from multiple sources, including Reddit. Click image to enlarge.

Swiftbrief

Swiftbrief specializes in content briefs. To start, provide a target audience — I used “small business owners” — and a topic following from the tool’s suggestions:

  • Be specific. A one-word topic will lead to little benefit. Three to five words is best.
  • Avoid “stop words” — e.g., “of,” “for,” “as,” “a,” “about,” “the,” “by,” and similar.
  • Use question modifiers such as: “how,” “what,” “who,” “when,” “where,” and “why.”

Swiftbrief accesses Google search-result pages and creates the entire brief automatically without requiring the manual selection of subheadings. It lists additional info to consider — sources, the goal, requirements for internal and external links — and allows exporting the entire brief to Google Docs.

Swiftbrief offers a seven-day free trial, no credit card required. After that, plans start at $64 a month.

Screenshot of an outline and brief from SwiftbriefScreenshot of an outline and brief from Swiftbrief

Swiftbrief accesses Google SERPs and creates the entire brief automatically. Click image to enlarge.

Why Does A Content Strategy Fail? via @sejournal, @himani_kankaria

The success or failure of your content strategy is very subjective.

It can be nuanced and multifaceted due to many factors – varied objectives, long-term impact, changing goals, complex data interpretation, content attribution, and many other external factors.

But then I’ve heard many business owners and marketing managers complaining about not seeing results despite publishing 12-20 blogs a month, aggressive social media promotions, and segmented email drip campaigns.

It could be because the content strategy itself is flawed, which can cause it to fail in achieving its intended results.

And because there can be many flaws in a content strategy, I would like to highlight the critical ones that most commonly cause your strategy to fail.

1. Not Sticking To Your Target Audience

The most common yet highly critical reason behind the failed content strategy is deviating from your target audience.

While we have worked with many IT companies, we have seen this as a major issue. They usually have some of these target audiences:

  • Tech Business Owners.
  • Non-tech Business Owners.
  • CTO or Project Managers.
  • Developers.

But most IT companies follow the trends their competitors have chosen, irrespective of what their sales team wants.

  • They want to sell Flutter development if their competitors start delivering that.
  • If their competitors have started doing it, they want to shift to staff augmentation from custom end-to-end development.
  • They want to start writing technical blogs if their competitors have written them.

It’s not their fault because they are trying to follow trends in the IT industry. But in following the trend, they unknowingly mix up all their audiences.

Deviating from your target audience can happen unintentionally due to shifts in business goals or strategies, inadequate or outdated audience research, customer base expansion, data misinterpretation, changes in industry dynamics, and more.

However, this is problematic for content strategy, because it results in content that is misaligned, inefficient, and ineffective in reaching and engaging the right people.

Why? Because:

  • You create irrelevant content for other sets of audiences.
  • You waste time, effort, and budget.
  • This results in inconsistent brand messaging.
  • You may attract the wrong type of leads or lower conversion rates.
  • With all these, you cannot measure the effectiveness.
  • And hence, the ROI is never justified.

A successful content strategy should be laser-focused on addressing the intended audience’s needs, building a strong connection with them, and ultimately driving meaningful outcomes for the business.

2. Missing Out On The Purpose Of Creating The Content

When planning content topics, you must know why you want to create this content. Because until you know the purpose, you can’t define its success metrics.

And when you don’t know the success metrics, your content remains orphan, cannibalized, or unhelpful.

With more such content, you only keep investing where there are no returns.

And never stick to the below as the only purpose of your content:

  • Because competitors have written them.
  • Because we want rankings.
  • Because we want all of our blogs to generate sales qualified leads (SQLs).
  • Because we think such topics would be helpful to our audience.
  • Because our product team wants to focus on that
  • Because our sales team wants to target this list of features to be promoted across a particular geography.

Where are the audience’s needs here?

Consider what the audience wants to read or consume while buying your products or services.

Your purpose should be divided into two:

  • What do readers expect out of this content?
  • What will we achieve when the user consumes this content and is happy about it?

I hope that’s clear to ensure your content strategy doesn’t fail.

3. Not Setting Up Each Content’s KPIs And Its Timeline

We know the purpose of creating content, but what if we don’t know how to measure whether the purpose was fulfilled?

That also will lead to the failure.

Most content calendars include the following basic things:

  • Content topics.
  • Content types.
  • Target audience.
  • Team involved.
  • Publication timelines.
  • Keywords data.
  • Word count.
  • Graphics requirements.
  • References.

But people don’t talk enough about what each piece of content has to deliver. We never used to add any content metrics in our SEO content strategy.

Content KPIs can vary depending on the content’s purpose and your overall content strategy.

Common content KPIs to ensure your content strategy doesn't failImage created by author, November 2023

But just defining the KPIs is not enough; setting up their timelines ensures they are achieved.

Let me share what happens to your content strategy if you haven’t set the content KPIs and their timelines to achieve:

  • Directionless content creation – You publish a blog post without clear KPIs or timelines. The content covers a general industry topic but doesn’t tie into specific business goals. As a result, it doesn’t drive relevant traffic or contribute to lead generation.
  • Ineffective resource allocation – You invest significant resources in creating a series of YouTube videos without defining KPIs. The videos receive views, but without KPIs, it’s unclear whether they contribute to brand awareness, customer engagement, or sales growth.
  • Measurement challenges – You regularly publish email newsletters to a subscriber list without establishing KPIs and timelines. You observe that the open rates and click-through rates vary across different newsletters. Still, without predefined KPIs, you are uncertain whether the content needs improvement or the variance is within the normal range.
  • Missed opportunities – If you’re into the ecommerce or D2C segment and fail to define the KPIs and the timeline for your holiday-themed content, you miss out on capitalizing on the season for maximum visibility or sales. After all, there’s no point in me sharing Black Friday marketing hacks for marketers when Black Friday has already been and gone.
  • Inconsistent performance – When you’re writing different types of blogs without the defined KPIs and timelines, some pieces might perform well. In contrast, others underperform, and there’s no basis for comparison or improvement. This inconsistency makes it challenging to identify what types of content work best.
  • Difficulty in adaptation – While creating a content strategy for a software review site doesn’t have a timeline for updating the articles during significant software releases, it can drastically lose rankings and website traffic. Without defined KPIs and timelines, it’s harder to identify when adjustments are needed. You may not notice content that’s not meeting expectations until much later.
  • ROI uncertainty – The absence of KPIs and timelines makes it challenging to calculate the return on investment (ROI) for your content efforts. You won’t know if the resources invested in content creation yield the desired results.
  • Demotivation for teams – Content creators and marketers may become demotivated when they don’t see clear objectives or results associated with their work. This can lead to a lack of enthusiasm and dedication to following the content strategy.
  • Inability to learn and improve – The lack of defined KPIs and timelines makes it challenging to learn which of your blogs are supposed to drive marketing qualified leads (MQLs), newsletter sign-ups, embedded video clicks, move to landing pages, SQLs, and more. So, you won’t have data-driven insights to make informed decisions and refine your strategy over time.

To avoid all the above pitfalls, let’s have a structured approach so that your content efforts are purposeful, measurable, and adaptable, leading to a more effective and results-driven content strategy.

4. Measuring Leads/Conversions As The Only KPI

We just finished discussing that KPIs are important – but all KPIs are important, not just lead generation or conversions.

However, because the top management of startups and ecommerce business owners have strict timelines for reaching the goals of specific annual recurring revenue (ARR) and turnovers, they ask their marketing teams to focus on strategizing content for generating leads or business.

But here are a few very critical reasons why your content strategy fails if you only focus on leads or conversions:

Narrowed Focus

Relying solely on leads or conversions as KPIs can create a narrow focus on the end of the sales funnel.

While these metrics are important, they don’t account for the full customer journey.

Content should address various stages of the customer lifecycle, from awareness to consideration and retention.

We got an inquiry last month from someone who was into the home lifestyle industry in the US, and they were just starting in this highly competitive market.

We took days to build a strategy for them on how to showcase them as one of the emerging brands, and they just wanted to focus on whether our strategy would sell out their extensive inventory before a year.

Being in a B2C industry, one must know that 66% of consumers are now allocating additional time to research and validate their purchases due to the cost-of-living crisis, as per the report by Akeneo.

So, if you’re not present at every stage of their research, you’ll lose them forever.

Misalignment With Content Types

Different types of content serve various purposes within the marketing funnel.

For instance, blog posts are typically better suited for creating awareness, while in-depth whitepapers may be more effective for B2B lead generation.

If lead generation is the sole KPI, the strategy may not leverage the full potential of diverse content types.

This means that even if your sole focus is driving more whitepaper downloads, you would need the below content types to support:

  • Landing page content to encourage visitors to download.
  • Blog posts to introduce the topics covered in the whitepapers and links to the respective landing pages.
  • Email content to promote your whitepapers to your subscriber list and guide them to the landing pages.
  • Social media posts to highlight the whitepapers’ benefits and encourage followers to access them.
  • Guest posts or articles in industry publications to reach a broader audience and direct readers to your whitepaper downloads.
  • Compelling ad copy for paid campaigns, such as pay-per-click (PPC) or social media ads, to drive traffic to the whitepaper landing pages.

No matter what content type you choose to drive conversions, you need support of other kinds for maximized output.

Higher Customer Acquisition Costs

Not all visitors arriving at your site are ready to purchase or provide their contact information.

Many are in the early stages of the buying process, gathering information and evaluating their options.

But when the sole purpose is to drive conversions, the content strategy must consider paid advertising and email outreach. Paid advertising may directly bring you instant conversions but may be more costly in the long run.

Similarly, suppose you’re in the early stages of your business.

In that case, email outreach doesn’t always bring faster results, as your prospects might feel a lack of brand authority due to the lack of other content types on different channels for their research.

This ultimately results in higher customer acquisition rates, which cannot help you sustain for long.

A successful content strategy should not focus solely on immediate lead generation.

It should be balanced with content designed for brand awareness and consideration, essential for attracting organic, social, and referral traffic, building trust, and nurturing long-term customer relationships.

5. Not Emphasizing The User And Their Content Experience

User experience – we know that it matters for your marketing success.

But what’s content experience?

Content experience refers to how users interact with and perceive content on various digital platforms, such as websites, mobile apps, social media, and other digital channels.

It encompasses the overall impression, engagement, and satisfaction that content creates for the user.

Various elements, including design, usability, interactivity, and the quality of the content itself, shape the content experience.

In short, content experience is nothing but all about fulfilling the user’s expectations from content, such as:

  • Relevance – Your users interact or engage with your content only if they find it relevant to their needs and interests.
  • Quality – Your users want to consume content that’s accurate, well-researched, and well-crafted to meet their needs.
  • Consistency – Whether you’ve consistently added such quality content for their queries also defines whether your content meets their expectations.
  • Clarity – Users seek clear and easily understandable content using plain language, structured layouts, and concise explanations.
  • Interactivity – Be it compelling storytelling or media, your users should find your content interesting.
  • Trustworthiness – Users need to trust the source. Transparent sourcing, evidence-based claims, and consistent brand messaging establish trust.
  • Accessibility – Users with disabilities expect content to be accessible. Compliance with accessibility standards ensures a broader audience can consume content.
  • User-centric design – Users anticipate user-friendly content and navigation. Prioritizing user experience (UX) design and responsive layouts fulfills this expectation.
  • Personalization – Users look for tailored content experiences. Using data to deliver personalized content based on user preferences meets this expectation.
  • Emotional connection – Users desire content that resonates emotionally. Creating content with relatable stories, empathy, and emotional appeal fulfills this expectation.
  • Solving problems – Users expect content to address their problems. This is achieved by providing practical solutions and actionable advice.

So, if we don’t ensure that every content created from your content strategy fulfills the users’ expectations, they will never contribute to the marketing’s success.

After all, winning marketing is all about UX – delivering a fantastic user experience and fulfilling users’ expectations from the content they’re consuming.

Winning marketing is all about UX - User Experience and User Expectations - Content strategy failure factorsImage created by author, November 2023

6. Unable To Understand The User Behavior On The Page

Content strategy is not only for new topics. Hence, an inability to understand user behavior on a page reflects a lack of critical insights and data for optimizing content and achieving your strategic goals.

Hence, any content we create for our website needs to be monitored not just using GA4 or any analytics plugin, but also using heatmaps and session recordings.

Unable to understand the user behavior on the content - Content strategy failsScreenshot from Microsoft Clarity [for one of our clients], November 2023

Let’s talk about a few insights you only get when you monitor the heatmaps and recordings to understand the user behavior on the page:

  • Incomplete forms – If your landing pages include lead generation forms, but users rarely submit them, an inability to understand user behavior means you won’t know where users are dropping off in the form-filling process. This can hinder lead generation efforts.
  • Neglected content sections – On a blog post, you may have sections with important information. Still, if users rarely scroll down to read them, you’re missing out on engagement and conveying valuable insights. Without user behavior insights, your content strategy may not address this issue.
  • High cart abandonment – An ecommerce site might notice that many users add items to their shopping cart but abandon it before completing the purchase. By monitoring user behavior, you can identify that users often drop off at the shipping cost calculation step. This insight allows you to make necessary adjustments, such as offering free shipping above a certain purchase amount, to reduce cart abandonment and improve the content of the shipping cost explanation.
  • Unoptimized landing pages – Suppose your landing page for a webinar registration isn’t performing well, with low sign-up rates. User behavior tracking shows that most visitors leave the page without scrolling down to view the registration form. This data indicates that the content at the top of the page is not engaging.

GA4 gives you data, but the heatmaps and session recordings give you the reason behind that data. If you have high bounce rates, you can find out why you have them.

And when you have those insights, you can create content strategies that hardly fail.

7. Investing A Lot In Product/Brand Content

Like the sole purpose of lead generation, we understand the reason behind building the brand or product-focused content, which we call bottom-of-the-funnel (BoFu) content.

But investing a lot in such content can bring the below challenges:

  • It can overwhelm the audience with sales-oriented messaging, leading to disengagement and alienation.
  • It can lead to content saturation as you won’t find different topics to create content on.
  • When users encounter the same messaging repeatedly, they may become desensitized to it.
  • It can limit diversity and creativity in content creation.
  • Branded content is not always searched for, so it may never drive better SEO results.
  • Consistently putting out product-focused or branded content will make users build a perception about your brand and may never engage, even when you create educational content.

While product/branded content is essential for sales and conversions, an excessive focus on this type of content can lead to a content strategy failure by limiting audience engagement, diversity, and trust and missing opportunities to attract and nurture leads effectively.

So, even if you have targets for conversions, think of a balanced content strategy to make sure you don’t lose your audience for life.

8. Compromising On Quality Over Quantity (Especially After AI/ChatGPT)

You must have seen a lot of posts on LinkedIn or X/Twitter on how AI content or SEO has given them steady, hockey-stick growth.

Compromising on quality over quantity with the increase in AI/ChatGPT can lead to Content strategy failureScreenshot from YouTube, November 2023

Just publish one content per day, and voila, you’ve got 365 posts in a year with a whopping 5x organic growth.

That’s not as easy as it sounds!

Suppose you also start following this process as is.

In that case, your content strategy may fail miserably, as your industry, business, audience, and more differ from the ones who share such experiences and learnings, and not just that, it also impacts your overall brand reputation.

So, no, I’m not saying they are bluffing.

Still, a lot goes into identifying that one content topic, writing, proofreading, editing, publishing, and optimizing, such as adding keywords, avoiding keyword cannibalization, graphics, and more.

If that’s what you are supposed to do, do it, but it’s not a one-day task.

The people sharing those case studies should also have a strong content strategy in place, emphasizing both quality and quantity, despite using AI/ChatGPT.

9. No Guidance/Brief To The Writers On How To Approach The Content

Yes, content strategy is a plan, and without the right execution, it cannot succeed.

When creating the content strategy, it becomes important to share insights on what content creators should do.

Here, too, you should do it for every content topic, not just for one (or overall).

I always say that not all content creators are subject matter experts; hence, they are not supposed to be always on-point about something.

As the strategist, marketing/product manager, or business owner, you must provide those details, which can be compiled in MS Excel, Word, Google Spreadsheet, Docs, Loom, or Notion.

Create a detailed brief for writers to avoid Content strategy failureScreenshot from author, November 2023

Such data compilation for the writers are called content briefs, and you need to share them in detail and make sure they understand what you want in the content.

Sometimes, we are not happy with what competitors have written on a topic; in such cases, we also provide the complete outline to the writers.

This makes it completely clear what they need to write, where, and how.

10. Having Miscommunication Or Misunderstanding Between Strategists And Writers

I want to say this loud and clear: Communication gaps and understanding glitches can lead to content strategy failure.

Let me give you an example of a real-time breakup with our client, which they didn’t plan and we didn’t expect.

They kept asking us to convert spoke-page content into hub-like content while they were already ranking on page 1 for the spoke-like content.

However, due to the long-term process of making that hub content rank on other relevant but competitive queries, we were not convinced as SEO pros and couldn’t deliver as they expected.

Because it’s a difficult and time-consuming process to rank hub content with highly competitive queries, we were not convinced as SEO pros to accept that change.

If we could get a clear communication behind the purpose of this requirement, the situation would have been different today.

A successful content strategy relies on effective collaboration and clear communication between these key roles to ensure that the content created aligns with strategic goals, resonates with the audience, and delivers the desired results.

11. Unaccelerated Distribution Plan

Yes! This does happen  –and happens a lot – with SEO pros.

Has your SEO team ever faced any or all of the below issues?

  • You published a lot of pages, but Google is not indexing them.
  • You feel some pieces of content on your website took a lot of time, effort, and resources to create, and now, they hardly receive any traffic.
  • You’ve been doing SEO for a long time, and you hardly have any keywords driving traffic to your website.

In any of the cases, it’s because your content strategy lacks distribution.

Our B2B clients have their marketing managers as our point of contact (PoCs) for our SEO services. It becomes frustrating sometimes for us to keep convincing some of them to share our traffic-focused content on their social media and email channels.

They believe that the content we have written or planned should be picked up by Google algorithms straightaway.

However, even Gary Illyes recommends promoting the content and increasing the brand’s popularity on social media to resolve the index bloat issues.

Social media promotions impact the speed of indexing on search engines - Gary Illyes from GoogleScreenshot from Search Engine Journal, November 2023

It was October 2022 when I recommended SEO pros focus on remarketing SEO, which mentioned how other marketing channels can contribute to SEO success. It’s high time now that you use it to your advantage.

Without an accelerated distribution plan, it can undermine your SEO efforts by limiting the visibility, engagement, and authority of your content in the eyes of search engines.

You should know how marketing has evolved from independent channel-specific marketing to omnichannel marketing to avoid content strategy failureImage created by author, November 2023

And when you don’t care to reach your content to your target audience on search engines, why should search engines either?

Revisit Your Content Strategy To Avoid The Above Pitfalls

Revisiting your content strategy is a dynamic and ongoing process to ensure content strategies are not set in stone.

They should be flexible, data-driven, and focused on delivering value to the audience. Identifying and rectifying these flaws can help ensure your content strategy’s success.

By continually assessing and adapting your strategy, you can maintain its effectiveness and deliver content that resonates with your audience while driving your business toward its desired outcomes.

More resources: 


Featured Image: Khosro/Shutterstock