Are How-To Marketing Articles Enough Anymore?

Did you know that 68% of marketing professionals say that implementing new strategies is their biggest challenge? That’s a huge number! The truth is, having a great strategy means nothing if you can’t put it into action. Are how-to articles for implementing new strategies still the best way to bridge the gap, or is it time for a new approach?

Only 32% of Marketers Strongly Agree that How-To Articles Are Sufficient for Strategy Implementation

A recent survey by the Content Marketing Institute found that only 32% of marketing professionals “strongly agree” that how-to articles for implementing new strategies are sufficient on their own. That’s a pretty damning statistic. Think about it: Less than a third of the people who use these resources feel they’re truly adequate. The rest are either neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree. What gives?

I think the problem is twofold. First, many how-to articles are too generic. They offer broad advice that doesn’t address the specific challenges faced by individual businesses. Second, they lack the interactive elements that are needed to truly engage learners. Reading about something is one thing; actually doing it is another. We see this all the time. I had a client last year who was struggling to implement a new social media strategy based solely on blog posts. They were overwhelmed and confused. It wasn’t until we supplemented the articles with one-on-one coaching sessions that they started to see results.

Video Content Increases Strategy Adoption by 50%

According to a HubSpot study, incorporating video content into your how-to guides can increase strategy adoption by a whopping 50%. That’s huge! People learn in different ways, and video is a particularly effective medium for visual learners. A short video demonstrating a key concept or process can be far more impactful than pages of text. Consider the difference between reading about how to set up a retargeting campaign in Google Ads and watching a screen recording that walks you through the exact steps. Which one is more likely to stick?

This doesn’t mean that text-based content is obsolete. Far from it! But it does mean that we need to think more creatively about how we present information. Combining written instructions with video demonstrations, interactive checklists, and other engaging elements can significantly improve the effectiveness of how-to articles for implementing new strategies. Here’s what nobody tells you: creating good video takes time and money. You need a decent camera, editing software, and someone with the skills to produce high-quality content. But the investment is worth it if it leads to better results.

Interactive Checklists Boost Completion Rates by 40%

A survey by eMarketer found that interactive checklists boost completion rates of how-to guides by an average of 40%. Why? Because they break down complex tasks into manageable steps, provide a sense of progress, and help users stay on track. Think of it like this: You’re more likely to finish a project if you have a clear roadmap and a way to measure your progress along the way. Interactive checklists provide that roadmap.

We’ve started incorporating interactive checklists into all of our how-to articles, and the results have been impressive. We use a simple Jotform integration to create the checklists, and we track completion rates using Google Analytics. What we’ve found is that users who complete the checklist are significantly more likely to implement the strategy successfully. We ran into this exact issue at my previous firm. We published a lengthy guide on implementing account-based marketing, but few people actually followed through. Once we added an interactive checklist, completion rates soared, and so did the number of successful ABM campaigns.

Effective A/B testing can also help determine which elements resonate best with your audience, leading to higher engagement and completion rates.

Personalized Coaching Increases Strategy Adoption by 35%

Despite the rise of self-service resources, personalized coaching remains a powerful tool for driving strategy adoption. According to a Nielsen report, businesses that offer personalized coaching alongside how-to articles for implementing new strategies see a 35% increase in adoption rates. Why? Because coaching provides individualized support, addresses specific challenges, and helps users stay motivated. It’s the human element that’s often missing from purely digital resources.

This doesn’t mean that every business needs to hire a team of coaches. But it does mean that we need to think about how we can provide more personalized support to our users. This could involve offering one-on-one consultations, hosting live Q&A sessions, or creating a community forum where users can ask questions and share their experiences. Consider a scenario: A small business owner in Marietta is trying to implement a new SEO strategy based on a how-to article. They’re struggling with keyword research and technical SEO. A personalized coaching session with a local SEO expert could provide the guidance and support they need to overcome these challenges and achieve their goals.

Challenging Conventional Wisdom: Are General How-To Articles Obsolete?

The conventional wisdom is that how-to articles for implementing new strategies should be comprehensive and cover all the bases. I disagree. I think that general how-to articles are becoming increasingly obsolete. In a world of information overload, people are looking for targeted solutions to specific problems. They don’t want to wade through pages of irrelevant information. They want answers, and they want them now.

That’s why I believe the future of how-to articles lies in specialization. Instead of creating broad overviews, we should be focusing on creating highly specific guides that address niche challenges. For example, instead of writing a general article on “How to Implement a Content Marketing Strategy,” we could write a series of articles on topics like “How to Create a Content Calendar for a SaaS Startup” or “How to Repurpose Blog Content for Social Media.” By focusing on specific problems, we can provide more value to our readers and increase the likelihood that they will actually implement our advice. I’ve seen this firsthand. We recently created a series of highly targeted how-to guides for a client in the healthcare industry, and the results were phenomenal. Engagement rates soared, and the client saw a significant increase in leads and sales.

To maximize your content’s impact, consider how content can drive leads and fill the marketing void.

Here’s a case study to illustrate this point. “Acme Tech,” a fictional software company based near the Perimeter Mall, wanted to improve its lead generation. They had a great product but struggled to attract qualified leads. We created a series of how-to articles specifically targeting pain points for their ideal customer: “How to Integrate Your CRM with Marketing Automation,” “How to Use AI to Personalize Email Marketing,” and “How to Track the ROI of Your Content Marketing Efforts.” We published these articles on their blog and promoted them through social media and email. Within three months, Acme Tech saw a 50% increase in qualified leads and a 25% increase in sales. The key was focusing on specific problems and providing actionable solutions.

This approach aligns with the principles of growth content, focusing on ROI rather than vanity metrics.

The future of how-to articles for implementing new strategies isn’t about abandoning the format altogether, but about reinventing it. Focus on solving specific problems, embrace interactive elements, and provide personalized support. Stop writing generic articles and start creating targeted solutions that deliver real results. Your audience—and your bottom line—will thank you.