As Content Marketing gains mileage every single day, it is certain that brands are looking for new ways to update and refine their content marketing strategy. Here are 10 trends of content marketing in the year 2015 that every digital marketer should know.
1. Increased Budget!
With content marketing garnering the desired reach of audience, digital marketers are ready to take the big leap and integrate an increased budget for content marketing. 58% of B2B Marketers intend to grant an increased budget to further promote content marketing. Having an increased budget will allow you to increase the quantity of content that you share. But remember that at the end of the day, it is always about relevancy and quality rather than quantity.
2. Hiring of more Professional Writers
As content marketing has directed brands as publication channels, it’s given rise to the challenge of professional writers who can prove their mettle. Apart from this, as the target audience is growing becoming more defined, it’s only fitting to hire writers who are well versed in the subject matter. Having a sound editorial team who can churn high quality is the need of the hour! Freelance content writers also are thrown into the spotlight but the majority of digital marketers in 2015 lean towards an in-house system.
3. Integrate With Mobile Marketing
For share worthy content today, simply exploit the mobile market for a result driven approach. Mobile bridges the gap between action and messaging – this is the one boon the growth is based on. Rapid sharing of content and easy accessibility has made mobile users the most-targeted group for content marketing. With many e-commerce companies such as Flipkart and Myntra moving towards a mobile-only strategy, the reign of mobile phones has already started. But don’t remove your desktop from the frame yet!
4. Increase in Social Media Posts
Social Media Content are posts which are made on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and etc. The first half of the year 2015 has already seen a spike in social media posts by many brands and companies and the trend is predicted to continue in the latter half as well. It is estimated that around 71% of retail and e-commerce companies in India perceive social media content as the most-effective tactic to maintain customer relationships and to gather in more audience for the brand. (Source: Octane Research)
5. Sponsored Ads are Inevitable
Have you begun sponsored ads yet? With Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest having recently joined the bandwagon, you’ll be falling behind if you haven’t yet invested in ads. Thanks to competition now, advertising is also more expensive! Clearly define your objective to cut through all the clutter and define your positioning clearly – on how you want your brand to register in the minds of your audience.
6. Increased Personalization of Brands
Gone are the days when brands didn’t include a “human” touch to their content. Implement a personalized tone to your posts and content. Also, digital marketers and analysts emphasize the need to include ‘context’ in every post. Sharing posts which are ‘contextual’ not only explains the ‘who’ part but also the ‘why’, ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘where’!
7. Goodbye 500-Word Content!
Medium-sized content or content with 500 or so words will eventually be forced to phase out. SEO is the foremost reason since Google now favors posts which have more than 1500 words in its front page and also, avid readers are getting too familiar and tired to 500 word mundane topics. On the other hand, short content such as vines, snapchats and Twitter still continue to trend. Also, lengthier content is more share worthy.
8. Influencers & Subculture Groups are Becoming Prominent!
Subculture groups are those who share content about their relevant industry in highly engaged groups or communities which will affect the purchasing decision of the audience. Like colonies, they have great influence over the minds of the audience when it comes to brands.
Influencers on the other hand are individuals who have a great amount of impact on their followers due to their personal touch and relationship with the influencers, i.e. internet celebrities. Collaborating with influencers and subculture groups enables you to reap the benefits to a great level.
9. More Videos & Storytelling Strategies!
The impact of visual content cannot be emphasized enough. Combine it with the story telling element and you have an irresistible strategy to win over your audience. So far as share worthy content goes, visual content ranks high. As Facebook has just recently activated automatic video playing in the timeline, this benefits marketers to a great extent as video sharing has simply doubled ever since!
10. LinkedIn – Dominant Social Channel for Content Sharing!
For B2B marketers, LinkedIn will stay as the dominant social media channel for all industry and marketing news. Business Insider stated that by 2017, it intends to become the top platform for marketers to engage with professionals. Sharing content on LinkedIn will create more brand awareness and is the most-sought after platform for brands to showcase their Corporate Social Responsibilities!
It’s time to look beyond to blogs when it comes to a compelling content marketing strategy. Podcasts, videos, infographics, mobile apps, microsites, illustrations, e-Newsletters are some of the many types of strategies. But a successful content marketing strategy does not end here. Invest in promoting and distributing your content on social media sites and on adwords!
