I’m not going to lie, the year 2017 could be a scary one for marketers. If you already haven’t broken ground into social or digital, 2017 will seem downright daunting. But don’t worry! Below I’ll break down 4 content marketing predictions for 2017. Last I checked we were still in November 2016. This gives you plenty of time to integrate these strategies into your marketing campaign.

The evolution of content marketing took a huge leap forward with the internet, but it hasn’t stopped there. The brightest minds in the marketing industry are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel to boost viewership, clicks and conversions. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in annoying click bait articles and “slide show” content, where you have to click 11 times to get through a top-ten list. Spare me the nonsense!

1. Creativity doesn’t just apply to content anymore

Back in the day, when content marketers used the word “creative,” they were of course referring to content. Creative content marketing meant writing captivating content that could spark readers’ interest and boost their engagement with your brand. Don’t get me wrong, creative content is extremely important! But marketers are no longer stopping there. They are becoming more creative with formatting their content. Think beyond e-books and blogs. The next big thing is visual content. This means more videos, gifs and other short-term snippets (not Vine though, sorry!).

You should know by now that, when it comes to marketing, if content is king then video is queen! You might want to consider migrating some of your ad dollars to YouTube. Better yet, get YouTube to pay you for developing great content that can also serve as a great way to market your product.

2. Niche messaging

The very first thing about being a marketer is knowing your end market. Who are you selling to? What do you know about them? By answering these questions, you can begin to craft marketing strategies that reach them. But broad stroke campaigns no longer work. Marketers today must get into the nitty-gritty and uncover granular information about their market. This means if you don’t already have a great relationship with IT, now is the time to get cozy! If you have budget to spare and the capacity to collect vast amounts of data about your market, you might want to consider bringing on a big data analyst to help you piece together the puzzle. The year 2017 will be all about serving smaller and smaller interest groups.

3. Break from tradition

Although marketing has started to evolve from print to digital, there is still the push to use print marketing. Most companies opt for high-quality digital print finishing machines to ensure that their print marketing resources are the best, very similar to when people opt for the best editing tools to ensure their digital resources are the best. Even though most companies opt for digital, there is still a big place for the traditional print option. Along with the marketing evolution mentioned, a similar shift is occurring within the online and offline domains. Simple banner ads no longer do the trick. Rather, companies are relying more on engaging flyers, booklets, posters (find cheap poster printing uk firms here) as well as online content to boost their brand and overall outreach. Also, more companies are starting to adapt to the trend of digital marketing, whether this means creating engaging blogs, developing 10x content, or designing a complete user experience. For example, if you operate in the finance industry, it’s not enough to advertise your financial product. You’re much better off creating a financial education portal that teaches users how to manage their and trade the financial markets. By boosting engagement and site visits, you stand a much better chance of converting more customers.

4. Engagement

The rise of social media has demonstrated one thing: engagement with your end market is critical. Content marketers might be good at acquisition, but their retention rate is a little suspect. That’s why content marketing strategies are today focusing on engagement. Rather than just advertise to their market, content managers are finding ways to engage them over time. This is quite brilliant because it helps to lower advertising costs over time. If you’ve built up a solid social media presence, it’s a lot easier to post updates on your Facebook wall than it is to spend thousands of dollars on a CPM campaign. Make no mistake, the year ahead will be all about engagement!

There you have it – 4 content marketing predictions for 2017. As you can clearly tell, in the year ahead, more is better. More creativity, more information, more engagement. By doing more, you will certainly reap more. Good luck!

Tweet me and let me know your predictions @Charli_Says

Source:

Adapted from Joei Chan. “5 Content Marketing Predictions for 2017.” Convince and Convert.

Image by http://www.clickmatix.com/blog/exciting-predictions-for-social-media-marketing-in-2016/

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