If you want to know what type of content you should be creating and where you should be sharing it, this article and Infographic covers five predictions on the Future Of Content Marketing...
What type of content should you be creating and where should you be sharing it?
Earlier in 2016, the resourceful people at RankWatch asked me and twenty other online marketing experts to answer five questions about the future of content marketing. I was happy to participate and offer my insights on content marketing future trends!
As Facebook recently released their ten-year plan at f8 with a large focus on Facebook LIVE and 360 video, many would say video is the future of content marketing. However, there is more to consider in determining your content strategy.
This article will help you understand:
- How to shift your content strategy, if necessary
- Effective social media tools
- How to win with content creation
- What you need to know about SEO
As well as the social media platforms will benefit your business and content marketing strategy.
As promised in my prelude on LinkedIn, I will list the questions and answers, as well as my updated insights. You will also see the individual infographic and get access to the entire RankWatch compilation...
The Future Of Content Marketing: Five Predictions
1. Should organizations shift their
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graphic via RankWatch[/caption]
from building branded content to establishing themselves as a content brand?
My original answer:
I agree that business brands should be building their brand content. Publishing information that establishes credibility in the brand niche is essential! At the same time, it may not make sense for all brands to market themselves as content brands. Yes, we should all be thinking like media companies and publishing content attributed to our brands. But the Startup needs to build, some brands will not value content as others do, and a myriad of other variables...
The key is to produce awesome content, and tell the right stories that positively reflect the brand and nurtures credibility in the niche. Quality over quantity is vitally important.
Updated insights:
Regarding the future of content marketing, as Startups build and mature, they should consider more and more about the the brand experience for the end user. Their digital content marketing plan should answer these questions:
What do people experience when they interface with our brand online?
How can the content we produce and the stories we tell enable continued growth?
2. Which are the most useful tools in your daily content generation and marketing?
My original answer:
Priorities for me are:
- Creating content that is both informational and visually delicious
- Offering a good balance of my brand content and curated content on social networks
- Being on the right social networks
- Hosting webinars to share my ideas and content
- Improving the relationship with my email list subscribers
By 2018 it is predicted that 84% of communication will be visual. (click bird to tweet)
So, I am implementing strategies that speak to that and position myself and my clients to be ready. My current list of favorite tools to accomplish these goals:
- Creating - Wordpress formatted blog, Canva At Work, Keynote
- Curating & Syndicating - BundlePost, Hootsuite
- Social Networks - Right now, my hot button is Instagram!
- Online Gatherings - A combination of GoTo Meeting, Webinar Jam, and LeadPages
- Email Marketing - I keep coming back to MailChimp, though I have used others
The one other important tool I think too many leave out: The brain. I keep my brain conditioned to the ever changing landscape of social media and content marketing! I regularly find training on new techniques and tools so I can offer my clients the best possible results in their services.
Updated insights:
The online world changes 24/7/365. Since the original publish of my answers, the tools used in the Idea Girl Media shop have shifted.
Curating & Syndicating - Feedly, Sprout Social, and Social Draft. Hootsuite is still around as a backup.
Social Networks - Instagram is still hot! But we are also very enthused about Facebook LIVE (video), and growing to like Blab.
Reaping the benefits of content marketing is important for us in serving clients. In turn, considering the future of content marketing, how we source images for our content has been updated.
3. Which social media channel will become platform #1 for content marketing?
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graphic via RankWatch[/caption]
Original answer:
Wow, that's a wide open canvas! The answer will be somewhat relative, because some will prioritize some qualities and components over others.
I'd like to champion the brand blog. But that would be naive. As our society becomes more visual, everything will evolve to serve that. So, if we're focusing on content rather than the social component, the leaders are narrowed to YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and LinkedIn Slideshare, with Periscope and Blab offering new possibilities. We must consider where LIVE content will take us! Keep in mind, we may not have even heard of the platform that will be wooing us in a few years' time.
Updated insights:
Here, we need to consider devices and the future of content marketing. Whether that be mobile phones, tablets, or goggles and glasses.
Facebook is investing heavily in Virtual Reality, and Mark Zuckerberg has said he thinks that VR has the potential to be the most social of platforms. We should keep that in mind as we decide where we spend our time online.
4. Who will win the battle - Long detailed vs. short snackable content?
Original answer:
I believe there will continue to be a need for both. In fact, they can go hand-in-hand. People snack until they need more thorough answers or until you serve them something meatier and more delicious. Marketers should be prepared to offer both in their strategies into the future.
Updated insights:
The future of content marketing includes highly visual opportunities to engage fans and followers, and we should continue to create both the long and snackable.
5. What does the future hold for the Content-SEO pair?
Original answer:
We have learned from previous processes. It really is ideal for content to fuel SEO, and my belief is the future seems brightest with that in tact. However, we do not control the decisions the search engines make. This is another reason we should be creating both snackable and long, detailed content so we, as brands, can continue to evolve as our marketing landscape changes.
Updated insights:
While the online world is always changing, we do need to think long-term. To stay ready for the future of content marketing, here is where I'll firmly champion the blog...
Business brands and solopreneurs should be publishing consistently. This pleases the search engines, keeps our audience coming back for more, and assures your organization is ready to shift with changes as they occur. Bonus: Content is like vitamins to your niche authority.
The Future Of Content Marketing Infographic
In short, we should be creating for engagement, edutainment, brand authority, and SEO.
Summing Up The Future Of Content Marketing
Considering Facebook's recent disruption of the social landscape - Prioritizing live video and virtual reality, and other technologies - Smart marketers will keep in mind their audience, as well as the growth and future of content marketing.
By that, I mean content creators can publish the cool and fancy, but if we create content unreachable by our typical audience, we've lost the game. Content creators should know and understand possibilities while positioning their content in forms digestible to all levels of tech savvy.
If you're curious: Access the other twenty experts and their original answers on the future of content marketing.
The Future Is In Your Hands Now...
It's your turn!
Did I miss anything regarding the future of content marketing above?
What questions do you have about creating or curating content?
Please share your comments and curiosities with me in the comments box below... :)
This post originally appeared individually and as part of the entire Infographic compilation at RankWatch: 21 Experts Predict the Future Of Content Marketing.
