We are almost halfway through 2018 and I know that sounds almost impossible probably because the year has flown by so fast. Well, that’s true, and if you haven’t prepared or budgeted for your content marketing activities, it’s time to do so.
Whether you are a content marketer, content creator or a C-suite executive, you need a documented strategy.
Here are seven content marketing trends you should consider budgeting for in your 2018 marketing activities.
1. The need for effective content marketing distribution is becoming stronger
As marketers and brands increasingly depend on content marketing as one of their primary parts of marketing strategies and create more content, it’s challenging to cut through this noise and grab your audience’s attention.
Creating content at a faster rate isn’t the most effective solution to this problem. Instead, you should think about different content distribution approaches that outpace your competitors. This is beyond social media shares particularly Facebook as there has been a significant drop in its organic search.
It’s time to adopt a more effective way of distributing your content and reach your desired audience.
2. Content marketing and public relations are aligning
Content marketing and PR departments have always been separate departments with different budgets based on different objectives. If you have been reading the most recent marketing content, you must have realized that most brands are making the alignment of these two elements a primary objective.
Trends in public relations have forced to evolve in the recent years. It has been shifting away from the self-serving, brand-focused methods to embrace unique tactics that create mutually beneficial relationships with shared audiences and media partners.
Modern public relations include outreach to let you easily build trust with new prospects via a greater focus and real value to those audiences, not your brand only.
When such a strategy is paired with high-quality content from your company, you can achieve your content marketing and public relations objectives more effectively. These two departments should work together. Therefore, you should focus on aligning your PR and content marketing objectives.
3. There has been a rising demand for authentic marketing strategies
There is an increasing need for human connection, and that means marketers should improve the personalization of marketing message they pass to their audience. This is an effective way of scaling your connection to your prospects and outpace your competitors.
Sure, highly personalized content is an excellent way to connect at scale. However, if you can meet your prospects in person perhaps during industry conferences and events, it’s a powerful way of connecting with your audience.
According to Ric Dean, as a consequence of eroded trust in media and institutions, consumers prefer engaging in a personal course for the truth based on face-to-face interaction and direct observation. Ric Dean is the founder of Caffeinated, a popular outreach agency.
4. The emergence of chatbots
The good news about chatbots is that they aren’t directing your audience away from social networks they are already on like Facebook Messenger. This allows content marketers to connect with their target audience wherever they are getting their content.
Note that different popular brands such as Whole Foods and National Graphic are implementing this strategy. Therefore, when budgeting for your content marketing activities, you can consider testing a chatbot on your content marketing platform.
5. There is a significant growth in Voice search numbers
Indeed, more web users are going off-the-screen. They prefer voice-activated personal assistants when searching for information. A recent analysis reveals that about 50% of all internet searches are likely to be conducted via voice by 2020. Therefore, you should craft your content with voice search in mind.
6. Video content isn’t going away any soon
According to a recent study, 60% of people accessing content online consume video content, and by 2021, video content is likely to account for over 80% of all user internet traffic. Therefore, it’s wise to start bringing videos into your content marketing strategies.
7. Mobile will grow indefinitely
The use of mobile devices has been growing significantly and probably is the most predictable trend on this list. Currently, there are over 3.65 billion mobile users globally. That simply means that companies should create highly responsive and mobile-friendly websites and content.
As you ramp up your marketing budget allocation for 2018, it’s important to learn the latest trends in content marketing.
