Developing Content Marketing strategies
Content marketing is hardly a new concept, and despite its long standing place in the digital marketing arsenal of many businesses, it’s still a high priority. In fact, according to ClickZ Intelligence, almost a quarter of businesses see digital marketing as their key trend for 2016. Other priorities included data and analytics, social media, automation and personalisation.
But although content marketing will stay at the top of the table for many businesses this year, will it be the same content marketing we’ve come to know and love? Some say not, in fact there is speculation that content could be getting ready to mature in 2016, with a more refined, elegant approach than we may have become accustomed to. Here’s what’s changing in content marketing in 2016:
- More measurement: Last year, many content marketers took a more intelligent approach to measurement, looking beyond clicks and pageviews to the wider benefits their efforts were bringing. Expect to see more of this in 2016, with metrics such as reach, audience and engagement coming into play instead of clicks, shares and likes.
- Quality over quantity: As Google continues to wage war on poor, thin content, the focus will be on producing high quality content of all sorts for 2016. Alongside the usual blogs and social updates, expect to see more whitepapers, case studies and well researched though leadership pieces.
- Outsourcing: With the focus on high quality content, it seems logical to leave the effort to the experts. Big brands are already shifting content to creative agencies and freelancers, and we expect to see smaller businesses following suit too.
- Repurposing: Repurposing content has long been a staple of the frugal content marketer. But as we roll into 2016, it won’t be so much repurposing as repairing of old, poor content. No doubt the ideas were there the first time around, but maybe the execution was not as effective as we’d hoped. As well as improving existing content, expect to see successful blogs and articles repurposed into video, slideshare presentations, LinkedIn blogs and eBooks.
In short, content marketing is certainly not going away. However, just as the caterpillar eventually spreads its wings and flies away, so we expect to see a more elegant, a more effective content marketing emerging over the course of 2016.
To review your content marketing strategy, call Brighter Directions on 0203 633 2925
