Content marketing is king in today’s increasingly digital world. From blogs to viral videos, the right piece of online content has the potential to make or break a company’s marketing strategy. A whopping 98 percent of marketers plan to increase or maintain their budgets for 2014. With new trends emerging all the time, it’s crucial for content marketers to stay up-to-date with the latest sites and strategies. These five trends are making waves, giving marketers some smart options for engaging audiences.
Real-Time Analytics
Technology is now available that lets companies measure brand interest in real-time. Tracking relevant searches as they occur is a time-consuming task, but it makes it possible for companies to respond to trending topics as they happen.
Breaking stories can peak and disappear in a matter of hours in today’s information-heavy world. Companies that can keep up with the pace are sure to gain an edge over competitors who make their contributions too late. It’s no surprise, then, that data and analytics is the top area where marketers plan to increase their dollars, with 61 percent looking to spend more on this essential information.
SlideShare Presentations
SlideShare usage among B2B marketers has increased from 23 to 40 percent. The effectiveness of SlideShare seems to decrease with the size of the company, according to Content Marketing Institute report. While 49 percent of small companies consider SlideShare effective for content marketing, just 38 percent of large companies feel the same way. If you’re promoting a small company, this is a trending strategy you shouldn’t overlook. SlideShare gives you almost unlimited opportunities to build an engaging presentation that’s easily published and shared online.
Social Media Integration
Social media is still king in the content marketing world, and it shows no signs of slowing. A whopping 87 percent of marketers use social media sites for their content marketing. While only 34 percent of companies are reporting ROI on their social media marketing, an additional 52 percent believe that this strategy will produce ROI eventually. Whether you take up Twitter or feed information through Facebook, it’s important to develop a social media strategy.
Mobile Content Marketing
Mobile devices are gaining popularity at a rapid rate. With fast networks growing increasingly each year, information is at our fingertips. Mobile is the perfect place for marketers to target their messages. In an ExactTarget study, 24 percent of respondents said their subscribers open emails on a mobile device more than 51 percent of the time. Another 41 percent said subscribers open email on a mobile device 31 to 50 percent of the time. Yet still, another report indicates that global Internet usage takes place primarily on mobile devices. An impressive 23 percent of people only go online with their cell phones, while another 37 percent mostly use mobile, and 28 percent split their time evenly between a mobile device and PC.
What this means for content marketers is that emails and web pages both need to be mobile friendly. Large fonts, simple images, and concise text are essential. Apps offer a streamlined way for consumers to get your content. A mobile-optimized website is a must.
Email Marketing and eNewsletters
Email marketing is hardly a new tactic, but it’s one that doesn’t get as much attention today as trendier options like using social media sites. However, 80 percent of B2B marketers use eNewsletters to keep in touch with customers, making this the third most popular tactic behind social media and articles on the company website. A separate study indicated that 68 percent of marketers believe email is core to the business.
Unfortunately, building an effective email campaign isn’t always easy. Inboxes are flooded with messages competing for customers’ attentions, and those attention spans are short. To make your job a little easier, try curating content from several sources for your newsletters. Rather than providing all the information yourself, become a trusted source that offers links to the best and most reliable content on the web in your particular niche.
If you want to keep your company ahead of the competition, snag some of these strategies today and start refining your content marketing plan. A well-honed strategy can make all the difference in this highly competitive area.
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Author : Emily Green. She is a business and tech freelance writer based in Tampa, FL, USA.
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