As part of our ongoing series featuring industry influencers, we asked some of our favorite social media power-users about what they think are the most important content marketing trends to watch for in 2017. Here are a few of their responses:
2017 Content Marketing Trends To Watch According To Industry Influencers
“I’m putting my money on live video. There’s so much capability for B2B and B2C, especially when you can leverage the content after an event! Live video is gaining more traction, thanks largely to the booming popularity of Snapchat, but as the capabilities surrounding the tech continue to expand, so do the possibilities for marketers to harness this creative outlet to reach their audiences. Not only can they provide real-time updates of events like expos or conventions, but they can use live video to reveal new products, hold live Q&A sessions, or even provide a peek into their company life. The best part is that live video doesn’t just vanish anymore. You can use the footage to create long-lasting video content that can be edited down or simply re-shared – whatever you need. It just puts video marketing in the hands of more marketers than ever before and creates new creative pathways to engage prospects and customers in new ways that will help them stand out.”
Samantha Gordon, Managing Editor of the @Brafton content marketing blog. Fiction editor for Invisible Ink Editing (@InvisibleEditor) Lover of the written word in all its styles.
“In 2017, you can’t just create content and hope to get results. Anyone can write “great content”. But getting results with that content? That’s a whole different game. That’s where using “content maximizers” can be the next big thing. Content maximizers are any kind of upgrades you can add to your content that help you get more shares, links, and sign ups. Some examples are: content upgrades, click to tweets, images, unique data, and so on. This isn’t nothing new, by the way. These maximizers have existed for a long time now and their effectiveness has been proven many times over. But it’s something most content creators forget. And if you want to get the results you need, you will have to start using them now.”
Ivan Kreimer is a freelance content writer that helps SaaS business increase their traffic, leads, and sales. Previously, he worked as an online marketing consultant helping both small and large companies drive more traffic and revenue. Learn more at http://contentfiesta.com
“Content marketing is about getting through to your target audience. Providing an on-point message at the right time, specified for the right group. You need data and you need people that understand how to use that data. But knowing the digital marketing trifecta also means knowing which channel when and how.”
Nick Kiran is a creative marketer with a passion for new media and disruptive technology. The biggest problem he’s “cracking” right now is a start-up in energy harvesting called Tryst Energy. Nick hosts a podcast about business and innovation, writes for a number of publications and worked for Bubbels Events & Gifts, HollandSpoor, The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Stedin Meetbedrijf, Audi, Volkswagen and more.
“Content marketing will continue to grow in importance over the next few years, but with that will become much confusion about how to succeed with it. The space will naturally become more competitive as more and more people begin to pursue it, and many will fail. Those that fail will be the ones that under-invest in it, and treat it like a tactical exercise and try to get by on the cheap with it.
At the heart of success will be understanding the value of the content your creating, and how it results in engagement with influencers, media, and end consumers (or businesses in B2B scenarios). The trend for those who succeed will be those who create real value in the content they publish.
It’s increasingly essential to pursue content marketing strategies across multiple channels.
- Publishing great “anchor” editorial content on-site as the core of an overall strategy.
- Promoting this content effectively via social media.
- Aggressively building social media presences based on editorial (non-promotional) strategies to build audience
- Re-sharing the high quality content of others, not just your own.
- Building relationships with influencers and media where you become a trusted supplier of high quality editorial info that helps them meet their own personal goals.
- Outreach strategies to let core audiences know when your new content goes live (with pre-pitching to media and influencers).
- Off-site publishing strategies (such as columns in authoritative sites) to gain exposure to other major audiences.
- Leveraging video, or other new media, to tap into new market areas such as YouTube and Facebook video.
- Smartly building your own dedicated audience by capturing direct subscribers that you can reach independently of third parties (such as social media sites that can remove visibility in the blink of an eye).
The above is meant to be an overview of many of the key components, but by no means is a comprehensive list of the things you should consider doing. The bottom line though, is that it’s about creating true editorial value and effectively gaining distribution for that value. From that comes relationships and trust, that will cause your brand to be in demand.”
Eric Enge was named the 2016 Landys Search Marketer of the Year and 2016 US Search Awards Search Personality of the Year, and it the co-autor of The Art of SEO, along with Stephan Spencer, Rand Fishkin, and Jessie Stricchiola. He is a sought-after keynote speaker who speaks at many industry conferences, including: Pubcon, Search Marketing Expo, SES, ClickZ Live, State of Search, MNSearch, and many more. Eric is the CEO of Stone Temple Consulting, a 65+ person digital marketing agency based in Massachusetts.
