Content Marketing Trends to Note
October 2017By now, you probably know how much content marketing matters. For everything from SEO to website engagement to lead conversion, content marketing is at the center. Once you’ve embraced content marketing, it can seem like the fundamentals of it never change. You need to create high-quality content that speaks to the people you want to reach. Enough said, right?
Related: Effective Online Marketing for Law Firms
While this central goal will stay the same for the foreseeable future, other aspects of content marketing won’t. Just like any other type of marketing, content marketing is subject to changing trends. Here are a few of the current trends in content marketing, and why they matter to your business.
1. Nuanced content marketing strategies
How much time did you spend formulating your company’s brand strategy? Between messaging, target audience analysis, logo design, and website construction, the answer is probably “a lot.” You should be just as committed to your content marketing strategy. Many businesses try to hit the ground running with content production and consequently don’t develop a smart content plan for the long-term.
One trend in content marketing is a rejection of the “write first, ask questions later” technique. More and more, businesses are getting into the nitty gritty details of their content. They develop distinct buyer personas for the people they want their content to reach. They brainstorm detailed topic lists for content and lay them out with strategic editorial calendars. They figure out how to expand beyond blogs and articles to video, interactive content, mobile content, and more.
In short, companies are creating content marketing campaigns that are more fully realized than ever before—and they are reaping the benefits. The message is simple: don’t just create content to create content. Instead, make sure there is a clear, concrete goal behind everything you produce.
2. Video content
Speaking of other types of content, none is more essential than video. While video isn’t going to replace the written word online—at least not entirely—it is going to be a dominant force in the years to come. Brands should use video blogs, tutorials, customer testimonials, brand commercials, and even live streaming video to capture attention.
3. Influencer marketing
Teaming up with a celebrity or big-name authority in your industry can help you reach target buyers more effectively. Influencers typically have huge internet followings and enough sway over their followers that their recommendations and endorsements carry real weight. In many industries, businesses can team up with influencers to widen their reach, trigger greater engagement and conversions, and make more money.
4. Time-sensitive content
For a long time, content marketing teams have operated under the assumption that evergreen content is always the goal. After all, if you are going to invest time and money in writing a detailed white paper or producing a video, you want it to continue delivering value for years to come. As it turns out, time
sensitive content has appeal for audiences, because it feels more relevant and useful in the here and now.
Sometimes, creating time-sensitive content means writing about recent news and developments. For a law firm, content about a recent ruling or law change is inherently less evergreen than an FAQ page, but this type of content is still highly valuable to readers. Time-sensitive content could also be something seasonal. In some cases, it might mean live blogs, social media AMAs, or other pieces of content that are going to be largely irrelevant tomorrow or next week. This content will probably never be your bread and butter, but that doesn’t mean it can’t deliver big benefits.