What's in Store for the Future of Content Marketing?
For all of its time in the digital marketing spotlight, content marketing continues to drive incredible results, customer loyalty, and draw in wider audiences than ever before.
You may be surprised to hear that the future of content marketing is still growing and becoming increasingly important for brands to utilize. Some content gurus like Seth Godin say it's the only marketing left — and that was over ten years ago. So, what has changed, stayed the same, or remains a valuable content force but needs a slight twist?
Well, there are some slight pivots and various mediums that will become more relevant and suitable for tomorrow's marketplace — but the core principles of content marketing haven't changed much. It's still all about hitting your market, consistent content, and pushing the envelope with creative routes to reach your desired destination.
We still have that question:
What's in store for the future of content marketing?
Video + Live-Stream capture audiences
Conversational Marketing
Tailoring your content to voice search and smart devices
Building a genuine social media community
Data is more relevant than ever before
1. Video + Live-Stream Capture Audiences
While blogs continue to be a top contender for go-to content types, video marketing has quickly risen to the top position with even greater engagement rates and conversion potential.
Not only is the modern consumer more likely to digest video content regularly, but they also expect it. Video content is a staple of established and trusted brands, as it confirms not only expertise but also a commitment to offering engaging and easy-to-access content for the consumer to learn more about a product or service.
What has shifted in the video world is the live-streaming aspect, where audiences are growing and opening up to the concept. It's a great way to invite your target market into a more intimate space, where they're able to essentially "see it first" and share in whatever your brand is attempting to capture. It's a constant stream (no pun intended) of "where were you when" moments that brands are attempting to hone in on.
So, where should you be posting?
Youtube
Instagram
Facebook
TikTok
Snapchat
LinkedIn
Your website
Youtube functions differently than nearly every other social media platform on this list because it's also the world's second-largest search engine. It's a place where people can discover your brand as you share educational, entertaining, or engaging content that draws viewers in. Engaging thumbnails, straight to the point titles, and well-thought-out video concepts work in concert to create engaging videos that will keep viewers interested enough to like, comment, share, and keep their watch time up.
So, what type of video content should you be creating for these various channels?
Product demos, unboxings, or reviews
Q&A sessions
Educational content
Behind-the-scenes
Interviews with relevant industry experts or players
Webinars
Whether you're interacting with the audience (or camera) or engaging in discussion with a colleague, expert, or fellow enthusiast — it's important to remain true to your brand's values and specific channel. Certain platforms like LinkedIn boast a sense of professionalism, while TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook can be more lighthearted and informal.
With that being said, you can repurpose content amongst various channels if it makes sense to do so. Interviews are universal and can be great content for every social media channel — plus, the audio can be reformatted for podcast material or transcribed into text for a blog.
2. Conversational Marketing
As audiences continue to develop an understanding of marketing tactics, the veil of traditional advertising has become either unusable or only viable when used for irony. Today, it's much more effective to remove the veil entirely and engage with your audience on a more human level through conversational marketing tactics.
This conversational technique will only grow as audiences get smarter and more involved in where their products come from, brand values, and the reliability of services. Not only is conversational marketing effective, but it's also the best way to get a grip on what your target market has to say and develop a better understanding of their needs, goals, and personas.
For many brands, customer service plays an integral role — which means having chatbot services can help speed up the process and ensure that customers are being taken care of in a timely manner. However, chatbots need to be smart, with a robust library of content, data, and information to bring the "human" element to the table. It doesn't stop here, though.
Conversational marketing also means engaging with your audience needs to be a cornerstone of your social media strategy. Whether it's through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or even Youtube — responding to comments, answering questions, or showing appreciation to your audience goes a long way.
For some brands, conversational marketing may even be a part of the voice or tone they use.
3. Tailoring Content for Voice-Search and Smart Devices
Voice chat isn't new by any means, but the strategies to capture its true potential will only become more important in the years to come. Whether it's Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, or additional voice chat systems — people are beginning to use them more and more as their accuracy and ease of use increases.
Last year, roughly 48% of consumers used voice search for general web searches — which is an astounding number. So, how does your brand take advantage of voice search?
Long-tail keywords for your content that are more likely to be spoken than typed out
Look into the voice queries that your target audience uses to gain an understanding of what to target
Learn more about voice-SEO
4. Build a Genuine Social Media Community
There's no better environment for content marketing than social media, which means that harnessing its true potential requires some community focus. Throwing content out into the digital ether isn't going to do your brand any good if there's no one out there to listen. So, you'll have to use some of the tools and tips we've routine (i.e., conversational marketing & video content) to boost engagement.
Your social media community should be a reflection of your brand, values, and goals. But most importantly, your social media should be a community — a place where followers and fans can ask questions, interact with one another, and organically reach out to your brand.
Figure out which channels fit your audience best and stick to them. Consistent posting with rich media and engaging or interactive posts is the best way to garner a fan base and build trust through social media. Here are some ideas for building a social media community:
Host giveaways or contests
Follow back and share people's content
Know your market and stick to it
Include social media follow buttons where it makes sense
Create shareable content
Respond to every comment (yes, every comment)
Consistent posting on your live channels
5. Data is More Relevant Than Ever
It's no secret that data fuels content creation, offering unrivaled insights that guide future efforts and shed light on past endeavors. Any good content team knows that you can't continue to throw content onto various social channels or web pages just to see what sticks; you must have a plan that is shaped by data. You should have a good idea of what will work and what won't work based on concrete evidence.
Data should drive content creation initiatives from start to finish. Make sure you're looking at metrics that actually matter, as there are certainly more vanity metrics that are a nice veneer but don't paint a vivid picture of success. Your key performance indicators (KPI) depend on what social channel or goal you have in mind, so you should be well versed in what drives performance at every turn.
You may think you know what your audience wants, but there are ways of unearthing the truth to make every second of content creation worth it.
There You Have It
The future of content marketing is bright and will continue to evolve and grow to meet a neverending thirst for creative output. While content marketing is certainly not going anywhere, the way we approach it will always be on the move, giving brands the opportunity to learn new and exciting ways to reach customers more effectively online.
So, use these future trends as a way to shape your content marketing efforts and social media strategies so that you're prepared for the customers of tomorrow.
