by 
By Hummad H
As digital marketing evolves, new and revisited modern marketing techniques continue to surface. Content marketing now sits at the peak of these rising marketing trends and is projected to play a lead character in more and more organizations’ strategies moving forward.
As you develop your 2017 plan, how are you staying competitive and poised for growth? What contemporary approaches have you built into your 2017 budget? Take a look at these top trends in content marketing and determine what techniques might be a good fit for your organization.
#1—Higher Mobile Traffic
If your content isn’t mobile-ready, your company may be at risk of dissuading audiences. More and more people are accessing content via tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices. It only takes one negative impression to lose a reader so mobility is critical.
This is one of the most significant trends in digital marketing today. If your budget it tight, consider pushing mobile friendliness to the top of your list. Keep in mind that mobility doesn’t stop at mobile-readiness. Once you’re mobile-friendly, upkeep is just as important as implementation. Finally, ensure that your content marketing strategy is built with mobility in mind. Your content strategy needs to be holistic in nature and should web out to all of your marketing activities.
#2—New Video Formats at Peak
The emergence of video formats is on the rise. More videos are accessed and shared than ever before, and this upward trajectory isn’t going anywhere. As you integrate video into your content marketing strategy, here are a few basic facts to consider:
- Adding a video to a landing page increases its conversion rate by 80%.
- 92% of mobile users share the videos (they have watched) with their friends.
- There will be a huge rise in varying video formats in 2017.
- Live video is considered to be the most preferred format this year. Since live videos leverage authentic interactions and bring real-time audiences to the forefront, it paves the way for brands to get even more connected with their target audiences.
- Short duration videos are going to dominate their longer counterparts. Platforms like Snapchat and Vine have contributed significantly to increase the popularity of shorter videos (i.e. under 15 seconds).
#3—Refined Influencer Marketing
There is no doubt about the power of influencer marketing. The very name says it all.
Brands are intangible representations of products or organizations. While they’re still important, more and more buyers are looking for trusted recommendations from actual people. The phrase, “putting a face with a name,” is gaining traction as more companies are turning to influencer marketing to drive traffic, and ultimately, revenue.
While influencer marketing is still very present on the trends list, execution of this strategy in 2017 will focus more on collaborating with key influencers. Instead of merely working with the influencers of your target audiences, producing content that addresses your audience and your influencers’ audiences will be instrumental in your success formula.
#4—Growing Trends in Interactive Marketing
To truly generate results through content marketing in 2017, interactive content should be an incremental part of your mix.
The more interactive you are with your audience, the more likely you’ll pursuade them into the funnel. People are more likely to engage with brands when there’s active engagement on both sides. Interactive content like assessments, surveys, polls, quizzes, not only continue to entice audiences but offer marketers more opportunity to get to know their audiences.
#5—Demand for User-generated Content Increases
When you’re effectively conveying authenticity and instilling trust in your audience, the success of your content marketing strategy will follow suit. This year will bring more user-generated content to the forefront. It will result in a higher volume of ready-made content than ever before and will ultimately bridge the relationship gaps between audiences and brands.
An example is Outdoor Research’s #OptOutside and #OutdoorResearch campaign. The campaign encourages followers to share photos of their outside adventures. The campaign not only gives Outdoor Research a great deal of of user-generated content, but gives visiblity and support to Paradox Sports.
Bottom Line
Paying attention to these trends can keep you up-to-date, and can offer you more ideas and tools to support your efforts. While not all of these approaches may make sense for your organization (and in some cases, just not at this time), as a marketer, it’s important to take audit of what’s out there and determine what are reasonable matches for your company based on your organizational objectives.
Flair Interactive incorporates all of these trends, and more, in our Strategic Marketing Game Plan. Contact us today and we can create your plan in two weeks!
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