Before we dig, let's look at exactly what material marketing is in 2018.
According to Content Marketing Institute,"Content marketing is a strategic marketing and advertising approach focused on generating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a distinctly defined audience -- and also, finally, to drive profitable client actions."
And it is not just a fad -- 89% of B2B marketers and 86% of B2C marketers report they are using content advertising to increase leads and drive their brand forward.
But the content advertising landscape is changing to focus more on video and less on content that is branded. Staying ahead of those changes can offer your company a competitive advantage in a crowded market.
So, what content trends are you paying attention to in 2018?
Vlogs/Videos Are A Big Deal
In case you're holding off on doing the movie, now is the moment. The video was anticipated to be huge in 2017, and that trend isn't slowing down.
HubSpot reports that video is a growing priority, with 48% of entrepreneurs planning to include YouTube for their marketing plan from the one-year, and 46% plan to add Facebook video.
You don't need a costly camera or high tech editing software to make a professional-looking video. All you need is a smart phone, a telephone tripod antisocial media accounts to leverage live movie on Facebook.
Or, use an instrument such as Magisto, which uses AI that will assist you to edit and promote videos in only a couple minutes.
After incorporating their particular Facebook Live plan, group members in Search Engine Journal gathered analytics and discovered their average Facebook Live engagement was 178% higher than their normal article engagement.
Moreover, the average reach of posts over doubled for videos. If you are considering starting your Facebook Live plan, make sure to read through these tips first.
For most video content, whether on Facebook or another stage, influencer Sunny Lenarduzzi suggests in this beginner's guide beginning with educational video content (versus inspirational or interesting content) in order to make value for audiences and also to gain momentum quickly.
Diversify Your Social Media Efforts
You have probably discovered how Facebook's current drop in natural reach means that social networking is dead, as a procedure to disperse content.
In fact, any time you use a third-party platform to distribute your content, you'll be in the mercy of that third-party changing their principles.
You shouldn't rely heavily on any third-party to distribute your articles. Rather, work to build direct links with your audience through email, membership websites or in-person events. In-person occasions and membership websites will only be successful for certain markets, but email campaigns can work for just about any brand.
Among the greatest tools that will assist you to enhance your email marketing effort is Drip, which permits you to create visual workflows which make it easy to create remarketing campaigns and retain clients engaged.
But no matter what resources you opt to utilize, building and developing your own email list is essential. Figure out who the audience is, understand the way to target these prospective consumers and make them act -- in this instance, giving you their email contact information -- by providing them worth.
If you discover your subscriber numbers are dropping, it might be time to reassess and retarget your own campaign.
Initial Content That Does Not Sell Is In
When you think about content marketing, what comes to mind? Creating a white paper? Writing a blog post about your most recent acquisition? A viral movie about a topic close to your brand?
In 2018, content promotion is about producing interesting content individuals actually want to participate with.
Quit referring to your new, and begin creating content men and women want to see, watch or hear. Consider exactly what the big brands do. Apple lately dedicated to spending $1 billion on original content for its streaming stage.
PepsiCo opened a brand-new content creation studio in downtown NYC with the purpose of producing revenue and creating a vehicle for advertising their products.
Sponsored articles, branded emails, and conventional ads are not as effective as they once were. If you are not looking to make useful, interesting content in 2018, your attempts will fall flat.
Sure, that works for Pepsi, correct? They have millions to spend. But what really is a more compact brand without the budget to make a full-scale music studio to perform in this new content world?
You can begin by leveraging tools that help you create glossy, professional-looking articles. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Skitch: This app from Evernote makes it easy to mark and take up screenshots so that you may create polished how-to ebooks and articles.
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Snappa: This instrument is very similar to sites like Canva and PicMonkey but, in my view, a whole lot more intuitive to use.
It also makes it effortless to save templates so that you may create images quickly.
The"staff save" work makes working easy.
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Promo by Slidely: This movie production tool makes it easy for small brands to create seriously professional-looking videos.
Contains stock audio and movie clips and use of footage and music editors.
Conclusion
Content marketing isn't going away. You can't afford to put content off marketing until next calendar year. In actuality, 2018 is your very best time to invest in content promotion.
Since the industry pivots away from branded articles aimed at promoting (even softly ), to content as a vehicle, you will find broad open opportunities for new brands to go into the industry and grab the eye of customers.
When creating a strategy and receiving buy-in from stakeholders sounds overwhelming, start small with a one-page content marketing plan and construct as you learn.
It's time to stop asking how your articles advertising can drive sales and start asking what your articles can do for your audience.
