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5 strategies to catapult your content marketing in 2017
Content marketing enjoyed a rollercoaster ride in 2016. We saw the demand for interactive content, whereby readers have the chance to become involved in content through the likes of polls and quizzes, soar last year. Video content also skyrocketed in 2016, thanks, predominantly, to the prolific rise of mobile technology, enabling us to watch visual content whilst on the go.
So, what’s in store for the capricious world of digital content in the months ahead? We’re pleased to say that there’s plenty of emerging content trends for marketers to get their teeth into this year.
Take a look at the following strategies forecast to help catapult content marketing campaigns in 2017:
1. Make it visual
The more visual social platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat enjoyed a huge chunk of the social limelight in 2016 and look to continue their dominance throughout 2017. As Forbes writes in an analysis of content marketing trends for 2017:
“Visual content has become so fundamental to the web that we’ve got entire social platforms whose lingua franca is images. Like Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest.”
And the reasons for the rise and seeming longevity of visual content are obvious. Visual content is instantly digestible, eye-catching and snackable – all traits that online users generally look for in the content they want to consume.
Testament of the demand for visual image content can be seen through statistics gathered by MDG Advertising that show 94% more views, on average, are generated by content that contains images compared to content that is merely text. Furthermore, 60% of consumers are more likely to get in contact or consider using a brand whose image appears in local search results!
2. Podcasts will continue to rise in popularity
Suggestions have been made that these digital audio files have had their heyday and are in demise. But, in fact, podcasts have seen a resurgence in recent times, a trend that looks set to dominate content marketing in 2017. A growing number of people are downloading and listening to podcasts on a regular basis. Consequently, brands are working on developing compelling podcasts that reach out to target audiences.
Much of the appeal of podcasts is that they are relatively easy to create and integrate into other marketing formats.
3. Make it mobile
Okay, so there’s nothing new about crafting content for a mobile audience, but we can’t ignore the fact that there is now more traffic on the internet from mobile devices than from desktops. Yep, it’s safe to say smartphones and tablets are not just a whim!
With mobile online traffic seemingly escalating daily, it is imperative that marketers and companies create content that is mobile friendly. And mobile-friendly content isn’t rocket science, it’s all about generating text that is easy to read and digest, creating pages that are straightforward to navigate, with links that are easily clickable and the content, in general, is simple to consume.
4. Targeted, niche content
Rather than creating generic content, with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, effective content this year will be more targeted and niche. Instead of ‘scratching at the surface’ with topics that have been revisited and regurgitated thousands of times, digging deeper and creating more niche content, that appeals to a more specific set of readers, is hailed as being a more effective form of content marketing in 2017.
“Serve a niche audience, and go deep into the rabbit hole,” advises Convince and Convert.
5. A resurgence of print
Print’s dead, right? Wrong. In fact, print is being forecast as experiencing some kind of resurgence in 2017.
Some of the biggest brands have been busy working on launching new glossy magazines and other print publications. For example, as the Content Marketing Institute notes, the online accommodation network Airbnb, recently announced the launch of Airbnb Magazine, a new printed magazine which will be distributed to the homes of those who use the service. VFiles and Doodle are two more examples of brands jumping on the print content resurgence by launching new printed publications.
With this in mind, savvy marketers would be wise to be thinking of combining both print and online content marketing in the forthcoming months. It’s also important to remember that printed content is intrinsically different to online content. Printed text tends to demand a more detailed, longer and, one could argue, higher quality read. By contrast, online content is generally quicker to read, snappier and more in-line with being skim read, rather than deeply absorbed like printed copy.
As we can see, there’s a lot to get excited about in terms of content marketing in 2017. The right content marketing strategy comes with a myriad of benefits to businesses. Winning the trust and loyalty of existing customers, reaching out to new clients and generating a credible online rapport, are just three business gains generated from an effective content marketing campaign.
Does your business require assistance with content marketing? Perhaps you would like to manage a blog or social media accounts more effectively but simply don’t have the time or resources? Whatever your content marketing goals are in 2017, jrc.agency could prove to be a valuable asset in helping your business achieve its digital marketing objectives this year, by implementing a solid, comprehensive and effective content marketing campaign.
Get in contact with jrc.agency to discuss all your content marketing queries and objectives in 2017.
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