2019 has arrived, ladies and gentlemen! And with it, new content marketing trends – as is customary in the fast-paced world we live and work in.
Every day we see new technologies and tools and old – tried and true – tactics emerge with new spins by fresh thinkers. But content is here to stay and is still king. Moreover, as the audience is constantly exposed to an increasing amount of content – by all accounts, maybe more than they are able to process – its quality NEEDS to be improving. Therefore, these are the 5 content marketing trends we expect to see in 2019. Stay tuned!
1) Content marketing will be in focus
Did you know that content marketing was a new phenomenon and something handled as a side project up until a few years ago? It wasn’t part of traditional marketing efforts, so it was sidelined to be done when enough time was available or there wasn’t pressure to get more urgent things handled. Those things being one-sided conversations TO the customers and not a TWO-WAY STREET to creating meaningful and lasting relationships.
However, with the emergence of content marketing, the person buying from your e-commerce store or repairing their car at your repair shop goes from being just a muted audience to people with wants and needs your products might satisfy but only if you show them how and why. That is why it’s become the best tool to earn people’s trust, to show your value to them, to build your brand and good standing, to generate site traffic and qualified leads and more. Those companies that understand that content marketing is the best way to reach their customers don’t rely on their size and the number of employees to be successful, but on connecting to their customers – current and potential.
2) Strategies will be indispensable
The more companies use content marketing, the more they will begin to realize that it’s the perfect tool for achieving specific goals, whether they are SEO, lead generation or thought leadership. The same way one use of content doesn’t work identically – or at all – for a company in another industry, it won’t work in the same manner for two companies in the same niche or even among a pair of goals one company sets for itself. That is why expecting content marketing to achieve all company goals is foolish, and exactly why you need a specific strategy for each of them to make them as effective as possible.
Documenting your marketing strategy can go a long way in creating the right content to go with it – along with making a thorough assessment and aligning priorities to go into the plan. Moreover, according to the Content Marketing Institute, 65% of successful content marketers have a documented strategy. Time to get one yourself, isn’t it?
3) Companies will need to provide maximum value to customers
Content marketing is already able to address different needs and goals for various departments:
- Sales teams use it to improve their pitches and client relationships
- Brand managers shape it into authority and goodwill
- Recruiters can attract talent through posting it on platforms the best candidates for the job like to spend their time online.
With new possibilities opening up through content marketing, it would be a shame for companies not to use it as a way of providing customer value. Now – when everything is personalized, it’s become unacceptable to just make a sale, proceed to make another one and deal with customer complaints if and when they arise. We’ve reached a full circle, if you will, with companies needing to ensure their customers are satisfied so that they will spread the good word-of-mouth about them and develop strong relationships – just like a hundred years ago, when a good handyman was the one who was praised by others, not by themselves.
In this sense, content marketing is paramount here – it shows buyers not only the benefits they might have from certain products and services, but also all the possible uses they will have from them. This way companies can devote more of their time and resources to grow their brands and less on putting out fires from dissatisfied customers.
4) The marketing funnel will become a cycle
Up until now the marketing funnel would accept anyone as a potential customer, filter them through various qualifying processes and then just throw them out the other end without even a word. However, as long as customers are treated just as their wallets’ gatekeepers, they will feel ignored or insulted at the end of the journey.
Therefore, a change in mindset is what is sorely needed – and content will play an important role there. The funnel will take the shape of a cycle with customers being sought after for creating a long-term relationship even before they buy anything. By continuously engaging potential customers through offering various library item formats to enjoy – and find useful – companies will overcome strictly transactional relationships with customers. Lead-nurturing campaigns, also aimed at current customers, are more likely to lead to developing trust and a sort of dependence – more products bought and more recommendations given.
5) Without content distribution, we will get nowhere
Content marketing – no matter the quality of the written word you have to offer – is pointless if no one can see and hear what you want to say. Therefore, a quality content distribution system goes hand in hand with the creation of highly valuable content.
Aside from posting on Social Media regularly and distributing your content through email marketing, is there anything else you can try? Could select representatives of your company make an expose of your products and services at a conference, for example? Or maybe you could combine online and offline marketing and give away certain pieces of content with your products? Either way, you won’t go wrong with thinking outside the box on this.
So, these are some of the content marketing movements we can expect to be fully implemented in 2019. The lukewarm approach will no longer suffice, so focusing on these trends can make or break your company’s success in the following year. Don’t risk that! Contact us today and let’s talk!
