As swiftly as digital spaces and online platforms are changing, the way we display content online is changing as well.
There was an explosion of innovative shifts in content marketing in the last year, and the following five trends are promising to significantly influence advertising in 2017.
Email automation
Although the concept of automated emails is definitely nothing new, streamlining content automation through email to the extent that today’s marketers do is a certainly developing trend.
Managing contacts, webpage testing, email marketing, measuring performance, driving repeat purchasing and numerous other aspects of content marketing are all made as simple as a click of a button, and scheduled days in advance.
While many companies utilize this for essentially “spamming” potential and existing customers, a number of organizations are learning day-by-day how to capitalize on email automation to accomplish true content marketing ROI.
Companies such as Marketo, Act-On, Pardo, and Infusionsoft can help make your next automated email marketing campaign totally seamless and consumer-targeted.
Creation of In-House Media Companies
One of the newest concepts in online advertising is the creation of full-fledged media organizations from content departments of existing organizations.
Red Bull was one of the first with the launch of Red Bull Media House as a freestanding media firm. This strategy theoretically eliminates the need to outsource video production and other online content. It could also create another source of revenue by providing media production to other companies.
This is a truly innovative take on consolidating content creation, and other business— like PepsiCo, Arrow Electronics and Mondelez— are starting to follow suit.
User-Generated Content
Never before have consumers had as much power as they do now to influence online content.
User-generate content, or UGC as many of its contributors call it, is a growing trend in content marketing that comes in many forms: social media comments, shares, online reviews, YouTube videos, and the list goes on.
And the stats prove it. Research shows that more than 85% of consumers trust the opinions and shared content of their peers than from actual brands.
Native Advertising
Companies are utilizing advertising that flows more seamlessly with user experience on a rapidly growing scale.
We are seeing a shift in advertising towards spending less of their money churning out endless amounts of content, and more on the promotion of selective, user-targeted content.
Marketers are increasingly leaning towards native because of its undisruptive nature. Users can continue enjoying their content, while unknowingly viewing similarly constructed-advertisement throughout.
The stealthy advertising is commonly interesting and elegantly targeted to particular audiences, making it one of the most preferred tools to rev up engagement or launch a new campaign.
Mobile Access
Everyday, the way online customers consume content shifts more and more towards mobile.
Though traditional advertising spaces are not completely obsolete, studies show that more consumers are accessing information through mobile devices than any other platform.
This completely influences how marketers create and advertise content. There is now a need to maintain cross-platform engagement while still adapting to consumers’ buying behavior.
This trend seems to be increasingly influential in advertisers reformatting content for the mobile view in order to stay relevant and connected with potential and existing consumers.
So, if a company’s engagement is falling short, there’s only one question to be asked: got an app for that?
