Did you know that…
Content marketing is poised to boom in 2014.
And companies need to be prepared for the biggest trends that are expected to take off in the coming year.
An increasing number of consumers are favoring customer-focused information that content marketing provides over more traditional marketing communications.
Blog posts, email newsletters, podcasts, webinars and social media posts are great ways to communicate with customers in an unobtrusive, friendly manner that provides information and can generate sales.
Focusing on providing great content is the best way to connect with these media-savvy consumers.
Here are some of the top trends coming up in 2014. Be sure to implement these into your content marketing campaign in order to ensure success in the year ahead and be on top of the curve.
Businesses Will be Able to Define Content Marketing
Even though about 60 percent of businesses already utilize content marketing to some degree, not as many would be able to define what it is exactly.
That is poised to change in 2014 as more companies embrace content marketing and align it with their business goals. It will gain importance as businesses become better able to clearly define content marketing and how it can be used to their advantage.
Once your company can clearly define content marketing, it becomes much easier to make it work for you.
Takeaway: Be sure you have a clear understanding of what content marketing is and how to make it work to your advantage.
Content Marketing Professionals Will Get Apt Titles and Recognition
Instead of assigning content marketing to the general marketing department, companies in the know will focus on hiring content managers and establishing entire departments dedicated to this type of marketing.
By making investments in content marketing staff, more companies will focus on the importance of having a professional and dedicated team in charge of these efforts.
It is rapidly becoming its own industry, and businesses would be smart to recognize that. Companies that don’t do this are likely to experience higher customer-acquisition costs, according to HubSpot’s 2013 State of Inbound Marketing report.
Takeaway: Build up staff dedicated to content marketing.
Automated Content Marketing Will Fail
Those companies that seek to save money and put forth less effort in generating effective content marketing are on track to fail.
That’s because low cost equals low quality, so businesses that try to cut corners will see their strategies backfire.
Consumers are wise and demand fresh, informative content, not something that has obviously been slapped together.
The whole point of content marketing is to provide personal and customer-focused information, something that tends to get lost in an automated system.
Takeaway: Invest in quality and original content, or risk alienating potential customers.
Location-Based Content Marketing Will Take Off
Your brick-and-mortar business can see a great return on investment through the use of smart technology to promote location-based deals. Although this is a current trend, it is on track to really take off next year.
Mobile device usage will help businesses connect with consumers in specific areas through location-based offers, sales and coupons.
For example, if you want to entice consumers to buy car covers, you can target your sale to nearby residents. Smart companies will capitalize on the mobile-device trend and work it into their content marketing strategies in order to connect with local consumers.
Takeaway: Invest in mobile-device technology and make it a key component of your content-marketing strategy.
Google+ and Slideshare Will Take Center Stage
Business-to-business marketers are increasingly turning to social media to promote their products and services, and this trend will continue in 2014.
Google+ and Slideshare are expected to see tremendous growth next year. and marketers would be smart to take full advantage of their content dissemination and social sharing capabilities. These devices enable users to effectively market their products and services to other businesses easily.
Takeaway: Strongly consider using Google+ and Slideshare as part of your content marketing plans.
Mobile Content-Marketing Strategies Gain in Importance
With more and more people owning smartphones and tablets, it only makes sense that tailoring your content marketing to these consumers on-the-go should be a top priority.
Things to consider here are mobile-friendly formatting; shorter posts for quicker reads and making sure you are embracing the technology your customers are using. After all, mobile is predicted to overtake desktop use within the next two years, so it’s best to be prepared for this inevitability.
Takeaway: Tailor your content marketing plan to take full advantage of the rising popularity of mobile devices.
Are you excited about 2014?
Yes. I. Am. Excited. To. Welcome. It.
These trends are on track to continue their growth pattern next year and clearly show the importance of content marketing to your business’s success.
As content marketing gains momentum, smart companies will embrace this media to the fullest in order to reap the rewards of a successful, up-to-the-minute campaign.
So far, what has content marketing done for your business and do you plan to continue using content to grow your business or take another route? Please leave your comment below. Merry Xmas in advance and see you ahead.
Photo Credit: Catherine
Michelle is a blogger and freelancer with a passion for social media and blogging. She loves how social media connects people across the globe, and appreciates that blogging gives her the opportunity to voice her thoughts and share advice with an unlimited audience. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.
I believe that content is king. Good content will always attract visitors who might turn up to be our potential customers. So, Content marketing is way more effective. Thanks for sharing the trends of content marketing
Yes, it’s about the content! Always.
However, I bet few of them would actually be able to define content marketing if asked to do so. Throughout 2014, I believe businesses will increasingly be able to explain what content marketing is, how it aligns with their larger business goals, and why it’s important. ‘Content marketing’ won’t just be a catch-all phrase used interchangeably with ‘marketing collateral’, but will have distinct importance within organizations.
It seems that with every Google algorithm change that they are wanting better content. People who try to work the system by spinning content are sure to fail.
Good content is king and is the best way to stay on the good side of Google.
Thanks for this great information! Contentmarketingup is a great way to increase your readership and backlinks to your content. Your tips are going to help a lot of people.
Hello Michael ! Yeah I am excited for continuing my content marketing which have given me lots of money and happiness as well. I am excited to see what is next for me in it.
good advice. i agree slideshare is great for marketing
thanks for the advice. you are probably right about everything
Content marketing is good but now internet is about to saturate and there are many great marketing professional working toward this way. I would like to search more ways.
hank you so much for this exciting article about the way forward in 2014. It echoes my thoughts exactly – concentrate on providing quality content! Hopefully companies that do just this, will enjoy even more success in 2014!
Content marketing is good but now internet is about to saturate and there are many great marketing professional working toward this way. I would like to search more ways.
Thank you so much for this exciting article about the way forward in 2014. It echoes my thoughts exactly – concentrate on providing quality content! Hopefully companies that do just this, will enjoy even more success in 2014!
Thank you for this blog post. I think these are going to be trending in 2014.
Thanks and Merry Xmas Michael
I wish you all the best this season.
Nice Write Up But According To Me It Will rise the trend of content marketing after google each update as Now google focus on content…..
I love your chronicles.
thank u for this helpful news 🙂
Its a great article about content marketing, as a blogger i am really appreciate with you.
Hmm, me too.
hey Michael, ya Content is going to be king in 2014 google loves unique content so we all haveto most focus on content.
-Shital
Good to have you here Shital.Merry Xmas
Hello Mike,
These content marketing predictions you’ve offered are indeed so true and correct. Companies that would not take their overall marketing strategy serious would sure head towards doom as more competent competitors take over.
I also agree that slideshare and other article sharing sites would be more important than ever. These site, with their exceedingly high domain authority are sure to play a very big role in the overall content marketing strategy of companies.
Thanks for these tips…I am indeed excited about 2014 as you are!
Always,
Terungwa
I’m excited as well.
Nice Write Up sir exactly ..Content Marketing is going to be trend in This upcoming 2014….
You have good writing skills this post is very useful for me thanks for sharing us
Lots of Google+ is obvious. Lots and lots of it – Google will be pushing it like crazy I should think. Along with the recent YouTube comments switch, G+ should get a significant boost next year. Fine by me as I like it a great deal – it’s far less annoying than Facebook and promotes creativity. Always a nice surprise, rather than the grumbling complaints of people’s status updates on Zuckerberg’s one.
Hmm, Google+!
I think you should market your writing services at the right places.very nice informative post.
Will do.
good post Michael Chibuzor, i think paul walker’s car also trends
You think so?
This is really nice and can be implemented on any blog site or business site. Read blogs about marketing content my concerns are only to study how to get right visit on my site which is a bit tricky to understand. Thank you for sharing such a nice content here I think must continue with more post.
automated content marketing has been doomed to fail from the beginning.
Content marketing is not working for me. I have tried writing quality content for my online business promotion but it has not given me results. I have started permission based marketing and it is clicking for me. I am getting online sales. It allow us to market only to those who want to have information about the product. It allow the email to go to only those customers who real want to see the information.
Nice Blog Post.In 2014 search engines gives importance to Unique contents.So you must be careful about uniqueness of you contents.
I like the takeaway fro Michael, “Be sure you have a clear understanding of what content marketing is and how to make it work to your advantage.”
2014 predictions, hmmn But in my view things are unpredictable. But still I agree that there will be improvements in the future since people nowadays are eager to create a more relevant and compelling piece when talking about content marketing.
I found this post shared on Kingged.com, the Internet marketing social bookmarking and networking site, and I “kingged” it and left this comment.
Predictions are just opinions of what someone feels would occur in the nearest future. No one can be certain. It may or may not happen. Thank you for your comment.
Hi,
Thanks for your writing. I love this post. The information in this article is really unique and useful for me. After reading your writing today, I think I have some ideas for myself. I have plan to continue using content to grow my business or take another route. Look forwards to reading more useful articles from you. Great job!
You’re more than welcome Pham and thanks for reading.
Yeah right. we will face these all in 2014
You’re so certain?
thank you very much you helped me to know 😀
Hmm, I’m good!
Thank you for sharing this article
When ever i visit this https://contentmarketingup.com i found something extremly useful and interesting. Thanks for sharing. I want to say something about local base content Marketing. I think local base content marketing will remain the same because most of business prefer to explore their product globally. isnt it?
It’s been a while Adideo. Glad you came around.
Yes Content Marketing is leading these days… But i am Not able to get the content marketing ones who can pay me very well for Content i write for them
I think you should market your writing services at the right places.
But Where to get these places… I mean I am unable to find the right source for my articles ….
Do you mean blogs where you can submit guest posts?
Quite Right But I mean to Suggest Paid Guest Post Which Can Pay Me Good Bucks For their Content.
Hello John, Mike is quite correct – you need to market your skills where they are appreciated and actually in need.
You must also be methodological and persistent about your whole strategy. Above all, you must treat your online concerns as the business they are. Then, and only then, will you see results!
Always,
Terungwa