Content Marketing 101

Content Marketing 101

Content marketing is at the top of the list of marketing priorities for companies this year. By now, everyone knows the importance of producing consistent, quality content. But to stay ahead of the competition, it is important to be aware of the latest and greatest content marketing trends. Inbound Marketing Agents recently had an interesting article “Top 5 Coolest Content Marketing Trends” by Michael Dooley that I’d like to share with you.  If you aren’t already employing these tactics, it may be time to start. Let’s take a look at the 5 hottest content marketing trends right now:

1. Where Are You Right Now?

Content has become more and more personalized down to the user’s pinpoint location. This is a good thing for both brands and consumers. For brands, it allows them to engage with and reward customers more easily while adding a personal touch. For consumers, this helps find the best products and services closest to them.

Location services can be very useful sources of information. For example, the mobile app “Timbre” allows users to access a calendar of upcoming concerts based on their current location or a zip code. Location based services still concern many mobile users who simply don’t want their device to keep track of their location. However, location based content marketing provides these users with an incentive to disclose their location including offers and promotions from their favourite brands.

2. Microsites

In today’s information age, people don’t want to be overwhelmed by too much at once. This is especially true when they are considering buying something. Microsites can help consumers make the purchase decision by getting straight to the point and delivering what customers want. Microsites can be deployed quickly and used for specific events, promotions or special offers. They can even allow your audience to opt-in for more information. Since microsites require the user to provide information and take action, anyone who does is already a qualified lead.

3. The Online Spokesperson

In the digital age of internet superstars, brands are looking for YouTube sensations to represent them. When done properly, these video campaigns have little to do with the product or service and instead focus on the audience and their personality. When your audience feels the content was designed for them, they will be much more inclined to seek out your product or service.

4. Swipe The Page

There’s a huge market for electronic books and newspapers, so it’s not much of a surprise to learn that digital magazines have also become a hit. Existing publications can easily distribute content directly to the mobile devices of their readers. This has created an opportunity for businesses to create an outlet for their own original content. Customers can download free magazines, purchase individual issues, and subscribe to download multiple issues of their favorite publication. Brands can utilize these magazines to build on an existing audience, develop a new audience, or foster brand loyalty. With these magazine pages in PDF style, it only takes the swipe of a finger to browse through pages of rich images and text.

5. The Big Picture

Infographics have become increasingly popular lately, and when used properly can be an extremely powerful tool. They are used to give us visual representations and are a great way to present facts, figures, or complex information. Infographics utilize design elements that tap into the visual side of the brain to make the information easier to process and understand. One reason why infographics are so useful is because people are suffering from information overload. As consumers, we’ve grown accustomed to digesting an increased amount of information in concise portions. People don’t want to read long, wordy reports; they want to get straight to the point.

Remember, these trends are great today but you should be consistently thinking ahead to what may be great tomorrow to get a leg up on your competition.

Jaclyn Bickerton, Social Media, Raven5 Ltd, Oakville & Toronto July 2013

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