Your organisation’s content marketing strategy was a runaway hit in 2018. You think that you can rest easy and apply the same strategy for yet another year? It’s time you get a reality check. While some trends may continue to shape content strategies in the coming year, many a time what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow.
It’s December already. It’s that time of the year when you take stock of what strategies worked for you in 2018, and predict what strategies you need to put your money on in 2019.
Be it a B2B or a B2C audience, buyer preferences are constantly changing. For companies worldwide, it is a challenge to keep up with these changing preferences and ensure their messaging resonates with the different needs and expectations of people.
So how can you as a marketer adapt to these dynamic changes and draw your buyers’ attention? You are probably already googling content marketing trends and predictions in for 2019 to take a cue from.
Well, here’s some help for you.
The trends discussed below may help you in shaping your content marketing strategy for the coming year.
Give due attention to your audience
There is an overdoze of content everywhere. How then do you get your audience to take a second look at YOUR content? How do you grab their attention?
Personalise!
Unless you personalise your messaging across all digital channels, consider your audience lost to you. Personalising and specifically calling out to your audience will make sure that your content is noticed and consumed.
According to recent research from Salesforce, 65% of B2B audience said they’d shift brands if they didn’t receive personalised communication from a company.
Use of AI tools and Chatbots: let content take care of itself
It is impossible to talk about content trends without considering the emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence. 2019 is going to witness content that is mostly AI driven.
There is so much content out there, that it is almost impossible for anyone to filter out and identify what they really need. It becomes overwhelming for anyone to spend hours on the internet trying to walk through the information jungle they are stuck in.
Today more than 70% of consumers have issues with content online. That includes language barriers, lack of customisation and the inability to find the right content (SDL, 2019)
As a marketer, you are better off spending your time in creating better content strategies than wasting time wading through this mess. AI tools can aid in repurposing, analysing, personalizing content to make your messaging more focussed and effective.
Yet another way to record and learn your audience behaviour is by enabling chatbots on your website. Chatbots can help personalise the audiences’ browsing experience and also to strike a conversation with them while they are visiting your website.
If technology can make your life simpler, why not use them? Let content create and manage itself.
Mobile is where your content is
How many times do you unlock your mobile in a day? Do you use more of your laptop or your mobile phone? Answers to these questions seem quite obvious, isn’t it?
According to a recent Deloitte research, the average American looks at their smartphone 52 times a day.
Here in lies a big opportunity to reach your audience – through their mobile screens.
With mobiles in mind, B2B marketers need to consider the way content is approached in terms of experience and design. It is a must to ensure that your content looks seamless across all channels and screens of all sizes.
Videos will continue to dominate
If there is one trend that is going to continue its dominance in 2019, it is videos. Video marketing.
According to Cisco’s annual Visual Network Index (VNI) forecast, video is forecasted to occupy 82% of all internet traffic by 2021.
That should give you a good idea of the power that videos will have over your audience. Video marketing is inexpensive and can easily be implemented with a few simple steps. With a carefully crafted strategy that involves video content, you will easily be able to influence and win over your audience.
Influencers can do the trick
With so many brands vying for popularity and success, audiences are left wondering who to trust. Who can they rely on to satisfy their content needs? How do you build the trust factor with your audience?
Influencers can add a lot of value to your marketing efforts. Audiences can relate to influential faces more. It becomes easy to create a bridge of trust between your brand and your audience through influencer marketing.
Mastering influencer marketing is not rocket science.
A few easy steps and you can see your engagement rates increasing.
Podcasting
Podcasting for many years has been a silent means to share knowledge and experiences. Many top-tier companies have been using podcasts to have Q&A sessions or storytelling sessions. Companies over the globe have suddenly woken up to the potential that podcasts offer.
Watch out Clearly Blue’s space, as we plan to introduce some interesting podcasts soon.
As said earlier, content marketing keeps evolving year on year. As a marketer, you need to pull your socks up, keep your ears and eyes open for predictions and trends. These insights will help you create a winning content marketing strategy for 2019.
Here’s to an eventful year ahead. Cheers!
[divider height=”30″ style=”default” line=”default” themecolor=”1″]
References:
https://www.circlesstudio.com/blog/2019-b2b-marketing-trends/
https://www.content4demand.com/blog/forecasting-2019-10-content-marketing-trends-to-watch/