The marketing world changes every day, so it’s no surprise that experts are predicting a change in content marketing from this year to next.  It’s important to keep up with content marketing trends so that your business can stand up to the competition; content marketing isn’t going anywhere, and this industry is said to be worth close to $400 billion by 2021.  Audiences are forever demanding more from businesses, and this goes for their content as well; they have all the information they need instantly at their fingertips and more choices than they know what to do with, so they won’t settle for subpar marketing tactics.  Make sure your business is ready to take on 2019 with these 5 important content marketing trends.

  1. Remarketing

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Remarketing is what happens when you show customers who’ve browsed your website ads as they surf the net.  This is a strategy that’s become popular in 2018, and it’s only going to become more so in 2019.  That’s because it works; data shows that the more a customer sees an ad, the more conversion rates increase.  People who choose to click on an ad after they’ve viewed it a few times are twice as likely to convert.  It’s not hard to use this trend as long as you keep data on your customers (which you should).  Put together a group of people who’ve browsed your site but not purchased anything, and show them a personalized ad, such as a discount code.  Google Adwords has an option for remarketing, and so does Facebook, among others.  This is a trend that’s definitely worth pursuing in the coming year.  If you’ve already mastered remarketing and are ready to go beyond with some more creative strategies, make sure to check out this article on No Risk SEO!

  1. Influencer marketing

No, we’re not talking about paying Beyonce or Justin Bieber to market your product (though that would probably be pretty effective, if you could afford the price tag!).  Influencer marketing is obtainable for small businesses, and it’s something we expect to see more of in 2018.  Get together with another successful brand that compliments your product, and co-create content with them.  Then you both promote that content to your individual audiences, generating more publicity, more leads, and hopefully more conversions by exposing yourself to a new group of consumers.  For example, Time Warner Business Class teamed up with Green Dot Public Schools to make videos showing how Time Warner helps them meet their goals.  The videos generated tons of new content for Time Warner while also benefiting Green Dot.

  1. Long form content

 

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Plan on creating more long form content next year as search engines begin to prioritize it in their rankings.  And because people have so many choices available to them, they’re looking for only the most trustworthy and dependable sources.  Any content over 2000 words qualifies as long form, but make sure what you’re writing adds value to the lives of your consumers- you won’t win any points with customers by wasting their time with thoughtless content.  Long form content is an investment to create; it takes more time, obviously, and more ingenuity than typical short content does, but in the end it’s worth the time and effort put forth.  Long form content is much more likely to be shared on social media; the longer it is, the more likely it is to be shared.  Thus, you’ll win over customers and search engines- you can’t go wrong!  The New York Times is famous for producing high quality long form content, like this multi-chapter article on Washington State’s Tunnel Creek Avalanche.

  1. Video Marketing

 

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Video marketing has been called the future of content marketing, and for good reason.  Cisco believes that by 2019 video will take up 80% of the Internet’s traffic.  If this statistic isn’t enough to get you to turn your camera on, I don’t know what is.  Apple brilliantly combined video marketing and influencer marketing when they teamed up with Taylor Swift to produce the “Taylor vs. Treadmill” video advertising for Apple Music.  The funny yet relatable video went viral and brought tons of new publicity to Apple.  Live broadcasts are extremely popular in that they show transparency in a company, which builds trust with their audience.  Consider going “live” to discuss an upcoming sale, to give your customers a tour of your shop, or to host a question and answer session.  I guarantee consumers will thank you for it, and reward you with shares, likes, and conversions.

  1. Put your audience’s needs first

This might seem like common sense to some, but when creating content, do you really think about what your audience wants and needs to see?  Or do you only think about what you want to create?  Don’t be afraid to ask them what they’re looking for- and then provide it.  By doing this you almost guarantee they’ll find value in what you’re producing, which also means they’re more likely to discuss it, share it, and take action on it.  In addition, this builds trust with your consumers which is extremely important to a business’s success.  Give them content that they need, and make it easy for them to find.  Be consistent, and make sure it’s all about them and their needs, not you and yours.

Content marketing trends are forever changing, but follow these simple ideas and you’ll definitely be ready to take your business to the next level in 2019.  Choose the strategies that fit best with your business, and don’t be afraid to personalize them and make them unique to you.  And once you find something(s) that works- run with it!  If you still need a little more help producing content, this article by No Risk SEO shares some helpful tools.  What strategies do you predict will trend in 2019?  Comment in the section below!

Image 1: coredna.com

Image 2: thenytimes.com

Image 3: youtube.com