Content Marketing Trends to Watch in 2019
As digital marketing trends come and go, one that’s here to stay is content marketing. Advancements in technology and new approaches help it to continue to grow and evolve. As you plan and refine your strategy for the months ahead, it’s worth gaining an awareness of new developments that are becoming increasingly useful. Let’s explore some of the hottest content marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2019:
Increasing Importance of Authenticity
Consumers are drawn towards brands that demonstrate authenticity and transparency. Younger consumers, in particular, can easily identify marketing messages that come off as manufactured. They’re looking for companies that they can connect with.
Stackla finds that 86% of consumers rate authenticity as a deciding factor when choosing which brands to support. The key to attracting and appealing to customers today is to have a clearly defined message that reflects your brand’s values and beliefs.
Content created by consumers is one of the best ways to demonstrate transparency and show buyers that your company is the real deal. Customer reviews, testimonials, and positive social media ratings influence people as they make purchasing decisions. Consider incorporating user-generated content into your marketing strategy to appeal to buyers.
More Personalized Content
As technology changes and evolves, the ability to offer consumers more personalized content is becoming easier. As a result, people are expecting to see more personalized content that caters to their needs. Personalization helps your audience feel valued and offers them more relevant material.
Interactivity is a smart way to increase engagement and customer satisfaction. To incorporate it in your marketing, you can create things like maps, calculators, quizzes, idea generators, animated infographics, videos, and much more. With so many options, you should be able to find at least one or a few approaches that fit your budget and your brand.
Partnering with Influencers
Tapping into the power of influencers on social media gives you a way to get in front of your target audience and grab their attention. Think about influencers in your industry who you can approach to collaborate with. They can promote your brand and use your products, giving you exposure to your ideal buyers. A partnership with an influencer can take many forms. Ultimately, the goal should be building a good relationship with someone who understands and appeals to your customers.
Short Videos
Video marketing offers an ideal way for brands to tell a story and capture attention. Great videos can go viral, bringing a brand exposure and helping expand reach. A recent survey by Altimeter found that short form video is the best performing content for companies. It can drive engagement, especially when shared on social media.
You don’t need long, complex, and professionally produced videos to make an impact, either. It’s a medium that’s actually easy to work with and can give your audience that authentic feel. Even on a small budget, you can create simple explainers and how-to’s or behind-the-scenes look at your business. You can upload the videos to your website, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Facebook.
Long Form Content
You may have heard more buzz about long form content in the past year, and it’s a trend that’s going to continue. Long form content outperforms shorter pieces in search engines, helping to boost the content’s ranking. As competition for taking the top slots on search engines remains as fierce as ever, strong website content is essential.
Longer content also helps to keep people sticking around on your site. In turn, that can lead to more page views and a lower bounce rate.
Your content marketing plan should always be evolving. By taking some of these latest trends and incorporating them into your strategy now, you’ll show consumers that you’re current and catering to their preferences.
Interested to learn more about how to leverage these content marketing trends for your digital marketing strategy? Contact us today!