Content marketing is always changing in response the way users interact online and the way that sites like Google and Facebook change their algorithms, resulting in changes to the type of exposure brands can get.
Keeping up with content marketing trends can help you stay aware of the latest changes to the landscape, as well as what your competitors might be doing to reach your audience.
Here are the 2017 top 5 content marketing trends you need to know about right now:
Robots will Replace Writers
As our technology continues to advance, it seems to find a way to do everything for us.
That’s good news for brands and bad news for writers.
Robotic algorithms are now producing content about simple topics, like weather predictions for a particular city or region. That means that freelancers who pump out simple articles will likely be finding a lot less work soon, and it means that brands will start saving money on their content marketing.
Soon, industry insiders predict that the algorithms will get more sophisticated and will be able to produce lengthy and complex content.
We’re not sold on the idea that robots could ever produce the same quality content as experienced writers who know your niche, but the possibilities for limited use here are exciting.
Content will be More Visual
Images and other visual aids are already very important for promoting content.
When was the last time you saw an article without a photo? Chances are that if you did, you just kept right on clicking without reading anything.
However, the demand for visuals has only grown. In fact, much content is exclusively visual, such as gifs, vines and videos. People find this type of content easier to consume when trying to manage their busy schedule, and people are more engaged by this type of content.
Interactive Content will Grow
User engagement is at the core of any content marketing plan. One of the best ways to make users feel more engaged is to create interactive content.
Marketers are taking notice, and more brands are now producing interactive content such as surveys, quizzes, maps, and even virtual reality experiences.
Just think about all those Buzz Feed quizzes you see shared on Facebook. Do you really care if your friend is Cersei from Game of Thrones and your dad is Tyrion? Probably not. But people like to take these tests to have their self-image affirmed, and they share those results for the same reasons. Meanwhile, Buzz Feed gets a crazy amount of page views and shares, generating more ad revenue.
For more serious publishers, you can see the success of interactive content in graphs and maps that show things like the average price of real estate in each state or the living wage by area. People click on these types of content because they want to see how they compare, and they often share the content to express some personal opinion about the “state of things.”
Finding ways to create interactive content will help you get more user engagement and more shares, which will lead to more traffic for your site and more brand exposure.
Users will Aggregate Content
More people are going to be getting their content from friends and family, not from brands themselves.
Facebook just announced an algorithm change that prioritizes the content shared by friends and family shared in the news feed, which means that brand content will get the most exposure only when it is shared by someone users know.
Meanwhile, tools like Project Lightning from Twitter are aggregating content by looking at images, videos and updates to create information about trending stories.
Publishers will have to work very hard to find a way to break through these barriers and make sure that their voices are being heard by their audiences. Otherwise, they will be quickly pushed out of the picture.
Social Media will Offer More Options
Though social media is getting more restrictive in some ways, it is also offering more options for publishing content.
For example, Facebook introduced instant articles so that publishers can get more of their content in the news feed and capture the attention of more users.
Google is also introducing an instant article format for mobile users, which will give brands more visibility with that audience.
It is important that you incorporate these options into your content marketing strategy and that you find smart ways to use them. You can’t just publish an instant article and expect the traffic to come pouring in. You need to publish the type of content that these users want and that will best engage them.
Content marketing is becoming more challenging, but it still offers a valuable way to reach your audience. It is important that you look at these trends and make changes to your content marketing strategy as needed.