Infographic by Unbounce
2015 marked some big developments in content marketing. Periscope launched in March 2015. Other livestreaming apps Meerkat and Blab also joined the fray. Snapchat became more mainstream, hitting over 100 million active users. B2B marketers vow to create more content in 2016 than in 2015. Contently shares that many companies are transitioning “from a consumer brand to full-fledged media company.” Their article, titled, “The New Red Bulls: Why Every Big Brand is Launching a Media Company,” goes on to explain that “brands devoting themselves to publishing projects are doing so with gusto...large brands like GE and IBM are publishing more content per week now than Time did in its heyday.”
How can you utilize content marketing to help your business? We’ve collected advice to help streamline the process with a heavy emphasis on preparation so you don’t get bogged down or discouraged in 2016.
Beyond PR says, “When considering your strategy for the coming year, the #1 rule to remember is that these are not individual campaigns you’re planning. Your communications don’t exist in a vacuum. Every white paper, every tweet, every blog post, every press release – it’s all a piece of your brand’s PR and marketing program.”
2. Understand Your Target Audience
Heidi Cohen advises, “To develop results-producing content, you need a 360-degree view of your core audience.” She also provides 13 content-oriented questions to help you gain this 360-degree understanding.
3. Understand this is a team effort
To be competitive, the task of creating fresh content cannot fall on just one or a few people's’ shoulders. Instead, as MarketingLand urges, “Draw up an editorial calendar and commission your team with assignments.”
4. Understand the need for consistency
“The truth is, if you’re going to blog, you need to show up consistently and deliver the goods. The proverbial goods being high quality content [and] great value,” explains Maggie Patterson, an online business consultant.
5. Understand You’re Not Alone
Many tools exist to help generate ideas, schedule content, and boost content. BoltonRemote provides several in their article, “9 Tips and Tools to Plan Your Content for the New Year” including Bottlenose, which provides insights on trends to write about, and GatherContent, where you can plan, organize, and produce content.
Have you outlined your 2016 content marketing goals and strategy yet?
