Though “content marketing” is now the normal practice for all brands within the last 15 to 20 years, the idea of creating content precisely for your brand’s target customers is not new. According to an institute blog post ’Content Marketing’ content marketing has constantly been about telling stories — but online channels have made the obstructions in entering the publishing arena much lower.
Ten years ago, only brands with sufficient money to print their own journals or finance a television or radio program could enter into content marketing. As technology grew and opened up different avenues for sharing photos, blogging, and uploading videos. Now more companies in different industries could make their voices heard.
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But current years have brought on some major changes in the kind of content that is formed — and the means it’s pushed out to the public.
Five Ways Content Marketing Has Radically Evolved:
Content Marketing: then and now
1. From Text to vVsual
From posting pictures on Instagram to sharing a Snapchat story or using emojis to send an entire message. Now consumers are communicating in pictures, not words. As consumers continue to link visually, brands have modernized their content marketing to be more visual, too.
2. From One-size-fits-all to Personalized
Brands used to focus on a particular kind of content marketing, in which everything was produced and sent out to their audience the same way. Single-channel delivery methods no longer exist in a world where customers consume content at their own speed and on their preferred networks.
In the early days, websites were largely looked at as online advertising material. Today, websites need to be planned to accommodate a host of ‘customer journeys.’ Brands need to section their customers to truly know their needs and wants and send a digital experience that speaks to them precisely.
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3. From Quantity to Quality
Several years ago, brands to produce much content as they can, not considering whether it was good. The notion was that the more you published current content, the higher search engines would rank you.
It’s still true that regular publishers enjoy better search results because of their content quality. In order to relevant, one has to push out many contents. Because of the excessive number of articles out there, your content must stand out in uniqueness. Your headline must be something catchy and the body should be well written as well. If not, you will lose out in content marketing trend.
4. From Strictly Informative to Multifaceted and Relatable
In the past, most branded content was almost entirely focused on product info: what the product is, when and how to use it, etc. This aided people who were precisely looking for details about the product, but didn’t do much.
To get consumers engage, your content should not push products. It needs to be true, add value and convey a higher lifestyle. In content marketing, your product should be able to relate to the average person.
The more people talk about something, the more likely they are to share it with others. Commenting on what’s trending on social media or common social woes like #MondayMornings will help your brand stand out.
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5. From Trial-and-Error to Data-Driven
Marketers initially did content marketing simply because we’re told they needed a website, a blog and social profiles. They were publishing content, but not checking its performance to see what audiences really liked. Now, marketers can more accurately and quickly optimize content that is working and retire different topics and formats that are not, to maximize results.
Where is Content Marketing Trend Heading to?
Our professional sources shared their views on where the new and enhanced notion of content marketing will go in the future years:
- Stock Photos Will Fade Away.
Typical photography is rapidly losing significance to editorial-style creative. So, if you’re still defaulting to sterile product photos [with a] white background on your product pages, on your social channels etc. This will not work well cos your clients will prefer clicking on the product that is being placed on someone’s hand.
- Varied, Multichannel Campaigns will Help Content Spread
The art of telling stories in content marketing of various forms will be used to showcase brand’s identity. Marketers are distributing this content across channels for the best engagement.
- Content Strategies will Utilize Location Data
Content marketing, like all forms of marketing, works efficiently when it is powered by data and consumer insights. Location data can help marketers understand consumer’s behavior.
- The ‘customer journey‘ will Drive Content Creation
The proliferation of channels and new approaches to communication has fundamentally changed the way buyers make purchase decisions and interact with brands. The excess of touch points available online and off-line have put customers in the driver’s seat, allowing them to choose their own roadmap and experience with a brand rather than following linear routes dictated by marketers.
