As with everything else in the digital world, content marketing is constantly evolving into something bigger and better. So as marketers, we have to roll with the punches and change with it.
Content marketing tactics can be different for B2B companies from their B2C counterparts. But at the end of the day it is still all about sales. Content marketing needs to drive prospects into the top of the funnel and at the sharp end they become customers and brand advocates.
So what are the most important content marketing goals?
According to this excerpt from an infographic from infographicsdesignspro.com here are the top 5 goals for B2B. For the consumer facing brands I don’t think it would be much different. Start with brand awareness and then turn that into sales.
The problem is, there is a lot of outdated information out there that doesn’t really teach us anything about the future of content.
So what is the state of content marketing for 2015?
Take a look at these 7 powerful stats from Wyzowl, to find out….
1. 53% of content marketers don’t measure ROI
If you’re not measuring your content’s ROI then how do you know you’re doing it right? Content really can improve your conversions but many marketers make the mistake of creating it just because it’s the ‘in’ thing to do.
It’s important to measure your campaigns so that you continue to improve your content throughout 2015. Whether you’re creating an infographic, blog, or an image on social, you need to make sure you analyse the amount of clicks, page views and social shares so you can see which content works best for your business.
2. 70% said social media is the most effective content marketing tool
It looks like social media is here to stay and it’s hardly surprising to see why. Social media is the easiest way to connect to the people that matter most – your audience. Not only is it the best way to share your content, but it’s also a content creation tool in itself.
Jump on any social platform and you can source valuable content that can be shared on your channels, and used to inspire your own content. Make sure you keep using social media management platforms to curate content, schedule your own – and to learn when your audience is most engaged so you can make the most of your campaigns.
3. 40% of marketers don’t have a defined content strategy
If you don’t have a defined strategy in place then you’re going into content marketing completely blind.
Your strategy should outline your goals so you can measure ROI, and it should also detail which content you want to create, depending on which part of the sales funnel you are targeting. This will not only help you increase your reach, but your leads and conversions too.
Content has different purposes, falling under the categories of: attract, convert, close and delight. Take a look at the graphic below from HubSpot, to see which types of content work better at which stage…
4. 80% of marketers only publish content on their website
An incredible 80% of people surveyed said they only publish content on their own website, meaning they could be missing out on reaching a wider audience.
Creating content takes a lot of time and hard, so make sure your efforts don’t go to waste by not doing any outreach work. No matter what type of content you’ve created, there is still a huge opportunity to get other people to post it on their site – it’s just a question of how you approach them.
Bloggers and influencers can help you reach a large audience, so if they are posting similar content to you, chances are they will be interested in yours. Drop them an email and tell them that you love what they do and you want to help them out at the same time…
It could look something like this:
5. Video is the most popular form of content to create
58% of content marketers surveyed, said they believe that video is the most effective marketing medium. It’s pretty clear that people prefer to consume visual content ahead of text, so it makes sense that video is charging ahead in 2015 as the preferred content channel.
There are plenty of platforms that have now made it easy for brands to publish videos on the fly. Vine, Instagram and even Twitter offer video within their apps, so make sure you take advantage of this and post videos whenever you can.
Alternatively, if you want to create an explainer video that lets your audience know exactly what you can do for them, then this is also a popular route to take as it helps to engage the customer and cuts down on support queries.
6. 76% think that content should provide actionable information
There’s often a debate in content marketing about whether it should be created to purely entertain and increase brand reach, or whether it should be created to drive conversions. As I’ve already mentioned above, different types of content will achieve different goals, but it’s clear that marketers believe actionable content is the future.
The truth is, you can still create fun content but to improve your shares, leads and conversions, you need to be telling the customer what to do next. Should they sign up for your email newsletter? Should they give you a call? Or should they share on social?
Give your customers actionable information on what they need to do once they’ve read your content.
7. 86% of marketers plan to spend more on content for 2015
The good news is that we know how important content is which is why we’re concentrating more of our efforts – and money – on using it throughout 2015.
The future takeaway here is to create content for the sales funnel, make it relevant to your audience, and keep measuring your ROI so you can continue to improve your strategy!
Written by Sarah Quinn. To read the full article, click here. For more information on creating your own online brand, custom WordPress website and social media strategy, please visit us at www.mydigibrand.com and follow us everywhere @mydigitalbrand.