Content marketing is becoming increasingly essential for companies who want to have a strong online presence. Without a targeted content strategy in place, companies could find themselves at a significant disadvantage compared to their competitors.
According to a recent infographic produced by Smart Insights, content marketing is the favorite commercially important trend in digital marketing in 2015. However, as content marketing continues to evolve, success will depend on keeping up with the trends. Here are some ways for your business to succeed in 2015 and going forwards.
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The Importance of Distribution
Creation is only the first stage of content marketing and strategic distribution is going to become increasingly important over the coming years. Many businesses now invest in producing valuable content that engages their customers. However, as competition for readers grows, the ability for your content to be seen is becoming more difficult.
The combination of content creation strategies together with social media distribution strategies, like reaching out to influencers, is going to be a key focus. Successful companies will need to make sure they focus as much on their distribution methods, or more, than content creation.
More Focus on Mobile-Optimized Content
Making sure your content is readable for mobile users is essential. More and more people are accessing content via mobile devices. Your website may already be responsive, but you need to ensure that the content being produced can be easily navigated and read by mobile users.
Mobile friendly sites positively affect search rankings, so content that can be viewed well on mobile devices should no longer be seen as optional. To make sure you are on top of your competitors, it is recommended that you must implement a mobile-friendly website.
Increased Investment in Advertorial Content
Native advertising is set to grow this year, as more companies use content as a form of advertising. Many large publishers are making use of native advertising on their websites and for many companies this is proving more effective than banner ads.
Strategically placed content draws in readers and provides them with a valuable experience. The use of content may seem less intrusive when compared with traditional product and service selling ads. Therefore, it is likely that publishers and advertisers will see closer collaboration as paid content provides increasing value to readers.
Changing of SEO Tactics
Content marketing and SEO are becoming more intertwined and content marketing is steadily becoming one of the most important SEO factors. High-quality content that is shared across the web generates links that affect rankings. As a result, it will continue to play a crucial role in SEO.
Despite the growing importance of content for SEO purposes, tactics currently being used will need to be adapted in order to take full advantage the changes. For example, meta keywords are no longer useful—Google has said so very clearly—and they could even come across as spam.
However, careful consideration of factors like anchor text are still important, as well as creating compelling meta descriptions that are important for CTR. Of course, the most important overall factor will be the creation of authoritative content that is easily shared.
Renewed Focus on Email Marketing
Email marketing has got a bad reputation in recent times, due to the misuse and abuse of the tactic. Many companies switched to tactics that were focused on making quick sales rather than nurturing long-term relationships.
However, good content marketers will continue to use email to provide high-quality content and resources for their users. Email and newsletters allow companies to share their recent activities and updated articles with their customers. Those who use email wisely can expect significant benefits as email continues to play a large role in content marketing strategies.
Continued Growth of Guest Blogging
Guest blogging has long been an important strategy. Yet, it is also considered as a content marketing and SEO tactic. Building numerous links through low-quality content has taken a back seat. However, guest blogging continues to be a useful way to improve branding and increase exposure for content marketers and therefore is likely to remain an important tactic.
Make Your Content Marketing Work for You this Year
Content marketing has been an important part of online marketing. Its importance looks set to continue to increase. There are many useful predictions for content marketing for the year ahead at the Content Marketing Institute and throughout the web. So, remember to check these out and focus on developing your own content strategy and take full advantage of all the benefits content marketing can bring.
