Christmas is a time to reflect on the year that has passed. Step back from your business and give it some real thought. Or ignore it completely and drown yourself if ham, turkey, wine and lager. Whichever you chose to do, we hope you had a great silly season.While the world is recovering, take the time to consider what really worked for you in 2016. What did you want to tackle; but never got around to? What had your customers running for the hills instead of running to your door?
The successes and pitfalls, the good, the bad and the ugly of content marketing need to be audited to provide a blueprint for your marketing model in the year to come.It has been another fast paced year in the content marketing world with writers and developers discovering diverse ways to make brands shine in a busy marketplace. What approaches will you need to take in the New Year to smack your buyer persona right in the face and get ahead in the game?
Here is some insight into what we foresee to be growing trends of content marketing practices in 2017:
- Unique Ideas :Try to avoid doing things the same way that everyone else has already been doing them. One of the most difficult things to do in business is remove yourself from the daily grind of your activities and look at your marketing strategies with fresh eyes and an objective perspective. More so than ever, 2017 will require business owners and managers to reflect on ‘outside the box’ opportunities and evangelise beyond the constraints of mainstream marketing. Take a risk, go out on a limb. Whatever the analogy you choose, we suggest you emulate the best in the business and follow emerging trends; but tailor your strategies a little differently to get you noticed.
- Personalisation: Buyer persona versus target market has been a buzzword phrase over the last few years. We predict that it will continue to be a key consideration in 2017. Content marketers will need to delve even deeper into the psyche and personality of the audience they want to resonate with and be more specific about their buyer personas. You need to choose language that makes your buyers ‘feel’ like you know them and are talking to them specifically. Consumer engagement should go beyond catchy headlines that get your customers to read your articles or visit your page; you need to reward them for participating by giving them precisely what they’re looking for.
- Rich Media: Bring your content to life with high quality and engaging material that also features an element of entertainment. Rich media can encompass gamification, videos and interactive tools such as interactive infographics. Content writers are preparing to enhance their script writing skills as video marketing is gaining momentum. Think about what services or products are unique to your business that could earn a special place in a creative Rich Media arena. When people are giving you their time, don’t waste it. Keep it interesting.
- Social Media Customer Service: Don’t underestimate the importance of great customer service on your social media platforms. Unhappy customers are heading to business social media pages more frequently to air their grievances because it’s easy, convenient and they’ll get their message across. We all know how damaging poor word of mouth can be. Everyone loves observing a good social media biff. If your unhappy customer is met with a blunt response “Please contact customer service on – blah blah” their blood will boil and they’ll continue their social slaying.
Businesses need to embrace their disgruntled customers on social media. Give them a big virtual emoji hug and the acknowledgment they’re looking for (within reason of course). Give them a reason to adjust their attitude and they will become a loyal brand ambassador, along with those that watched on with interest.I’m sure we’ll see some very interesting developments in 2017’s Content Marketing approaches. Nurture your brand and hold your content in high regard so you can make your marketing work for you rather than you working for it.
I hope we see some controversy and dynamo approaches to really spark up modern marketing. But really, all anyone in business needs is happy customers and healthy bottom lines. What other content marketing trends are going to be winners this year? We'd love to hear from you. Contact us today.
