Top 3 Content Marketing Trends for 2017

Content marketing is an integral part of both B2B and B2C marketing efforts, and provides one of the most dynamic ways to engage consumers. For successful content marketing, it’s important to break through the clutter by staying on top of the latest trends, and adapting your content strategy to fit changing consumer habits and preferences.

Below we’ve rounded up our top 3 content marketing trends for 2017.

Visual content

Visual content is becoming more and more popular, with videos leading that charge. According to Marketo, video accounts for 74 percent of all internet traffic, with 59 percent of executives preferring to watch a video on a product rather than read text.

With the introduction of Facebook Live, Instagram stories and other options, it’s easier than ever to distribute video content. Videos can be used for just about anything — from customer testimonials and how-to’s to live Q&A’s and product demonstrations — so there’s no excuse not to include them as part of your content marketing. Brainstorm video topics and ideas, and choose what makes sense for your company.

And don’t forget to repurpose video content to maximize exposure, improve SEO or just refresh old content. Consider multiple edits or cut-downs of longer-form videos to use across a variety of media outlets or social media channels. You could add subtitles to a video to feature at a tradeshow — or shorten a YouTube video to share on Facebook.

Interactive

Another way to cut through the increasingly crowded media landscape is to provide interactive content. From graphs and maps to surveys and quizzes, interactive content increases user engagement, and therefore increases the likelihood that content will be shared. In fact, research from the Content Marketing Institute and Ion Interactive found that 81% of marketers agree interactive content grabs more attention than static content.

The popularity of interactive content is easy to see just by scrolling through your Facebook feed. If it’s anything like most feeds, it’s probably filled with friends posting interactive maps from leading news sources, or sharing results of silly quizzes.

And while most marketers have implemented content marketing, fewer are offering interactive content. So if you’re able to provide quality content that your audience wants to interact with, it’s a good way (for now, anyway) to set yourself apart from competitors.

Personalization

Personalization is all about offering content specifically tailored to individuals and starts with understanding your audience. What are their pain points, where do they find content, and what challenges do they face? Find out what speaks to your audience and where to speak to them — and then speak their language!

Providing the right content to the right person at the right time can be tricky, but it’s not as complicated as it may seem. Start small by looking at what your competitors are doing, and, above all, listen. Note key consumer insights, track their behaviors, and adapt your content topics and strategy to these findings. Personalization tends to outperform “static” content, so be sure not to overlook this trend, as it’s likely one that’s here to stay.

Embracing these three trends in content marketing can give your business a leg up on competition, so be sure to keep them in mind as you optimize or expand your marketing efforts through the rest of the year.