Though content marketing is a rather new idea in historical terms, in the ever-changing online landscape, it has reached a certain degree of maturity. Almost everyone is using content marketing now, and the amount of content produced is staggering. To stand out from the crowd, you can't be trying to catch up with it; you need to anticipate what content marketing will look like in the future.
So what is the future of content marketing? By looking at current trends in the industry, we can make some predictions and get ahead of the game.
Sharing vs. Searching
Content marketing has largely been about SEO: Search Engine Optimization. People would find answers by searching for them, and you wanted to be presented as the top answer.
Though searching is definitely not dead, it is taking a different form. People now and in the future are more likely to come across content via social media sharing, rather than searching. Besides making your content easy to share on social media, optimizing for shares rather than searches requires a somewhat different approach. For example, the type of headline that would make the most sense for search engines might be too bland to draw many clicks from social media feeds.
Also, searches are moving from Google to social media sites. Optimizing for Facebook Graph Search, or other social search functions sure to come, has more to do with networking and customer relations than link building.
Utility vs. Information
Content marketing seems to be about providing information. In reality, it should be about providing utility.
You want to solve someone's problem. That could be the definition of business, and it should be the definition of content marketing. Your content should meet a need. By meeting that need and providing utility for the consumer, the content will provide utility for you by moving them along in the sales cycle or customer relationship process.
Specific vs. Broad
To better meet the specific needs of your target audience, your content will have to get more specific. You need to consider the different buyer personas you are dealing with and create content for each one.
Consider how TV became more specialized as the number of channels went from three or four networks to hundreds of options. Instead of a broad appeal-to-the-masses approach, you have entire channels devoted to cooking or baseball. In the online space, you go from a few hundred to a few million channels. That means you can get extremely specific, and in the process become the fan favorite for a certain segment of the population.
Stories vs. Data
If you really want to engage with people through your content, you need to look at it as sharing stories that people can identify with and connect with personally.
Though technology will continue to change, people largely remain the same. The core needs, wants and emotions of humans are the same today as they were centuries ago. They want to be loved, to be connected in relationships, to be happy and feel secure. By focusing on the human side and relating to people as people, you can hit all the right buttons for them to buy, like, share or recommend your company.
The details of the technology being used will change over time. But by keeping these core concepts in mind when creating content, the technological details will be just that: details.
* Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
