Content Marketing Strategies that will work in 2018

As the old saying goes “Content is the reason search began in the first place” holds true in the present digital marketing world wherein content marketing is the go-to-marketing strategy of every brand to gain more visibility and popularity.

When it comes to content marketing, the general perception that prevails is great content is always in the form of chunks of text. However, the year 2018 will see new content marketing strategies dominating the scenario. From catchy videos to interactive podcasts, stunning pictures to funny Gifs, consistently sharing interesting and engaging content enables you to break through the noise and connect with your target audience in the most effective way.

In this blog, we will be taking a deeper dive into content marketing strategies that will rock in 2018.

Live Video is taking over

As per a survey by the Buffer, over 80% of the marketers stated that they want to create video content and out of this percentage 40% stated they are more keen towards making live videos. Still not convinced? Here are some statistics uncovered:

As per a survey by Livestream, approximately 80% of respondents stated that they would prefer seeing a live video over reading a blog post.
Again, 82% of respondents stated that they were more keen on watching a live video from any brand than seeing their social media posts.
Thus, live video content will be dominating the content scene in 2018, and if you add it in your content marketing strategy then you can easily outshine your competitors. Live videos are a huge hit with the audience as they give the excitement of watching in-the-moment content rather than watching a recorded video.

Live Videos are best used for launching new products and services, holding Q & A sessions, short training sessions, or to show an event which your audience is otherwise not able to attend and the bonus is they can submit feedback right away and get answers as well. Live video is a great way to keep your audience excited and engaged.

Content Personalization takes the center stage

As per a recently conducted study by Experian, personalized emails boast off 6 times higher CTR when compared to emails that aren’t personalized.
Similarly, it has been observed, websites with personalized content for visitors received an 18% increase in their sales.
That is why every b2b and b2c brands are now steering away from generalized content and focusing more on providing personalized content to their target customers. The role of personalized content is not to only reach their audience rather delight them.

Through personalizations, you can offer a more tailored and user-friendly experience for your visitors and it can have a very positive result as they don’t need to waste their time sifting through things or items that they are not interested in.

So, to get the maximum response out of your marketing campaigns, you can always do some segmentation on the basis of business size, gender, industry type, age, personal preferences,  as per buying history to personalize your offerings as per the individual needs.

Influencers continue to rise

Use of influencers is on the rise
Another content marketing trend that is on the rise is the use of influencers for brand promotion. Earlier only luxury brands were using this strategy to tie up with influencers of their industry to reach a wider audience but now even b2b brands are also heavily relying on the influencer marketing.

Through influencer marketing, marketers get an option to deliver their content in a more effective and authentic way than advertising. These influencers already enjoy a large fan base and have amassed a huge following on social platforms as well. Thus, connecting with niche influencers ensures that your brand gets great exposure without any credibility concerns and you can deliver unique content to your audience.

Another advantage of influencer marketing is it allows brands to deliver content in a more word-of-mouth tone that resonates better with the audiences as the audience get a feel as if they are receiving recommendations from a friend. 2018 will see more brands tying up with their niche influencers to convey their brand message in a more compelling way.

Interactive E-mails is getting stronger

As per campaign monitor, every time a $1 is spent on email marketing, $38 ROI is generated in email marketing. Thus, emails deliver the highest ROI for marketers.

So, whoever said email marketing is dead needs to rethink. Email marketing has rightly stood the test of time and has evolved in the form of interactive emails and will be getting even stronger in the year 2018.

Unlike any other piece of content, email marketing is the most intimate form of content marketing as it addresses people personally and delivers a one-to-one message. Now conventional emails are giving way to more dynamic emails with graphic designs elements to deliver a more lively experience to the recipients.

The most popular and effective form of interactive emails is including an animated GIF to add a little life to your message or to cross-promote multiple products that too in one space or in one marketing message, to include a twitter feed, Facebook feed or any other social media feed directly into the mail and lastly if you are an e-commerce brand, you can give your audience a live shopping cart experience by giving them an option to take a purchase without redirecting to the website. In other words, the recipient can complete a purchase from within an email. Impressive isn’t it? If you have not tried interactive emails as of now, then don’t forget to add it in your content marketing list for 2018.

Final Thoughts

Traditional ads, sponsored posts, static & branded emails are no longer as effective as once they use to be and are now giving way to a more dynamic form of content. In 2018, the focus will be on producing the above-stated content to derive maximum user-engagement from your content marketing efforts.