Content marketing is by far the fastest growing branch of marketing. And it's not just because the majority of consumers is already resistant to classic advertising gimmicks. It is also about the use of new technologies and ways of reaching out to customers. The budget allocated to content marketing continues to grow, Social Media activities are now smarter, and distribution of content is becoming more and more important. Therefore, it is worth to keep up with the latest trends not to be left behind, and to reap as much benefit from good content as possible.

Let’s first have a look at what type of content is the best, how to create it and – of course – how it can help you grow your business.

First and foremost, make sure you are writing to the right audience.

Think whether your article/video/image is suitable for your customer. Many bloggers make a mistake of creating content targeted at their colleagues rather than their customers. Industry-specific articles are not necessarily understandable to people interested in your services. If, let’s say, you're a dentist, your customers will not be excited about an article titled: "Pros and cons of using live and non-live (manikins) patients for dental licensure exam." No matter how great the content would be.

If you write to all, you write to no one, and if you write about everything, you write about nothing.

Think what problems your audience struggles with and how your content can provide solutions. By giving straight answers to tough questions you become an expert in the field in the eyes of your readers. But how can you find an interesting topic to write about? Check what your customers usually ask on forums, in comments on Facebook, in messages addressed to your customer service team. Put it all together, choose an interesting point of view, add an opinion of some influential people, a joke, examples, case studies, instructions, etc.

The content you create should inspire to interact, lead to a conversation with your customers.

One effective way to do that is to include visuals, m.in. infographics, dynamic presentations or videos. The volume of content available on the Web is growing ever so rapidly so you have to make your message stand out. Readers are impatient and they expect to find an answer immediately. That is why, attractive visuals that are easy to understand, consume, and share, are very likely to go viral. A few-page-long article will no doubt lose against a 2-minute summary in a form of a video. Remember, however, that your video should not resemble TV advertising. It must first and foremost create an interaction with your audience, and the benefits will come along your way.

Infographics are another way to get high-quality incoming links from a variety of sources. The success depends on the idea and the way it is presented. Interesting data presented in a form of infographics will come unnoticed if they are not readable and don’t look attractive. Similarly, if your visuals look fancy, but the topic is boring, you won’t see much interest. Infographics are not just pretty pictures, after all! They have to carry some added value for your customers, so that you can position yourself as an expert in the industry.

Everything you create should motivate your audience to take action.

If you write about services your company provides, finish an article with a call-to-action sentence: "For more information about our services feel free to contact us – e-mail”. This way you ensure your clients that it is you who creates the content and that they can talk to you directly. Believe it or not, it increases conversion rate big time.

Ok then, so we already have great content. Now how can we benefit from it?

Content marketing will improve SEO

Creating original content is the key to successful page optimisation, and in the upcoming years it will become even more visible. Websites with fairly long, high-quality texts with a large number of likes and shares will be positioned very high search engines. And even though SEO will remain an important part of online marketing, it's going to focus on technical aspects such as keywords or indexing. Content marketing is and will be king, and it will continue to be the main factor influencing your website’s position in search engines. See more about content marketing strategy here.

Content marketing will be closely connected with social media marketing

Marketing Specialists know very well that the importance of social media in distribution of content is invaluable. Social Media is already a huge part of content marketing. In the near future, the budget allocated to advertising in social media will increase, along with the importance of Twitter, LinkedIn, and promoted posts on Facebook. What's more, ads will not only be used to reach a bigger number of clients, but they will also help acquiring more leads. It also means that there will be no difference between paid, owned and earned media. Instead, we will have to combine paid activities with own content and user generated content.

Guest posts will become the trend again

This form of cooperation used to be a bit overused and served purely to promote brands, mainly as sponsored articles. This is now changing. It is no longer just about better SEO. Guest blogging will help marketers create content that is real and valuable to the users, who will trust and believe what you tell them. Next time they need your service, you will be their number one choice.

Content marketing is growing in strength, and in the years to come, we will be able to see its further development. Marketers are beginning to understand an ever-changing situation in online industry. They now realise that traditional banner ads are useless, and that the key to gain more clients is to treat them as people who are are looking for answers rather than mindless Internet users who would be satisfied with any content. We can only very much look forward to the upcoming years and the changes they will bring. Stay tuned!

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