Five trends marketers can't ignore in content marketing

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Each year, we see brands that are transforming their ways of doing business and finding new ways to engage with customers. So in order to help you keep up, I have made a list of five content marketing trends and where content marketing is heading:

1. Content marketing is becoming more targeted and personal

Many brands are now prioritising customer experience to develop long-term loyalty. Many marketers are now looking for ways to put a link between customer satisfaction and content creation. According to the adobe and econsultancy report, in order to establish a connection with the target audience, customer satisfaction needs to be the top priority, followed by an improved content strategy.

A good starting point towards that end is to find out what is interesting to your audience and exploring relevant online magazines for content ideas. For example, niche online magazines like GearHeads will help you understand what sorts of automotive information are popular among car enthusiasts.

2. Both employees and customers will be getting more involved in content creation

Throughout the year we'll be seeing an increase in customer generated content as well as brands that involve their staff in content creation. Jay Baer, president of Convince & Convert, says:

"2015 will bring decentralized content creation programs with participants across the company, as well as initiatives that rely on user-generated content in expanded and highly strategic ways. The best source of content in most companies may be right under your nose: your employees and customers"

3. Content marketing will go visual

Content marketers will emphasize visual content that goes beyond basic infographics. Visual storytelling boosts the chances of your content to stand out, boost shares and gets the attention it deserves. In order to create some stunning visual content, Neil Patel, co-founder of CrazyEgg and KISSmetrics, suggests using effects like 3D infographics, parallax, or animated infographics.

4. Content will need to be brief

Nadine Dietz, creator of The CMO Solution Clubhouse, believes that content creators need to respect people's precious time. In order to do so, they need to create interesting content down to its essentials for readers.

"It's not OK to simply push out anything that contains a relevant keyword," she says."As the content landscape continues to experience exponential growth, the future will be about piecing together solutions for time-starved individuals and helping them consume and apply the insights."

5. Hyperlocal content will become popular

"The idea is to produce content written by an author who lives in a specific geographical area. It's a difficult type of content marketing campaign to pull off because of the large number of writers required, but the results can be tremendous. Google loves original, hyperlocal content that offers a new perspective." - Ryan Buckley, co-founder of Scripted.