In part one of our exploration of content marketing trends for 2017, we touched on the importance of personalization, storytelling and quality.
However, those are far from the only ingredients you’ll need to cook up winning content strategies in the new year.
The importance of mobile, the growth of native advertising, the breakthrough of live video, the resurgence of email newsletters and the advancement of search engine capabilities are all trends to keep top of mind.
Mobile
When it comes to mobile, the facts speak for themselves:
- Internet usage on mobile and tablet devices surpassed desktops worldwide for the first time in October 2016, according to StatCounter.
- Mobile-only adult internet users have surpassed desktop-only internet users, according to comScore.
- Also based on comScore data, all digital growth now comes from mobile, which accounts for 65 percent of digital media time.
As if that weren’t enough to spur mobile content creation, Google will continue to prioritize mobile-friendly websites in search rankings.
In short, the importance of responsive websites that ensure smooth user experience on mobile devices will not just be a trend in 2017 – it will be the standard.
This means ensuring content is displayed correctly on smaller screens and offers the lightning-quick load times smartphone-users have become accustomed to among other factors.
“The most successful content will make emotional impact and engage audiences in subtle ways.”
Native advertising
Working hand in hand with mobile is native advertising.
Data from Facebook and IHS Inc. showed that by 2020, spending on mobile advertising will reach $85 billion. Native ads are expected to account for a significant portion of this growth.
With internet users investing so heavily in ad-blocking technology, it’s increasingly difficult to engage consumers through traditional marketing channels. Native advertising allows you to break through without disrupting user experience.
“The most successful content will not only stand out in terms of its helpfulness and relevance, but it will also make an emotional impact and engage with its audience in subtle ways that are traditionally the domain of large-scale advertising campaigns,” Richard said.
What better way to maximize impact than by trading in glaring self-promotion for interesting, relevant content?
Live streaming
Getting someone to click on your content is one thing, but how do you make them stick around?
Data from Social Media Today showed people spend triple the amount of time watching live video on Facebook than they do watching pre-recorded clips. Maybe that explains why the social media giant has gone out of its way to rank live videos higher in News Feeds.
However you slice it, people are paying attention to live streaming, whether through Facebook Live, Twitter’s Periscope application, YouTube Live, SnapChat or other platforms.
If you’re seeking ways to enhance content surrounding company announcements, product launches, interviews or special events, live video is the clear trend to leverage.
If you haven’t already, it’s time to dust off your email newsletter handbook for 2017.
Email newsletters
Content marketing pros in the know are aware email newsletters really never went away. However, this tactic is likely to be trending yet again in 2017 thanks to increasing email open rates.
While many have shifted content focus to social media, data from Campaign Monitor showed emails are five times more likely to be viewed than Facebook messaging. Additionally, McKinsey previously reported that email is 40 times more effective at acquiring customers when compared to Facebook and Twitter.
You can count on seeing an uptick in email newsletters making the rounds in the year ahead. Make sure your own follow best practices.
Search engine advancement
The evolution of how search engines provide results to users is a trend content marketing professionals must consider every year.
Brafton Chief Technology Officer Stewart Snow is confident the way websites are analyzed by search engines will change significantly in 2017.
“Applications that are currently written on platforms such as Ember, Angular, React and Knockout are all technically blind to Google and SEO at present,” Stewart said. “But Google has demonstrated well over the past year that it is making active changes to the algorithms to be able to cope with this more advanced style of content, and involves the search engine virtualizing the actual browsing experience, rather than just reading the text. This does also lend a potential opportunity for other areas of improvement in SEO. But for sure, Google’s ability to properly index pure front-end sites and applications will become more prominent.”
This year alone saw 10 algorithm updates from Google, according to Moz.
The one constant you can count on heading into 2017 is that search engines will continue to be refined, making it essential to stay on top of all updates and adjust content marketing strategies accordingly.
Did you miss Part 1 of our dive into 2017 content marketing trends? Check it out to learn how personalization, storytelling and quality will be cornerstones of strong strategies in the new year.
