Welcome to another installment of Content Marketing Weekly: your one-stop shop for the latest trends and discussions in marketing.
During an interview, what do you tell a potential employer when they ask you where you see yourself in five years? Predicting your own future can be intimidating, but it’s a positive stepping stone for setting goals and paving the path to achieving them. The same can be said for the world of marketing – it’s no surprise that digital content is steadily evolving and becoming more relevant, but what does the future have in store for marketers and consumers alike?
In this edition of the Content Marketing Weekly, we’ll discuss some of the latest trends in marketing, taking a deep dive into the future of digital content and third-party data.
What Is The Future Of Digital Marketing?
Marketing used to revolve around creating a billboard in a big city to sell products and services.
If only those advertisers knew what the future had in store.
Beyond placing ads in radio and television commercials, marketers are utilizing social media and digital content to relay a powerful message that encourages consumers to buy. This is only expected to become a more relevant way of advertising in the future.
Research by Cisco stated that 80 percent of online content will be video by 2021. Marketers can look at this as a replacement for television commercials, focusing more on how they can promote brands and services on social media, in Google ads and more.
According to ODM Group, 70 percent of consumers look to social media for reviews before making a purchase of their own. As if making a good impression on consumers wasn’t always important, now these customers have a haven for sharing their experience with a company through reviews with people all over the world. Social media will keep evolving, making it easier for consumers to connect with companies, so marketers need to keep this in mind.
Read more of what Adrian Gomez has to say here.
73% Say They’ve Made Purchases as a Result of Viewing Marketing Content, Survey Says
As mentioned, content marketing is making a huge impression on consumers. In fact, the Clutch 2018 Consumer Content Marketing Survey found that 73 percent of respondents admitted to making a purchase after reading valuable marketing content. Another 70 percent of respondents said they view content as a useful tool that could potentially push them to make a purchasing decision. This information is especially valuable for small businesses that are still lacking when it comes to creating an online presence – the survey shows that more customers will be inclined to make purchases when a convincing online marketing strategy is involved.
It’s not as simple as posting a blog and calling it a day, however. Researchers at Clutch found that ideal content marketing revolves around being transparent, accurate and unique. The truer small businesses – as well as any establishment, for that matter – stay to their brand when creating and distributing content, the greater chances of audience appreciation and respect, which then turns into purchases.
Read more about the influence of content marketing by Michael Guta here.
What Is the Future of Third-Party Data?
While third-party data, or information acquired from outside sources, has always been useful for marketers, industry leaders expect this to change in the near future. With data breaches occurring at a rapid pace, marketers are more inclined to utilize customer relationship management software to obtain first-party data instead. In fact, research by Sizmek – surveying 522 brand marketers in France, Germany, the U.S. and the U.K. – found that 85 percent of all respondents said they would be increasing their use of first-party data for marketing campaigns in the near future.
Read more about the potential fall of third-party data here.
Survey: Boom In Content Marketing Continues As Marketers Increase Spending
Good news for digital marketers: Content marketing is trending, period. Confidently, one-third of the participants of a survey conducted by New York City-based business-intelligence firm Advertiser Perceptions agreed that they increased spending in digital advertising. They said content marketing is – and will continue to be – their preferred form of communication and brand awareness.
“This part of the marketplace is not going away,” says Randy Cohen, CEO of Advertiser Perceptions. “There is optimism. More people are trying to fit content into what they’re doing.”
Of the reasons participants reported using content marketing, brand awareness was the most critical. Lead generation, customer loyalty and thought leadership were also very important motives.
Read more about increased marketing spending here.
Predictions show the potential content marketers have in the future. Check back next week for a new installment of the Content Marketing Weekly for the lastest news and insights in the industry.
