If you pay any attention to B2B marketing predictions, you know that content marketing is expected to be big in 2013. Yes, content marketing was already hugely popular in 2012. But according to most experts, it’s going to be even bigger in the year ahead.
New tools for creating, managing and publishing content will no doubt spring up left and right a result. But don’t take it from us. Here’s the Marketing Profs prediction:
“Content marketing is becoming the core of just about every marketing initiative for B2B marketing as well as B2C. In 2013, we will see a host of software and services solutions for content creation and syndication emerge as companies try to use content for more demand- and lead-generation results.”
Though new tools are sure to make an appearance as the year goes on, there are many great content services already on the market that you can start using today. Here are a few of our favorites:
If you don’t yet have a formal system in place for managing content assignments and drafts, creating one should be a top priority for 2013. Contently makes it easy. This cloud-based tool allows content creators to develop editorial calendars, assign stories, track revisions and manage teams, and the seamless integration with most popular content management systems makes it a breeze to set up.
Cross-platform analytics are one thing we hope to see better integrated into the new content tools that are sure to be released in 2013. Until then, SocialCrawlitics is a great standalone solution for measuring the influence of your content across several platforms. This tool allows you to see what content is preforming best across all your channels without having to pull reports from several different places.
Interaction is one of the most important aspects of a successful content marketing program, but it can often be difficult to figure out whom to interact with. Every industry has thought leaders who can help your content reach the right people, but how can you find them? Little Bird makes it easy. This powerful influencer discover tool is still in beta, but it’s sure to be one of the next big things in content marketing.
Images via Contently.com, SocialCrawlitics.com and LittleBird.com.
