Believe it or not, it’s already time to plan strategy and budgets for 2016. But as your marketing team turns its attention to the new year, don’t ignore the last few months of 2015. They may have a meaningful impact on how you should approach your marketing strategy for the year ahead.
How will the following content marketing trends affect your plans for 2016?
Earlier this year, 76 percent of B2B marketers reported that they would use video in their content marketing in 2015. Meanwhile, consumer demand for video content is clear: video has comprised over half of all mobile data traffic since 2012. With video increasingly a part of both the B2B and healthcare marketing ecosystem, innovative marketers are continually looking for ways to set their video content apart.
One way to do so is to use tools for live streaming video to provide a real-time view into your operations and innovations. From the buzzworthy new options like Meerkat and Periscope to enterprise-level event-streaming services like Livestream, live-streaming is everywhere, and companies from NASCAR to Ralph Lauren are recognizing its worth. But what live video demands more than anything else is an event or occurrence that’s engaging and worthwhile enough to be streamed. So as you plan your video strategy for the rest of 2015 and into 2016, consider what you can offer a streaming audience. Whether it’s broadcasting a new product launch or an exclusive AMA (ask me anything) interview with an expert, you need to make engaging video an integral part of your digital approach today.
Interactive stories are one of the most exciting new content developments as of late, and they’re not just useful for branded media. Great interactive content, whether branded or unbranded, makes use of graphics that viewers can manipulate, such as photographs that change as they are moused over or graphs that highlight particular data points or trends depending on where the viewer clicks. Interactive content frequently incorporates a variety of media, from text to audio to video, to tell one seamless story in multiple engaging formats.
As with all marketing content, interactive stories should be educational and offer value to the viewer. This style of content takes audience engagement to a next level, creating an immersive experience that no single content form could achieve alone.
From the serialized novels of the nineteenth century to the television cliffhangers of today, a good story keeps people coming back for more. On the nonfiction side, gripping investigative reporting can keep people invested in a story over the course of weeks or even months. So why not strive to produce marketing content that encourages that type of loyalty?
Brands have experimented with multi-part and episodic content for a while now, but we predict that in the rest of 2015, we’ll see more brands put more resources into producing this type of content. The key? Creating a human connection that will encourage your prospects to seek out the next installment. Consider: what stories can your brand tell that will engage your leads that deeply, and how can you break them down into engaging stories that keep leads coming back for more?
For more on interactive stories and episodic content, take a look at Content Standard’s “6 Content Marketing Trends to Help Plan Your 2016 Budget.”
As you look to the year ahead, consider how best to build your brand with our white paper, 10 simple truths about strong brands:
(Click here to expand)
