We’re always saying on Edge of the Web Radio that if you want your efforts to stay effective, you need to adapt and stay ahead of the curve. This same mentality applies to content marketing.
The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as “A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
At Site Strategics, we are deeply vested in strategy – Our founder and owner, Erin Sparks, even made it part of our name. Our SEO experts know how to strategically improve your website’s search engine positioning with the use of white hat tactics including expert keyword analysis, site structure optimization, internal and external linking, and optimized content creation. In the end, we only use approved tactics and services when we map out a strategy to increase your organic website traffic.
Author and digital marketing expert, Neil Patel, wrote an article recently on content marketing titled “The Future of Content: What It Will Look Like.” This article does a nice job breaking down what Patel believes are seven key elements to the future of content.
Control is one of the next big steps
Every individual likes to digest content in his or her own way. According to Patel, “At this point, the most common strategy is to create content that is liked by a large portion of an audience.” But it’s important to mix up the type of content you create.
With that being said, Patel proposes for the future – “More control over content for readers,” which he then delves deeper into by suggesting that content is offered in multiple formats all at the click of your mouse.
Data will play a bigger role
Per Patel, “Data-driven posts always perform best.” This is very much a true statement as we see this with our own clients when we execute their social media strategies and post or tweet information that is backed by data.
Specificity will win
This should be something that any good business is already executing. “By narrowing down your target audience, you can not only ‘capture’ your own space in their minds but also create content that’s targeted towards them,” according to Patel. In the end, people want solutions that are tailored to their specific problems.
Less content, more quality
“One of the biggest issues facing content marketers today is the cost of content (budget),”said Patel. And yet, there is so much content out there that it’s over-saturating the marketing landscape, which in turn is leading people to lose interest. In order not to get lost in the content fray if you well one must start budgeting for top quality content.
Original research will rule
The fifth element is tied into the second element that focuses on data. Good content that resonates with the audience is going to be backed by statistics, etc. Patel suggests the following tactics as ways to go about acquiring data from original research: Conduct a survey; analyze content; scrape a website; or work with a company that has the data, but needs something from you in return. We’ve seen a lot of success with the use of infographics for our clients because it data that is digestible in nature.
In the end, according to Patel, “Creating original research does cost more and take more time and effort, but original research will get you a lot of extra attention (and extra backlinks from those who cite your data).”
You won’t be able to get away with poor design
There’s something to be said about the way something is designed. Per Patel, “However, when there are multiple pieces of content about even very specific topics, readers will start choosing their options based on other factors such as design.” In addition, Patel stresses that “it’s already worth making sure that your content is, at least, readable on mobile devices.” The design team at Site Strategics specialize in creating websites that are aesthetically attractive to human visitors and rank well in the search engines. We understand that website design affects SEO, which in turn affects how Google ranks you.
Relevancy will be more important
Per Patel, “A lot of ‘evergreen’ content will have to be updated to become more relevant.” For those that may be unaware, “evergreen” content is content that appeals to the masses and typically doesn’t need to be updated. And yet, Patel is advocating that the future of content must go beyond “evergreen.” One must produce high-quality content that is going to need to be updated frequently.
Patel concludes his article by saying, “You can either take the easy route, hoping that standards of content won’t change, and do nothing, or you can up the level of your content and stay ahead of the masses.”
And that’s what we aim to do at Site Strategics – Stay ahead of the curve. Our very own Erin Sparks is known for his signature line at the end of every show, “And don’t be a piece of cyber driftwood folks” and that speaks right to what we’re aiming to do with both Site Strategics and Edge of the Web – We want the strategies we plan for clients to help them stay ahead of the digital marketing curve.
