Content marketing is a dynamic landscape. Since the existence of Content Marketing, there have been endless speculations and arguments about the fact that soon this form of marketing will be overtaken by a new innovation or something better or an apt phrase ‘The Next Big Thing’.
The significance of Content Marketing has been manifested for a while now, so to keep yourself updated with its changing trends and updates, is a precondition.
So here’s a list of ideas & insights of the next big things in Content Marketing.
The Next Big Thing #1 – Vlogging
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To engage the target audience with high-quality brand content is eventually the objective for every marketer.
The use of videos as a marketing tool is a common practice for more than 60% of businesses. Also, more than 65% prefer to engage themselves in videos available on the web.
With figures like these, video has definitely become a huge element in the brand content. Here just to pour in clarity, the video form we are talking about is Vlogging.
I am sure there is no uncertainity to the fact that you all are familiar with the term & concept of Vlogging, just in case you aren’t familiar, a Vlog is basically a blog that contains video content i.e. a blog with a video in it is a Vlog.
The video is often recorded with a person talking to the camera/targeted audience, directly. The conversation in the video is over a topic or an interest that they are well-informed of.
Personal communication with the audience has witnessed a positive uplift and Vlog is a great medium to communicate with the audience on a personal level.
How Can You Use Vlog?
Introduce Your Brand, Your Company & Your Team
What’s better than your customer knowing you well & connect with your brand instantly. With Vlog you can make your customer feel that your business is much more than just selling a product.
This form of Vlog adds credibility & trust amongst the customers as they get to know you more than just a seller.
Client Testimonials
Testimonials are always a source of conviction & reliability. This Vlog style adds perfectly to this fact. With positive stories from previous customers, adds a sense of faith to your new audience and prospects.
Question & Answer
Inviting your target audience to put questions that you can answer in a Vlog. This can be a seasonal practice which once gets popular can be incorporated regularly.
Google does this, it creates a weekly set of question and answer out of which you can choose one question to answer.
How-To-Do’s & Support
This can be breather to your support team, who are way too much time in answering the sample help queries.
With a video blog for common queries, you can ease it up for them to serve pressing matters.
The Next Big Thing #2 – Data-Driven Content
The psyche of marketers has completely changed as compared to the one that persisted in the last decade.
They don’t consider themselves as just advertisers, but are now considering themselves as publishers too. They provide a large amount of data through various means and most popular amongst these means is branded content.
What has led to this transition?
Offering brand’s perspective directly to the customers to inform & build awareness amongst them is the main reason behind this transition.
The willingness to get customer attention and retain it too is the driving force.
How Data-Driven Content Is Making The New Trend?
With data-based storytelling, one can examine and discover new viewpoints on the same stories. But how to incorporate it in your content strategy?
Data availability is endless. But gathering relevant data, is precisely something that can drive a successful & effective content strategy.
Integrating the gathered data into stories in a way that makes it connect with the target markets. There has to be a good amount if time that has to be invested to develop a great & powerful narrative, that can justify the importance these gathered data points deserve.
Any business who learns this art, can leverage the business by making customer feel more connected to the brand and further resulting in higher customer engagement rate and genuine interactions.
The Next Big Thing #3 – Interactive Content
Interactive graphics or interactives are the game changer for visual content. There are various forms of such graphics like, a map or a dashboard or a microsite and many more.
But to connect with the basics, all different forms of interactive graphics are imaginings that allow viewers to discover the information offered for themselves.
With layman definition, interactives are considered as the best way to have a high viewer engagement rate and such engagements can be extremely powerful for marketers. The average time on site, particularly web pages with interactive graphics is way higher than the ones without it. They can even see brands associated with content that is of their interest and can read it at their own pace.
Infographics became a hit, as they caught people’s attention & elevated their understanding very quickly, but now interactives are set to become a hit because they not only catch viewer’s attention, but holds it too.
Viewers consumer information way too fast with graphics by staring at their screens. However, interactive graphics are more dynamic. The information displayed can be changed with just a click or scroll.
With interactives, consuming information becomes an active experience.
There are 3 prime situations where interactives can the best card to play.
(1) Personalized Branded Content
(2) Complex Data Visualization
(3) Customized Product Explainers
Personalized Branded Content
Brand content that escalates and improves a brand’s profile or image without adding the promotion quotient about the offerings, is known as Branded Content 101.
Interactive graphics help in adding a personal touch and helps in offering content that is informative and entertaining.
Complex Data Visualization
To simplify complex data into simple and understandable visuals is what made visual content a big hit initially. No wonder with interactives – an active experience, the complex data visualization will see a new era.
Customized Product Explainers
Similar to personalized content is what is known as customized product explainers.
It is really predictive that every business has different customer segments, large to small businesses, from active to inactive customers, but the trouble for each marketer lies in discovering a single way to cover all types of customers with a single brand message.
With an interactive, marketers can develop a responsive interface that offers customized information that is based on each customer’s need.
So Are You Ready To Incorporate These Next Big Things?
Every industry goes through multiple additions or updates since its inception. The content industry is no exception. These 3 next big things in Content Marketing are all set to make their long-lasting mark.
Is your business ready to make the most these?
If you do not want to lose out on your content efforts, be prepared and planned to incorporate these effective comings and leverage your Content Marketing Strategy.
