Content marketing has been around for a while and will be around for a long while to come. It is going to prevail as long as there is digital, which is forever! The trends in content marketing have been interesting to note in 2016, particularly around video and picture content. These two mediums are going to thrive in 2017 too along with a bouquet of other mediums that will continue to make trends. Let’s look at some interesting trends in content marketing for 2017. These trends are really not in a chronological order. They are more from a perspective of a curious bystander looking at the content marketing landscape. Each of these trends has a role and a resultant impact in your overall marketing strategy.

Personalization

Content personalization is one trend that is going to change marketing the way it is done. Amazon and Netflix are popular the way they are, partly due to their personalization methods. Wouldn’t you want to be treated with content that they want to see instead of wading through clutter? Of course you would. It’s the same case with everyone, who is ever going online. Personalization is becoming a lot more than just a few random references to your first name. Advanced analytics are making personalization very focused and targeted. Here’s a list of interesting personalization campaigns from www.addthis.com

User Generated Content

Every marketer worth his/her salt is relying on content marketing to get across to his/her core customers. While this is a heart warming trend, it also means that your customer is bombarded with content from all directions. Your customer is smart, tech savvy and heavily oriented towards the internet. A natural response from such a customer is to check out User Generated Content or USG about your product or service. A USG typically is a review, comment or a share or even a blog post about your product/service from your customer. Since it is coming from a totally unbiased entity like a customer, it has a lot of weight. Brands like Burberry, Starbucks and Coca Cola have created winning campaigns with USG in the past. Read more about it on the hubspot blog.

Influencer Marketing

Influencers are the new demigods of the social media world. Their opinion matters to all their huge list of followers. Influencers are heavy weights because of their credibility and knowledge. 2017 will see inclusion of influencers in content marketing strategies. Here’s a list of 10 reasons why influencer marketing is key to your content marketing strategy.

Video Content

You will practically find anything and everything on YouTube. You will seldom find a person who hasn’t checked out something on YouTube. Video as a content marketing tool is extremely powerful. It is also gaining acceptance as a heavy duty marketing channel. The increasing marketing share of Facebook Live, Twitter Videos and Instagram Videos is just the beginning. Ask yourself, what you would like to see – text, image or video. The natural order of choice is going to be video, image and text (if there is no choice!). Video content is going to be one of the most watched out for content marketing strategies of 2017.

Visuals and Pictures

Visual content is a popular trend. Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest are what they are today purely because of all the images on these channels. Many brands have embraced these as their most important content marketing channels. You should too as this is a rising channel for 2017.

Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is always going to be the in-thing for content marketing. The sheer increase in the global smart phone usage trends are a compelling proof. The accessibility and affordability of a mobile phone makes it the most sought after content marketing channel. Affordable internet connectivity and better data plans only make it better. You are missing out on an important channel for your content marketing if you don’t factor in mobile marketing.

Email Marketing

Email is the proverbial cockroach of the digital world. Cockroaches survived meteors which even killed dinosaurs. Emails have survived all new technologies that have made a big impact in the digital world. Email as an integral element of content marketing is a tried and tested method. The personal and private connection it establishes with your immediate customer just cannot be replaced with any other channel in totality yet. Email automation and content strategy will be a powerful combination to watch out for in 2017.

Facebook

There is never going to be a list of content marketing trends without a mention of Facebook. There is a popular joke that says Facebook is another planet by itself. The potential of Facebook for content marketing has been tapped only a mere 30%. There is so much more to watch out for. Facebook Ads are a definite must watch trend too.

We discussed some of the channels that will be trend setters in content marketing in 2017. Apart from these channels, another trend to watch out for is the orientation of decision makers in most organization towards content strategizing, planning and promotion. More and more organizations are setting aside time, resources and money for these crucial activities. Content strategies are designed with specific focus. Teams are hired and promotions are happening both online and offline. These trends will grow stronger and deeper as more and more marketers want to cut through the content market share with tangible results.