December 23, 2014

5 Content Marketing Predictions for 2015

The taste of New Year’s is in the air: the office cubicles are becoming increasingly empty, champagne bottles are ready to be popped and dinner reservations are being booked. But the start of a New Year also means one critical thing—prediction time.

Hundreds of industry experts will be reflecting on the year that was for content marketing and sharing their two cents for what’s ahead. So, quite naturally, we had to share ours.

For the past year, our team has been covering the content marketing space extensively—writing about everything from developing a content strategy to increasing consumer engagement. We have witnessed some amazing marketing campaigns, like the Under Armour “I Will What I Want” video clips as well as some major brand faux pas (US Airways anyone?)

So what are our top five predictions?

  1. Data will play a larger role in content creation: If you haven’t yet heard of the term “data-driven content marketing” you will in 2015. Marketers will begin to leverage customer-specific data collected from social media, marketing automation and Google analytics to create custom content that directly speaks to their target audience. This data will also be used to identify the right channels in which content should be distributed, be it blogging, email marketing or white papers.
  2. Content campaigns will cease to exist: In the June 2014 issue of Content Marketing Institute’s (CMI) Chief Content Officer Magazine, founder Joe Pulizzi warned readers that content marketing should never be referred to as a “campaign.” Dubbing content marketing as a campaign implies that it has an end-date and as you know the strategy is all about providing your audience with a steady stream of high-quality content. This year, brands will take Pulizzi’s advice and create sustainable content marketing programs characterized by long-term content commitment.
  3. Brands will continue to outsource content: According to CMI’s latest research, 32 percent of B2C and B2B marketers are challenged with finding trained content marketing professionals. To fill in talent gaps, brands will look toward experienced content marketing agencies for help in creating, distributing and managing custom content. After all, the thought of blogging several times a week and maintaining multiple social media platforms can cause anyone’s head to spin. So it’s no surprise that 64 percent of B2B marketers outsource writing, 22 percent outsource editing and 54 percent outsource design, according to the aforementioned CMI report.
  4. Content marketers will learn to strategize: 2014 was all about educating brands about the greater need for a documented content strategy. This year is all about implementing that said strategy. Marketers will start to create detailed strategies that clearly outline tactics, processes, projects, goals and more. Only then will they be able to see and, more importantly, measure ROI. 
  5. Investments in marketing technology will rise: Marketing technology—such as marketing automation and CRM platforms—will play a bigger role in helping marketers create and distribute more strategic, targeted content. The most effective content marketers will be those who encompass the necessary technical skills to leverage these types of technologies.

So that’s it for our content marketing predictions for 2015. Do you have any content marketing predictions you want to share with us? Share your thoughts in the comment section below or connect with me via Twitter @BNeuman28. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2015!







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