5 Predictions for Content Marketing in 2015

5 Predictions for Content Marketing in 2015

In 2014 we saw a surge in content from brands; everyone had something to say. And even better they had the budgets for their content to see the light of day too.

Last year also saw many brands embrace content marketing as part of their annual communications strategy; whether it was a Dove soap trying to emotionally connect with the women out there or an SAP talking shop with its core audiences through real life examples. With only half of the content marketers having found these methods effective, the next few months will be more focused on successful and measurable content.

To sum it up, 2014 was about ‘Testing and Learning’: there was experimentation, there was success, there was failure ; there was less, there was more, there were articles and then there were videos.. And there was much much more.

While 2014 was about more and more brands jumping onto the content marketing wagon, 2015 is going to be about much more than just that. Here is what I think 2015 has in store:

1. Content fuelled by Passion Vs. Product Centric Content: Everyone creates content but only a few are good at it. Thousands of brands jumped on the content bandwagon only a handful managed to create something worth reading. As we go along, brands will get accustomed to the idea that they’re not competing with their competitors for their audience’s attention time, but with the entire amazing world, including publishers and bloggers.

One thing that most of the brands would have realised by 2015 is that it is not about the quantity you create, it is about the quality of your content that gets you the interested audiences and desired results. As More and more brands turn to storytelling of content that aligns with their core values, smart brands will take their content a notch higher, fully embracing the idea of what it means to be a publisher.

This is why I believe 2015 will be the year when brands will mature as publishers.

2. Device based content creation: Context to device/ platform/ location should be the key factors determining the content. In the case of device, the focus on Mobile has been snowballing every year with mobile getting more and more chunks of the hefty media budgets. While the importance of Mobile will only continue to grow in the coming years, there are three changes in perception that I see coming:

a: Marketers will realise the need for Different content for Different Platforms: As marketers release content requirements of a small screen platform are much varied than that of desktop, we should see some more mobile optimised content come through.

b: Different Performance Metrics for different Screens: Desktop has proven to be a better conversion platform while, mobile in the recent days has proved its worth to be a highly engaging one. Small nuances like these will lead to the need for difference performance metrics for each platform.

c: Integration of the above two to result in more succinct and wholesome digital strategies

3. Video Plus Plus Plus: Videos has been our favourite format for story telling in 2014, and we see this trend only increasing with series of short form videos coming up in 2015. It has not only proved to be a highly engaging format, but it also the preferred format as it brings with it the ease of story telling in short 1 minute capsule which articles per say are not able to deliver. As brands recognise the need to use video to reach their audience, explanatory videos, video-based storytelling, and video-embedded content will be hot.

New formats like info graphics also picked up very well in 2014 specially coming from brands. It is yet to be seen how well they scale up, but I believe the trend is to grow in 2015. These trends also blend in well with the huge mobile population increasing at such substantial rates.

4. Cookies will be Passé, as Identity Targeting gains popularity: Targeting strategies are expected to dynamically rise in 2015! As the quest for reaching relevant audiences grows, the need for personalised content is only bound to increase. Moreover, in the past this approach to targeting has shown some great results as companies were able to increase sales and lower costs and engage users for longer periods of time thereby keeping them satisfied.

In recent times, the most sought after way to personalised targeting was cookie based, however as publishers evolve and move away from cookies we will be seeing some new technologies unveil.

One of the hot trends to look out for this year would be Multi - device targeting. 2014 lacked personalisation of content across devices, however, with Google and Facebook leading the cross device targeting initiative, we will see much more of this in the coming months. This should help make content increasingly more optimised by device and customised by person.

5. Measurable and flexible content: As Analytics become more and more important the focus of marketers will shift toward performance oriented content; as just creating content will not cut it anymore! (good luck creative agencies!!)

This will also lead to more and more actionable next steps from marketers to help take their content to the next level as Content marketers will be responsible for building engaged high-value audiences and delivering quantifiable business results.

After all, the buzz around content marketing, one thing is for sure- it is here to stay and definitely flourish through 2015! Trust me, the best is yet to come..

Now, what are your predictions!!

Manish Sisodia

# MARKETING CONSULTANT. # EVENT SPECIALIST - IDEATING, MARKETING & EXECUTION CEO @ CANDID CONTROLS PVT LTD

9y

Insightful Kriti.

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Manish Sisodia

# MARKETING CONSULTANT. # EVENT SPECIALIST - IDEATING, MARKETING & EXECUTION CEO @ CANDID CONTROLS PVT LTD

9y

I agree Renee

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Great stuff! Would not exactly call them new formats but i'm also of the view that well-designed, original and intuitive infographics should be growing formats for 2015!

Alex Tan

Managing Partner at dentsu International

9y

Good sharing.. Inspiring!

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