Content Marketing Trends to Keep a Watchful Eye On

Marketing is an art form that’s always evolving.  It’s important to keep an open mind to accept that what worked yesterday, may not function today. Discovering this fact shouldn’t scare you too much because there are timeless marketing techniques that businesses of all sizes can implement and still see great results, as long as they’re in line with current standards.

What would happen if we combined what works now with what works all the time? In this article, we’re going to show you some of the latest content marketing trends that are performing well for thousands of successful marketers.

Most of the meat in this summary comes from a report from Moz.com. They set out to analyze one million articles to figure out what type of content gets the greatest number of shares and backlinks.

Because we’re using this article as a reference, here’s an essential finding which we think might help you adjust your expectations. Here it is:

The majority of posts receive few shares and even fewer links.

We don’t say this to be pessimistic. We see this as proof that content marketing is an exciting and essential marketing technique that will always give you results. But you shouldn’t be disappointed if that excellent article you wrote gets only a few shares and no links. Content marketing is a long process that builds a solid foundation of a great online presence. There’s no reason to pay too much attention to the performance of any share. If needed, content can be repurposed for use again. 

Longer Articles Get More Backlinks and Shares

In general, longer content gets more shares and links than shorter content. While roughly 85% of the articles they analyzed were under 1,000 words, they found that articles of more than 3,000 words got more shares and links than any other length.

Lists and Videos Get More Backlinks and Shares

Another fascinating insight Moz got was realizing how much content format affected the amount of links and shares an article got. The difference was overwhelming.

• Lists and videos got the most links and shares by more than eight times in comparison to the other types of content.
• In second place were How to articles, Why articles and quizzes.
• A distant last place was Infographics, which proves this trend has finally died.

Something interesting to notice was that although compelling images (memes, GIFs, etc.), videos and quizzes were more likely to go viral (shared), they rarely got any backlinks.

Paid Social Media Distribution

Social media may be your most significant traffic generator, especially if you are a small business. While Facebook used to be the king of traffic generation, recent algorithm changes have significantly decreased Facebook’s (and now Instagram’s) organic reach, turning these platforms into paid advertising channels. This statistic isn’t necessarily wrong because now you can target your intended audience more effectively, but it will cost you money.

As marketers, we need to stay updated with the most current content marketing trends. We hope this information helps you get better results and leads in your efforts. We can help you apply these techniques to your own business. Take a look at our Cloud-based business solutions and start creating great content today!

Pin Your Hopes on Pinterest

It’s worth mentioning that Pinterest continues to be a standout among social networks. The image sharing website is a reliable driver of directed traffic that includes loads of buyers. Although Pinterest offers a Promoted Pins option, they have not begun to squelch aggressively organic reach like the older networks have. While there’s still a chance to get massive organic reach, it’s worth establishing a beachhead on Pinterest. In simpler terms, get in while the getting is still good! The Promoted Pins are affordable and efficient as well, creating a robust marketing platform for interested businesses.

It’s important that you craft custom content for your Pins. They should be timely and attractive to gain widespread appeal. If you already have an active community profile, leverage it to begin your exposure. If not, you’ll need to build followers from the beginning. It’s not necessarily difficult to do so, but it is time-consuming.

Third party social media project managers have the capacity to accelerate the growth of your campaigns. Contact 1-877-830-3318 if you’re interested in a managed Pinterest marketing account. Not only will your brand grow, but your engaged followers and site visitors will also increase in quality and quantity.

As the internet matures and the tastes of users continue to evolve, the necessity for dedicated social marketing managers grows. Specialists become necessary when the day to day tasks of an important project become overwhelming. For most organizations, that day is already here.

DIY Social Media Marketing Is Losing Its Appeal

DIY is an American tradition for many good reasons. People long have found that doing things themselves is rewarding and saves them money.

The temptation to do all your digital marketing yourself is understandable.

Natural, yes, but is it a good idea?

For most business owners the answer is a resounding “no.”

Digital marketing is a catchall phrase that encompassed diverse disciplines which all require a serious investment in time to master. Expecting a hard working small business person who is already slammed with daily work retirements to take on these additional tasks is too much.

When a small business owner turns over their digital marketing duties to specialists, they receive some benefits instantly. Chief among them are:

• Specialists have a high degree of knowledge about digital marketing, including timely information about what works currently.
• Digital marketing professionals are fluent in the use of the major social media channels and tools that are necessary for successful campaign management.
• Dedicated professionals have the time required to craft winning campaigns that bring real results to their clients.
• Marketing companies understand the need to analyze metrics and to trust the numbers. They never get emotional about under performing marketing campaigns.
• Turning over your digital marketing campaigns to a qualified agency is a sure way to increase your positive results quickly. You’re free to do the work that makes you the greatest amount of money, which is always a good thing.

Luckily for business owners, there are digital marketing agencies that offer services for all kinds of budgets.  Changes in the digital marketing space happen so fast that companies simply must spend a lot of time staying abreast of new tactics and trends. For those who are in a DIY mindset, this is much more challenging. They’re still learning the basics of social media. To expect them to be able to pick up on nuances is just too demanding.

Project Management Sweeps the World of Digital Marketing

Dedicated project managers are the best way to handle digital marketing projects. Instead of handling all the complicated details of content marketing and digital marketing strategy, appoint a project manager to manage a remote team of experts.

Hiring great talent has always been a challenge, no matter what business is engaging in the market.

The process of attracting and training talent is tough. Even harder is retaining those who understand your product. Keeping everybody happy while bringing in new workers is a delicate balancing act. For startup companies, or businesses experiencing rapid growth, the task of scaling up a workforce is the difference between continuing to grow larger or starting to fall apart.

On-demand workers change the equation totally, especially when managed by a dedicated project manager. Offloading social media managerial duties to an efficient operator. Your company is no longer responsible for the nuts and bolts of day to day personnel issues. You’re able to put more significant efforts to the rest of your business because of this newfound freedom.

The best part about hiring a cloud workforce is the reduction in overhead and paperwork. Digital marketing clients benefit from unheard of flexibility that gives them a competitive edge. In the modern business arena, every bit of edge helps! Top talent is available at affordable labor rates because of the worker’s efficiency. Armed with robust tools and the power of the cloud, your on-demand workforce will wow you with their speed and agility.

Leave the content marketing, digital marketing strategy, and social media management to us! Call us today at 1-877-830-3318 to discuss your project.