As we move into 2015, wow that has gone quick, we have collected thoughts on digital marketing trends from expert leaders and practitioners in their field.
Below are 7 Content Marketing Trends for 2015.
| Andrew Milk, Head of Sponsored Content Account Management, Taboola | |
 | The biggest thing we see at Taboola for the future of content marketing is the opportunity to track and optimise results. When marketers think content, they don’t always correlate that with ROI but we really like to focus on the returns when we work with clients to develop their content strategy. Many clients have direct KPIs they can attach to content, whether it’s e-commerce CPA goals newsletter sign-ups, or traditional lead gen. Knowing these goals and then working towards achieving them in a cost-effective manner is the future of content marketing and will allow more marketers to put more of their budgets towards reaching consumers in ways beyond the traditional banner ad. |
| Jennifer Catto, VP, Global Solutions & Content Production, Say Media | |
 | Content marketing is a continuum; it started long ago when CPG companies created soap operas, then advertorials in print magazines became common practice, and now marketers are engaging consumers with instream media and branded content in digital magazines. The medium will continue to evolve, and the idea of native or branded content will continue to captivate us. The market is flooded with content marketing opportunities that vary wildly in quality, all under the “native” umbrella. We are watching this slippery slope of quantity over quality start to take hold – content sold in bulk. My prediction is marketers who pursue quantity over quality will have content production fatigue by this time next year – with little brand lift to show for it. For great branded content to find its audience, it should look and feel like great editorial content.Content marketing will continue to be important in 2015 as marketers vie for reader attention in a cluttered media landscape. |
| Xenios Thrasyvoulou, Founder PeoplePerHour and SuperTasker | |
 | Freelancer use is on the increase, especially amongst marketing professionals. We have seen a 140% increase in the number of marketers utilising PeoplePerHour year-on-year and that trend is looking healthy for 2015 as well. We found that content marketing is an area where brands and their agencies increasingly require freelance support, with our data revealing that writing expertise is the second most sought after skill they look for support with. As the skills businesses need to produce excellent content marketing diversify, freelance marketplaces provide easy access to a range of hyperspecialists. This avoids the expense of having to employ a permanent member of staff for each area of expertise or bringing on board a jack of all trades that does not fully and qualitatively respond to the range of skills required for successful content marketing today. |
| Paul Dixon, Director of Motion, DesignStudio | |
 | Facebook’s acquisition of the Oculus Rift this year has certainly made virtual reality technology headline news all throughout the year. There are a number of competitors looking to launch at the same time from Sony’s Morpheus to TOTEM and Google’s own version that looks to bring virtual reality development to the masses with their cardboard headsets. However brands still have a challenge next year to work out how to use this new technology to engage and communicate with audiences. Amazing content is key but virtual reality is a brand new industry and it still take a few more years until this tech is truly understood and used effectively by brands. |
| Danny Weitzkorn, Director, Kameleon | |
 | Content marketing has been around since before the turn of the century, but where it has previously been considered as just a buzzword, content is now being recognised as a powerful medium to engage audiences and make brands meaningful to their consumer. A good story can keep delivering, ultimately increasing a campaign’s shelf life and ensuring the consumer is engaged for longer. The distinction between ‘content marketing’ and ‘marketing’ is blurring as brands realise that content isn’t just something that should be ‘done’ but a discipline that should be given the air time and investment in order for it to succeed. |
| Ben Knight, Diector of Products and Strategy, Croud | |
 | Tools will be huge! Content marketing in 2014 has boomed, and partly due to brands having more insight into measurability of their activities through new tools. As well as massive improvements in analytics packages, being able to integrate additional content measurement and tracking tools means that brands can begin to really understand the value of the content they produce in hard numbers. The market is being bombarded with hundreds of tools that all aim to track and quantify the monetary value of customer engagement and next year we will start to see this become more scientific and accurate. |
| Andy O’Brien, Creative Director at Amaze | |
 | “Content is King!” It’s a phrase that we’ve heard a thousand times before, but the problem is that the world of content has turned upside down and society now has more Kings than subjects. In today’s world, everyone is a content creator and while five years ago we predicted the imminent death of the journalist, the demise of the newspaper and the disintegration of the paid publication, the truth of the matter is the complete opposite. The idea that anyone can create compelling content has meant that brands and marketers have flooded the web with guff that no-one wants to consume. The impact of this in 2015 will see the return of the discerning consumer; a consumer who will even pay for content (with money or personal information) and actually narrow down his field of sources in order not to have to wade through the treacle of ill-conceived and poorly executed content that currently populate many web experiences. For clever brands that have, up until now, been creating smarter and more relevant content – it’s now going to be more difficult for many more to join them. So, next year’s smart brands will have to accept either that they have very little to say (and find other ways of reminding their consumers that they exist) or they will have to revert to good old-fashioned PR techniques to get their content noticed by a new generation of digital content gatekeepers. |
