Wouldn't it be great if you could really take a peek in future to watch emerging trends and borrow ideas from there? Most of you would actually jump out of your seat if it really happens. After all, everybody likes crystal ball gazing. Though the idea sounds selfish, the temptation to get an unfair advantage over the competitors is quite natural and content marketers are no exception to this. They would certainly try every trick to find out what's going in the minds of the best content marketers such as Rand Fishkin, Lary Kim, and Benji Hyam.
So how will content marketing evolve in 2017? Rand Fishkin, while talking to Convince And Convert, answers philosophically, "In 2017, content marketing is going to be even more challenging than it is today.”Surely, you will smile on this answer, and appreciate his maneuver to dodge a straight question like this, but you must be eager for an answer.
Don't worry, here is a list of 4 content marketing trends to watch out in 2017.
- More purpose driven content marketing
Rand Fishkin is absolutely right what he said earlier.He implied that content marketers would need to create a more purpose-driven content marketing strategy in 2017. It should answer—why do you create content? What is the purpose of the content? So there must be a deeper purpose to every piece of content you create. - Increase in native advertising
A couple of years ago, enterprises were spending more (almost 80%) on content creation and less (almost 20%) on content promotion. The ratio has largely reversed, according to a Content Marketing Institute study. Enterprises are more focused on paid promotion. So the role of native advertising in content marketing is going to increase further. - Brands will be more creative with formats
The format of content marketing has remained more or less unchanged for quite some time. This has mainly revolved around blogs, ebooks, case studies, and white papers. These formats will continue to exist, but some new content formats may emerge in the crowd and make waves. 'Temporary' content, thanks to Snapchat, is one such new form of content that can dominate in 2017. Brands will be keen to capitalize on such opportunities and get more creative with visual content. - More niche messaging
With more businesses joining the content marketing bandwagon, the saturated pool of content marketing will probably oversaturate in 2017. Writing over discussed posts won't help you at all. Instead of writing on "How to attract more followers on Twitter"; you're better off writing about "How to attract competitors' followers on Twitter”. Generic writing won't help you stand out in crowd.
Final thoughts
Rising new trends does not mean the end of traditional content marketing. However, a particular type of content will become more important to serve a particular purpose. New forms of content such as native advertising and temporary content will gain prominence and some existing trends such as videos and visuals will become even more important in 2017.