Content marketing is a powerful tool that can benefit virtually any organization.
To produce great content, however, you need to stay ahead of the curve.
Best practices evolve quickly, and businesses that are savvy and nimble enough to adapt to the latest trends are the ones reaping rewards in the marketplace.
To help you do just that, let’s review some of the most compelling recent writing on content marketing:
Seven Predictions for the Shape of Content Marketing in 2020 — Forbes.com
Making predictions is kind of like target practice — there will be hits and misses and those hits are harder to accomplish the farther you are away.
This article from Forbes.com earns extra degree of difficulty points by predicting what the year 2020 will bring for the content marketing space.
These predictions are fairly ambitious as well: augmented reality breakthroughs, a reshaping of SEO, an explosion of native advertising and a continued emphasis on live video are a few of the trends listed. Read this and get ready for the future.
Four Tips for Maximizing Content Marketing Performance — SearchEngineLand
If you’ve invested in content marketing — but you’d like to gain a little more traction — this piece from SearchEngineLand is a good place to start.
It outlines a four-part strategy for optimizing your content marketing.
The author encourages business owners to do the following: focus on understanding the audience and the purpose of the content; use a multi-channel approach.
Define the overall strategy and key performance indicators; take a “less is more” attitude to avoid clutter and audience fatigue.
A smart read that covers some of the strategic basics of content marketing.
How We Ranked Number One for a High-Volume Keyword in Under Three Months — Moz
Content marketing is highly-effective — and that’s the primary reason why so many organizations are using it. In a crowded field, standing out is a serious challenge.
This case study takes a look at how Moz was able to rank number one for a high-volume keyword (“sales management”) in fewer than three months. How was it done?
Moz outlines an eight-step process that includes internal link building, guest blogging, optimized SEO, topic selection and finding outside sources willing to link to the content.
Many of these steps are tried-and-true, but the case study does a good job of explaining the optimal way to implement them.
Eighty-percent of Consumers Forget Content Within a Few Days — Netimperative.com
It can’t be stressed enough that effective content marketing requires really good content. This article from Netimperative.com details new research into the staying power of content.
The research, published jointly by a neuroscientist and the online presentation firm Prezi, shows that 80-percent of consumers forget branded content within a few days. Why?
Irrelevancy is the chief culprit. There is good news, here, however: Great content that engages the audience and makes them feel as if they are part of a conversation is much more effective.
A good reminder to make sure your content is strong enough to be memorable.
Thanks for reading this week’s wrap up of the best news on content marketing.
Check back next week for more great ideas and if you missed last weeks roundup on content innovation, be sure to check it out!