Content marketing continues to be one of the biggest buzzwords in the B2B marketing space. Companies continue to embrace ever more forms of content as part of their overarching content marketing strategy. That includes social media posts, blog content, and newsletters, all of which rank among the most popular forms of content that companies are creating. With that in mind, here’s a list of 3 ways to jump-start your content marketing efforts in 2017.
#1: Embrace mobile
It may sound obvious, given how ubiquitous mobile has become in our lives, but many B2B organizations are still thinking in terms of the desktop instead of the mobile device when they develop their content marketing initiatives. That’s why case studies – typically used by more than 80 percent of B2B marketers – may be in the process of a major re-think as we head into 2017. Ever tried to open up a detailed case study on your iPhone? So embracing mobile means more than just optimizing a website for mobile – it means thinking in terms of how, when and where people are consuming content on their mobile devices.
#2: Tap into the full potential of Facebook
Most marketers realize that Facebook is the premier content consumption, sharing and discovery platform in the world, but they don’t make it front-and-center of their content marketing initiatives. Any content needs to be found and shared on Facebook. End of discussion.
That means accepting the inevitability of needing to find ways to insert your content into the Facebook news feeds of potential buyers. For some companies, it might imply a “pay-to-play” approach, in which organic Facebook traffic is supplemented with paid traffic. For other companies, it may mean embracing the trend toward “social selling,” in which B2B salespeople embrace the power of social media to inform, educate and, yes, convert their leads into sales.
#3: Experiment with new social video platforms
It’s too easy to dismiss “video” as just meaning YouTube. Yes, YouTube is still the world’s most popular video platform, but it’s now getting plenty of competition in the form of Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook Live. Heading into 2017, one of the biggest trends in video is live broadcasting. For B2B brands, that might be a live broadcast from an in-person event, such as a trade show or exhibition.
Confused about where to start? There are plenty of vendors – like ScribbleLive, a content marketing platform, that can get you up-and-running. Companies like ScribbleLive empower businesses to plan, create and publish high-impact content to generate results. Each new bit of content helps to tell your story to an audience.
At the end of the day, far too many companies underestimate the amount of work that’s needed to make it a success. However, it’s called ‘content marketing’ and not ‘content creation’ for a reason – you need to go out there and market all the great content that you’re creating as an organization. But when you’re committed to making it a success, you’ll be surprised at just how effective it can be in telling your story as a company and brand.
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.