Kylee Charles: Content marketing trends for 2017

As a proactive business, you recognise that to expand your online profile, you need to increase your content.
Kylee Charles, director of Shotgun Communications, a Sussex PR and marketing agency that provides businesses support with campaigns to profile their products and services, using traditional and digital methods. www.shotgunpr.co.uk @shotgunpragency SUS-170901-115228001Kylee Charles, director of Shotgun Communications, a Sussex PR and marketing agency that provides businesses support with campaigns to profile their products and services, using traditional and digital methods. www.shotgunpr.co.uk @shotgunpragency SUS-170901-115228001
Kylee Charles, director of Shotgun Communications, a Sussex PR and marketing agency that provides businesses support with campaigns to profile their products and services, using traditional and digital methods. www.shotgunpr.co.uk @shotgunpragency SUS-170901-115228001

However, writing content is one thing, but being successful at it is another.

The CMI (Content Marketing Institute) have released their annual Benchmark, Budget and Trends Report, informing us what to look out for in the year ahead and how to integrate it in your business’ content strategy.

Here are a few highlights that you need to know: 2017:

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The Year of Linked - In If you have one resolution this year, make it LinkedIn and create your business’ profile.

LinkedIn has been hailed as the most important social channel to upload your business’ content, as 84 per cent of content marketers use LinkedIn (which is 4 per cent fewer than e-mail!) and three quarters of content marketers rate is as “incredibly important” to their success.

Be committed to cConsistency - Consistency is vital to your marketing success. The more you post regularly with great content, the better results you will find in terms of engagement and leads.

When it comes to writing content, you need to aim for a ‘value exchange’ with your customer or client. When you plan your campaigns, use relevant and informative content that can help you create a loyal readership, who will want to come back for more.

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Quality over quantity - Quality reaps better results over quantity and 71 per cent of content marketers agree. The CMI states that the most essential rule when writing content is to focus on writing for your audience, not your brand.

When it comes to your next blog, think about some of the questions you get asked about by clients and customers or a topical subject in the news that relates with your business and your audience.

Being informative is the best way to gain content interaction.

Another important factor before writing online content is to research keywords before you write. Using tools such as Google Analytics can help you dictate what keywords to focus on, but before that you need to think about what your product is and what phrases your target consumer will use to find you through Google.

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Keyword research is one of the most essential techniques your business needs to learn, if you don’t do it already.

Take note of your metrics - Numbers and statistics are never fun, but it’s worthwhile to look at your metrics each time you post so you can see what content connects the best with your audience.

Metrics are increasingly becoming more sophisticated, allowing you to set goals and measure your content’s ROI, so you can really understand what makes your clients and customers tick.

According to the CMI report, 65 per cent of businesses who use metrics to help their campaigns have found a growth in leads and 54 per cent of businesses have found that learning from their metrics has helped them to increase sales. So, don’t shun the numbers, learn from them.

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For 2017, invest time into creating engaging, consistent and thoughtful online content, as businesses who are committed to content marketing are 37 per cent more likely to understand what their success looks like and are likelier to describe their content marketing as effective.

Kylee Charles is the Director of Shotgun Communications, a Sussex PR and marketing agency that provides businesses support with campaigns to profile their products and services, using traditional and digital methods. www.shotgunpr.co.uk @shotgunpragency

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