If you’re not moving forward, you’re already falling behind. That mantra holds plenty of weight for marketers, who are constantly summoned to learn the ropes of the latest “killer” tactics and strategies. These days, content marketing has the spotlight, and rightfully so. It’s essential for any marketer looking for a way to generate and nurture leads. But how can marketers stay ahead of the curve?
We spoke with a handful of experts to hear their thoughts on what’s next:
Chris Birk, director of content development, Veterans United Home Loans:
“These two words give content creators a sense of what’s ahead: Google Glass. Producing high-quality, informative or captivating videos, from educational how-tos to original programming, will be more important than ever. Real-time (and real-person) interactivity will be critical. Glass isn’t any kind of grail, but I think it signals a shift in the way marketers interact with consumers, with heavy emphasis on the word ‘interact.’ Influencer marketing will remain important, but many companies in all sorts of verticals will find increasing value in building up in-house experts who emerge as the face or one of the faces of the brand.”
Jay Miletsky, CEO, Sequel Media Group:
“Content marketing will, hopefully, become more of a standard means for communication, rather than a flash in the pan. But the next big thing on the horizon, which is already in place but just now getting a lot of attention, will be the increased push toward native advertising units. As these take greater hold and we start to see fewer standard ad units, we’ll see the establishment of greater relationships between marketers and publishers, as they collectively determine the best ways to showcase their brands while simultaneously increasing traffic.”
David Spark, founder, Spark Media Solutions:
“Asking, ‘What’s beyond content marketing?’ is like asking, ‘What’s beyond human communications?’ There’s really nothing new about content marketing. It’s just a new name for ‘custom publishing,’ which has been going on for close to 200 years. The reason it’s so popular is because the ease of publishing and distribution wasn’t around until recently. The next ‘wave’ of content marketing will be far more iterative. We’re seeing something like this with commenting in content, but that doesn’t have control or structure. Building content through a wiki-like interface where everyone can be a contributor and an editor is the next wave.”
Josh Glantz, vice president and general manager, PCH Digital:
“Content marketing will end up at or somewhere near the intersection of mobile and local. If you believe otherwise, you will be left behind. Facebook is starting to show that critics who doubted their ability to monetize their audience were wrong. With their tremendous amount of first-party data and intense focus on developing new ad products, Facebook will continue be a force. Good old-fashioned lead generation starts with data collection. Marketers who know how to put the right offer with the right incentive in front of the right consumer at their moment of consideration will continue to thrive.”
Micky Long, VP and practice director of lead nurturing, Arketi Group:
“The ‘next big thing’ for driving effective lead generation and nurturing is likely to have its roots in the big-data movement. With marketers deploying better tools to manage customer and prospect interactions and making (or being forced to make) the leap to building deeper buyer personas, the next logical step seems to be putting all of that insight together. The result is stronger value propositions and offers
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