“Content is king”. A famous quote by Bill Gates in 1996, which I’m sure you’ve heard before. Funnily enough he predicted the boom of HUGE online activity in the 90s – way before all the major companies like Google or Facebook even existed. We would like to make a little change because here at DRIVE, we’re big on equality and all-round female positivity, so it’s only right we change it to ‘Content is Queen’. So what exactly does this mean in 2018 for content marketing? Content reigns supreme after 22 years but the quantity is rather overwhelming. There’s a constant stream of content uploaded to the web every second; coming in various forms such as blogs, vlogs, podcasts, photos – even memes count as valuable content these days – just look at Gucci’s marketing.
http://digital.gucci.com/tfwgucci/p/26
Blogs
A surge of blogging hit the marketing industry a few years ago and companies were chucking out blogs left, right and centre. They started to see it as a way of driving visitors to their site, and some carried it out brilliantly, creating valuable and sharable content that was worth reading. But if done wrong, with large amounts of content on websites and social media that isn’t particularly interesting or is poorly written, then it’s time wasted. It’s important to produce digestible content that your audience will relate to and it should never be just words – images and video are extremely important. It’s good to remember that Google will favour high quality content over poorer content and your website is more likely to appear higher in searches. Sainsbury’s Home is a brilliant example of a company which understands its lifestyle-based audience. It updates its followers with recipes and interior tips using influencers and guest blogs to expand its audience.
http://www.sainsburyshome.co.uk/zoning-bedroom-with-Hannah-Argyle
Video
The online community has become so saturated with video content that users have become greedy. Unless they’re a loyal fan, it’s likely that your audience want immediate gratification – facts/fun/knowledge within seconds; if you haven’t hooked them or told your story in the first 15 seconds, then you’ve lost them. The next time you watch a YouTube video, pay attention to the advert that plays before the video starts – most likely it will cram everything into the 5 seconds before skipping is allowed. Short, rich and attractive videos are the best way to grab the attention of your audience on social media. This has resulted in some great creative thinking and we particularly love the Dior ad than ran last year. The clip’s only 45 seconds long, but we’re taken on a intense journey exploring love and relationships, created with short, fast-paced frames that emphasis all that passion.
User-generated content
In 2018 the amount of user-generated content (UGC) will keep on increasing, with Forbes suggesting 60% of people will believe UGC is the most valuable way a brand can prove its authenticity. People are more likely to visit a restaurant, request services, or buy a product if they’ve seen other people post positive things about it.
So what does the future hold? The growth of augmented reality is certainly on the cards. With the launch of the latest iPhone which saw AR being pushed as a unique selling point, it’s agreed that we’ll probably be seeing much more of it in the future.
If you need help making sense of all the different types of content and how it can benefit your marketing strategy then get in touch with us on 01303 760670.
Written by Demelza