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We hear it sometimes, and you probably do too – “Content marketing is dying” or “content marketing’s demise is upon us.”
Before you expect us to say that “content marketing is here to stay forever because we love it,” we’ll throw a curve ball. We DO think some old fashioned content marketing strategies are on their way out. But, when it comes down to digging the grave on content as a whole – we’re not so convinced.
We see what’s happening as more of an evolution – that you can stay ahead of, or fall behind. Creating content just for the sake of creating content, and keyword stuffing won’t drive results anymore .
People are looking for information online, and you’re going to have a hard time getting them to visit your site and stick around if there’s nothing interesting there. In the ‘evolution of content marketing,’ a simple, quality-driven approach has proven success:
First, focus on being personal. Other companies can have similar products, reputations or styles – but no other company has your individual teammates and customers. Show off what makes you different by speaking about your unique insights, showing off your staff and speaking directly to your customers.
Sticking with a personal theme, create original visuals. Stock photos do the trick, but a recent study from Quick Sprout showed that they get less engagement than custom infographics and hand drawn images. Mix in some custom graphics to break up stock photos and take original pictures when it’s possible – like staff events, at trade shows or product releases.
Finally – produce videos that will engage your audience. For our clients, we often see that video content increases dwell time, and viewers are more likely to click through to view more pages after watching a video.
Here’s the content lesson to be learned: Trends and buzzwords are going to come and go. “Content marketing” isn’t what it was two years ago, and it’s likely not going to be what is today two years from now.
So, what do you think? Is content marketing “dying”? Let us know in the comments.
