2017 Enterprise Content Marketing Trends

A new year brings new trends in enterprise content marketing.

To give you a jump-start, we asked experts to weigh-in on the future of content marketing.

Here are 2017 enterprise content marketing trends to watch out for.

2017 enterprise content marketing strategies breakdown

Embrace the Blur

The once well-defined content marketing channels are now blurring. Wendy Zajack from Georgetown SCS explains the two paths enterprise marketers can take in the messy environment.

Marketing and communications are in a major transformation. What was once a set of well-defined and narrow channels to reach your audience has now become a messy environment — you can either see this as a huge opportunity or stick your head in the sand and try to stay in your swim lane. I think those who can ’embrace the blur’, as our Dean says … are the ones who will succeed in this next business cycle.

Year of Video Content

Marketers are tapping into the power of video more than ever. Why will 2017 be the year of video for the enterprise? Alex Novkov from Kanbanize has the answer.

I expect 2017 to be the year of video content. Everybody loves videos and prefers to see with their own eyes what marketers are talking about. Even now video content is resulting in the highest ROI. Expect this trend to expand over the next year.

Interactive Content

The idea behind interactive content is to engage visitors. Why is engagement important? Because it’s one of the main drivers behind every enterprise content marketing strategy. Russab Ali from SMC Digital Marketing shares why interactive content will make a splash in 2017.

In 2017, enterprises will shift towards interactive content, where the reader has to make choices that influence the outcome of the content. You’ve already seen this with quizzes and tests which were the most shared pieces of content in 2016. In 2017, this will go further, delving into interactive videos and blog posts. This means readers have a direct impact on the content. This level of engagement leads to increase in brand recall.

Eye Towards Sales

Content marketing is no longer about putting out blogs and infographics hoping for traffic. In 2017, enterprises will put method behind the madness, and use content marketing to help close sales. Beth Carter from Clarient Creative tells us how enterprise content marketers have their eye towards selling in 2017.

An emerging trend in enterprise-level content marketing is a bigger focus on the management of content assets with an eye towards sales enablement. Creating an asset is only the first step in the ultimate goal of driving revenue; the sales team also needs to know where to find these assets and how to use them to help close a sale. In 2017, I think we’ll see more emphasis on marketing-sales coordination and communication, which will allow organizations to use these assets they’ve created to generate maximum ROI

Element of Personalization

The rise of content marketing has created an ocean of content. At this point, content that isn’t tailored to your customers simply won’t cut it. Terence Channon from SaltMines Startup Studio shares why enterprises will have to customize content moving forward.

The most effective content marketing campaigns will have an element of personalization or at least segmentation. Rather than one-size fits all infographics, automated emails, and content, we’ll see messaging tailored towards the individual’s business needs and derived from prior conversations. Prospective customers are getting better at brushing off automated, canned posts. We’re seeing much better response rates to messaging that is specific to the customer’s environment.

Create a Buyer Persona

To personalize your content, you have to know who your audience is. This is where the time-tested strategy of personas comes in. Andrea Mocherman from Flowroute shares why enterprises need to hone in on their audience.

Enterprises need to get a grasp on who their buyer is and what their pain points are before they even start to produce content for their next campaign – which will eliminate the “spray and pray” approach to content marketing. Building a buyer persona will enable marketers to create messages and offers that resonate with their target audience, leading to increased interactions with the content that will result in revenue generating conversions.

Real-Time Brand Engagement

Look for enterprises to add real-time content to their strategy in 2017. The idea of fresh content has broken new barriers with real-time engagement. Derric Haynie of SplashOPM shares why you’re leaving money on the table without real-time brand engagement.

I see 2017 being more about live video and real-time brand engagements than any other year in history. I can honestly say that if your brand doesn’t have a real-time engagement strategy, and real-time marketers to go along with the “generic” content such as blog posts or videos, that you’ll be leaving money on the table. 2017’s content marketing strategy needs to leave room in the budget for live video / live engagements – things like live event marketing, Twitter chats, Snapchat, Instagram stories, Facebook Live, etc.

Laser Focused Content Strategies

We’ve heard from our other contributors – the days of spray-n-pray marketing tactics are dead. Dafne Orbach from NicheMKTG gets right down to it – enterprises need laser accuracy for 2017 content marketing.

In 2017, I see marketing teams becoming even more selective about their content marketing tactics – especially in companies with smaller teams. It’s impossible to do everything and still do it well. Without that high-quality standard and a laser-focus strategy, content marketing easily becomes ineffective. At the same time, sales will continue to work closely together with marketing, eventually converging into a single team, with everyone being measured by the same sales-driven KPIs.

Podcasts Will Blow Up

If you’re in marketing, you’ve seen more and more companies embracing the podcast. And for good reason – when done right, podcasts create undeniably engaging content. Alhan Keser from Blue Fountain Media explains why podcasting is going to blow up.

When it comes to B2B content marketing, it can be hard to stand out. Everyone’s blogging, everyone’s whitepapering, and everyone is webinaring. Gaining industry attention share is a colossal challenge without doing something differently. That’s why I think podcasts are going to blow up this year. But it has to be done right – here’s why: Podcasts have a higher entry barrier, require both production and talent chops and can be slow to take off. It means only those who really want it and are consistent will make this technique work. And that makes it the next frontier in content marketing.

Influencer Marketing Taking the Lead

You’ve been hearing the phrase influencer marketing popup more and more. But what does it mean? And how can enterprises use it in their 2017 content marketing strategies? Here’s Gareth O’Sullivan to show you the way.

Influencer marketing will definitely rise and become more of a trend in 2017. Over the past 6 months, Influencer Marketing has really taken off, so this is something we can definitely expect to see more of in the coming year. Most big brands already have an influencer strategy in place and are connecting with well-known industry experts to achieve their goals. If you haven’t looked into influencer marketing, then you need to right away before it’s too late.