10 Trends Content Marketers Need To Know For 2017

8 min readDec 19, 2016

We often think that we have been going on a great pace and we’ll also be able to do great in the coming times also… but isn’t it the best strategy to gear up before entering into a new year.

Yes.. that’s what I’m going to write about today!

2017 is around the corner and we need to pull up our socks and see if we are ready to adopt all the trends that are predicted to be there in this coming year.

I know we live in a smart age and we are right there with a perfect prep but here is just a quick revision of where we need to pay more attention.

So, to cut it short…

Here are 10 Trends That All The Content Marketers Need To Follow For 2017

1. Content Strategy:

To get rolling in the year 2017, marketers need to have a solid content strategy. As we can see, 2016 has been full of new demands and deliveries. Year 2017 is also predicted to be full of innovative ideas, from content planning and some great distribution as well.

Companies need to build a quality content strategy in order to timely create, publish and distribute the content.

Spam and random content just for the online presence wouldn’t really work. You see, in 2016 also, around 300 million users blocked and reported the spammish ads and content around the globe.

2. Content Technology:

Along with a perfect content strategy, marketers today also have to concentrate a lot on the upcoming technology.

This information technology world is making changes and inventions everyday and everyone has to cope up with these emerging technologies.

Things like interactive content, email marketing, video marketing, content distribution apps, latest SEO efforts and market automation drastically change the content strategies but need to be thoroughly followed in order to be in the competition.

All the marketers need to be up to date when it comes to following Content Technology.

3. Content Quality:

Talking about the quality of content, well this one is a vast topic of discussion…

Because nowadays, we have a wide variety of content and each one is equally important and trending. We have infographics, storytelling, listicles, stats and etc. Make sure you create a compelling and comprehensive piece of content.

The readers need variety and the latest information indeed, if you’re giving away that old data again and again then you are simply doing it wrong.

Remember, Content is the King, so treat it like a king. Only the content with great SEO efforts and compelling story-line can engage readers, generate leads, increase traffic and add value to your website.

Check out this post on how to come up with quality content: Content Creation in a Slump? Here are 5 Ways Qualitative Data Can Help

4. Visual Content:

Visual content holds a great importance in today’s digital era. Previously, we used to think that these images and videos are just to add beauty in any piece… but there is a lot more to it.

Images and video add up to your content optimization, give your content a real-life image and also grab your readers in great ways.

In fact, 39% of marketers believe that more of their budget should be allocated to the acquisition or creation of compelling visual assets.

It has also been observed that content with illustrations does 323% better than without illustrations.

Video Marketing has also seen an increase in recent times and we see that the trend is going to raise amazingly in the future also.

A recent study shows that 74% of web traffic will come from the Video Marketing. Isn’t it just amazing!

5. Social Media Presence:

Social Media has evolved with a great pace. Nobody could have ever thought that it would become such a necessary platform for every single brand. Traditional marketing has just lost its thing and now it’s all about the digital marketing on these social media platforms.

There are many social media platforms which can be of great use for content marketing. Here are the few social mediums which I think are the most important:

i).Facebook- Facebook is one platform which has progressed amazingly, like no other platform. From a plain socializing platform now it has turned into a whole new world where no brand can refuse to have a presence. It’s a must to have Facebook pages and to run Facebook ads now.

Here is An Ultimate Guide on How to use Facebook Ads for Content Marketing.

ii). Snapchat- Well, I have not used Snapchat yet as a tool to market my products and services, but I know one thing that it is evolving dramatically and people are going crazy about it. Now the brands have also felt the need of showing their presence on Snapchat and cater to its target audience.

Here is How Brands Can Benefit in the Snapchat Scene.

iii). Instagram- This is another platforms where content is rocking all the way. In fact, small posts at Instagram are just doing great these days. All the brands know that it is a must to have an Instagram account as well. It is also considered as a best platform in terms of user engagement. So, don’t miss out the opportunity to engage your audience with brand on Instagram.

Check out How to Use Instagram for Content Marketing.

6. Influencer Marketing:

Now this is a trend which wasn’t given the desired attention before but in recent times people have started realizing its worth. And I’m telling you that this going to be a Big thing in coming days.

Brand haves started Influencer marketing and these influencers do miracles at having an impacts on their followers.

Researches on how Influencer Marketing is useful for companies show that around 65% of brands have started making use of Influencer marketing.

Here the the benefits of using influencer marketing: 5 Reasons Why You Need To Be a LinkedIn Influencer

7. Mobile Responsiveness:

This is something that you must have heard repeatedly before as well and now is the era where most of the brands have realized the fact that they simply cannot run without a good mobile interface.

But there are still a few businesses who ignore this fact and lose so many leads on daily basis. Having a mobile friendly website is a must now.

In fact entrepreneurs have started launching sites and apps that are made for mobile interface only because a large chunk of people are using internet on the mobile now and desktops are almost out of use.

Read more: Marketing your new mobile app

8. Automated Content Distribution and Promotion:

Automation of all the procedure is another thing for which you should be prepared for. The mailing systems, the uploading of social media posts, the running of ads, almost everything has gone on automation now.

It is more like a robotic world now but it is true that you have to follow the pace as well. Check How Automaton is conquering the Digital Marketing World.

In fact companies have predicted automation in content creation as well.

Disclaimer: Writers, you better keep your jobs safe!

Medium is a great source to promote your content. Don’t believe this? Check this out: 12 Tips To Make Your Content Go Viral On Medium

9. Global Integrations:

Content Marketing has been contributing to the global interactions since it has started.

In previous time, marketing was done locally or at most nationally; only some multi national brands had the same marketing around the globe. But now times have changed and people are connected around the globe. So it has also helped in saving cost and let the brand use the digital platforms and market globally.

This is also tricky because you also have to take care of the difference in culture, language, events and nature of place. So remember to make the most out of it.

Here is how you can check the future content preferences around the Globe.

10. Return On Investment:

With the amazing evolution, content marketing also has another advantage of having an extremely quick and easily measured ROI.

We often get confused on how are we going to measure the efforts we make but this type of marketing offers a great transparency and shows us about where our efforts have reached.

Check out this great article on How Content Marketing Offers Transparent ROI.

Now you can have a great grip over what your ROI is and in this year if you haven’t kept a good track, you can do it for 2017.

So, all geared up?

Yes, I hope all the trends and important features of content marketing that I have mentioned above seem pretty important to you as well. And trust me if you really get prepared for all of these branches, you are going to rock in 2017.

So Good Luck with everything!

Have a Great Year ahead!

Want to know more on content marketing? Check out this post: Tips for effective content marketing