Content marketing is the future of digital marketing. ”We are, at present, in the midst of a historic transformation for brands and companies everywhere,” writes Alexander Jutkowitz for his article Content Marketing Revolution in Harvard Business Review, “and it centers on content.”
Indeed, in order to stay relevant as a brand online, one needs to produce quality, relevant content. Content marketing, however, is a labor-intensive process with many moving parts. How does one strategically produce and distribute content in a way that encourages engagement and elevates one’s brand?
1. The growing shift to owned social media audiences
Social media, one the laughing stock of media corporations, is now a veritable juggernaut. As ad dollars and brands move to social media platforms, a question has been emerging in the minds of marketing professionals everywhere: how do we prepare for future shifts in platforms.
Gone are the days of the TV-industrial age, as Seth Godin once put it. It’s no longer possible to have a linear marketing strategy that targets one platform. As tastes and technology shift, how do we create sustainable content marketing strategies?
Content marketing professionals are beginning to shift to owned social media audiences. That is, they are working to create their own communities on their proprietary platforms. Capturing audiences on large platforms like Twitter then slowly moving them to a blog is a simple example. However, media and marketing companies are getting more clever with the creation of their own communities, including building their own social hubs and forums.
2. Growth of NFTs, ebooks, and self-publishing
Self-publishing is on the rise. Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited paid out over a quarter of a billion dollars to indie authors in 2019 alone. The demand for ebooks is growing exponentially, in part due to the profusion of independent books and ebook-only publishing houses.
As a result of this mushrooming, savvy marketing companies are investing more time into publishing content for brands and personalities.
“Our decision to publish and promote captivating work such as How to See a Man About a Dog by Samuel Knox was precipitated by a growing interest in NFTs and the future of value in the digital economy,” Jacqueline Carter, founder of Foxhound, writes. “As the culture of content continues to change, we will be producing and publishing more substantive work like this anthology short story series.”
The surrealist read of How to See a Man About a Dog is a “heartbreaking and hilarious” kaleidoscopic vision of the modern age. How does independent art fit into typical content marketing activities?
As NFTs gain more popularity and funding artists through platforms like Patreon become more mainstream, creating space for engagement and enrichment for online communities will require a greater understanding of the art landscape in the digital space.
“Building a strategy for concentrated organic growth in the ebook industry has been a new challenge for us,” continued Jacqueline Carter. “I believe that having the author, Samuel Knox, create a community from leased audiences on Twitter, Goodreads, and Discord is one piece of the puzzle. Bringing a true brand identity into this space will be a major competitive advantage.”
3. Increased demand for AR and VR
Facebook, Steam, and Amazon have all heavily invested in immersive media technologies. Augmented reality is being used by retail companies to help bridge the gap between in-person and online shopping experiences. Virtual reality is steadily gaining ground in the video gaming sector as prices go down and availability goes up.
Augmented reality is more than a mere toy, however. As Pokemon Go proved only a few years ago, AR games are a commercially viable entertainment product. However, it goes further than just gaming. Branded experiences within VR and AR are possible. Some content marketing companies, such as Foxhound, have already begun experimenting with the nascent marketing applications within AR and VR.
Conclusion
Content marketing is undoubtedly the future of digital marketing. Social media strategy relies on a quality stream of hyper-targeted content. How content will transform in the future is yet to be seen. However, these three transformational trends are essential to understanding the trajectory of PR and content marketing.
Smart brands are moving toward owned social platforms, cultivating communities with the highest engagement rates.
Prudent brands are also looking to actively expand into NFTs and self-publishing, marrying traditional PR and content marketing with art promotion and experimentation. The adoption of rapidly advancing technologies like AR and VR will also prove to be a pivotal strategic choice for brands and marketing agencies alike.
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