Content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content.  The idea is to attract a highly targeted audience and encourage potential customers to perform an action that identifies their needs, interests and level of qualification.

Valuable:  What does your content do to educate your readers, improve their business or solve a problem or challenge?

Relevant:  Does your content speak directly to the major pain points being experienced by your target audience?

Consistent:  Are you regularly publishing enough content to establish a strong online presence to keep your readers interested?

Answering these three questions will go a long way towards creating an effective content marketing plan.  The latest trends all point to a greater focus on the aforementioned basics of content marketing.

Compounding Content

Compounding content is best known as a content piece that generates the majority of its traffic far past its initial release. Evergreen content that is written in a way to stay relevant outside of a finite timeline is a prime example of compounding content. According to HubSpot, the following steps are needed to make content compound over time:

• Authoritatively answer the reader’s question
• Cover a broad topic
• Title in a way that reflects current SEO best practices
• Structure to make information more easily digestible

Compounding content can produce results for months and even years at a time. Not every blog you write will be an instant blockbuster. This type of blog is designed specifically to add longevity to your content and produce steadily over time.

Personalized Content

This puts the onus on segmentation, account-based marketing practices and detailed buyer personas. Personalization can take many forms and can be used in email, microsites, blogs, premium content and even direct mail. Indicators such as first name and company name will draw your prospects attention and encourage them to interact with your content, but those are just the first step. Customer feedback, content downloads and teleprospecting campaigns can help you gain intelligence to develop personalized nurturing workflows.

Media Publishing Approach

A media publishing approach mirrors multi-channel marketing in many ways including the use of a diverse set of content media and distribution channels. Similar to the processes used to edit a movie or record a song, a media publishing approach is more about developing a process that allows you to take pieces from a brainstorming session and turn them into valuable content. Having a repeatable process in place for developing your content will improve your end product and increase the overall efficiency of your content marketing plan.

These trends align with the core needs for a successful content marketing plan.  Content marketing is one of the building blocks of an effective inbound marketing strategy.  Click below to schedule a free inbound marketing assessment to learn how your company can better harness the power of inbound marketing.