Content marketing predictions 2014

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Content Marketing

PREDICTIONSFor 2014


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To heck with the vague predictions...here’s three specific predictions:

Microsoft will buy one, maybe two, media companies in certain industries. The outcome will pave the way for further media purchases throughout the year by non-media companies.

Red Bull will announce a series of daredevil movies to be produced by Amazon.com.

At least three Fortune 500 brands will hire a Chief Content Officer.

JOE PULIZZI@JoePulizzi

FOUNDERCONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE


2014 will be the year of short form sound, sight and motion... gifs, vine and instagram videos will deliver greater viewership and higher engagement than long-form. Agencies will compete over who can tell the shortest stories with the biggest impact. Consumers will be

charmed as their attention spans continue to deteriorate!

JULIE FLEIschEr@jfly

DiREctOR, MEDia & cONsUMER ENgagEMENtKRAfT fOOdS


The strategies behind paid, owned and earned content willmerge even more - and 2014 is the year that companies finally start

to proactively and formally create internal organizations for the management of content marketing strategies.

rOBErT rOsE@Robert_RosechiEF stRatEgist

CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE


Sadly, brands will struggle to do more than shill their wares.Hopefully, the smart ones will start seeing content as an engine to extend the brand narrative beyond advertising. Content as means

of brand personalization will be key. We will also see new tools (like Buffer app) to help automate and organize this mass content as well.

MITch JOEL@mitchjoel

PREsiDENtTwIST IMAGE


Bigger success, less content. That’s the motto I expect to see more and more content marketers embrace in 2014. With more and more

organizations taking a more strategic approach to driving sales and higher-quality leads, we’ll see brand marketers create content brands designed to build subscription-based relationships with a

loyal audience. Subscriptions that demand higher-quality content, delivered consistently and shared widely.

ANDrEW DAVIs@TPLDrew

AUThOR Of Brandscaping & MARKETING SpEAKER


In 2014, more brands will partner with publishers beyond the ad buy. I am not talking about “native ads” that consumers ignore but true

content partnerships where brands and publishers will co-create sponsored content for both the publisher and brand websites and the

social web (paid, owned and earned).

MIchAEL BrENNEr@BrennerMichael

VP, MaRkEtiNg aND cONtENt stRatEgySAp


Content becomes the currency of the Modern Sales professional.Sales people will use content to be part of the buyer’s learning

party (57% of the buying process is done prior to engaging Sales). The modern sales professional is a content connoisseur and an

information concierge with a strong personal brand.

JILL rOWLEy@Jill_rowley

sOcial sElliNg & sOcial BUsiNEss EVaNgElisMORAClE


Brands begin to realize visibility is a commodity. Everyone wears a content marketing hat. Brands double down on the evangelist from

the magic middle rather than the thought leader. Longer content will seek out the longer tail which will come at a longer price, but

also with longer results.

FrANK sTrONG@Frank_Strong

cOMMUNicatiONs DiREctORlExISNExIS


As the market continues to mature the role of technologywill play an increasingly critical role. Content strategies will

include technology recommendations to ensure theproper outcomes are measurable.

crAIG hODGEs@king_content

cEOKING CONTENT


The volume of content necessary to earn and keep attention will skyrocket, as more brands creating more content produces more brands creating

even more content. Thus, short-form, mobile-friendly micro content will be the new strategic darling, with Instagram, Vine, SnapChat and other tiny executions leading the way. In an effort to have some editorial rationale

for this avalanche of micro content, we will see an increase in brands trying to ride the real-time marketing wave, with most of them looking

exceptionally vain and foolish while doing so.

JAy BAEr@jaybaerPREsiDENt

CONvINCE & CONvERT


Real-time content marketing will become the new goal as companies strive to participate in conversations versus just sending content to

people on their own schedule.

MIKE WEIr@mikedweir

glOBal hEaD OF catEgORy DEVElOPMENt - tEchNOlOgylINKEdIN


There is a definite trend toward small. If we can’t get big chunks of content through a limited “pipeline” of brain cells, maybe we can get grains of sand through. This would explain ideas like Vine (6 second

videos), infographics and even Pinterest, which is simply easy on the eyes without a lot of processing.

MArK W. schAEFEr@markwschaeferExcUtiVE DiREctOR

SChAEfER MARKETING SOlUTIONS


I predict that the need for translated content will increase, perhaps exponentially, into 2014. More customers are translating more content

into more languages all the time. It is no longer acceptable to reach international markets with an English-only strategy.

VAL sWIshEr@contentrulesinc

FOUNDER & cEOCONTENT RUlES, INC.


The “distribution” slice of the content marketing pie will grow in 2014. As brands begin to create a surfeit of content, the meritocracy

(if one even exists) will shift from the “best” content to thesmartest distribution. Solutions designed to increase content

reach will rise in popularity.

JOE chErNOV@jchernovVP cONtENt

hUBSpOT


Brands maturing their content marketing efforts from increased quantity to better quality will expand beyond providing useful

answers to customer questions in 2014. More brands will publish and promote across channels integrating owned, paid and earned media

emphasizing a customer experience that attracts, engages and converts across the customer lifecycle.

LEE ODDEN@leeodden

cEOTOpRANKMARKETING.COM


Content marketers will discover that it takes more than publishing content to move the needle.

ArDATh ALBEE@ardath421

B2B MaRkEtiNg stRatEgistMARKETING INTERACTIONS, INC.


In 2013, organizations got serious about content production.In 2014, they’ll get serious about building out their teams.

Structuring and hiring around content marketing and“content operations” will be a huge topic.

JEssE NOyEs@noyesjesse

sENiOR DiREctOR OF cONtENt MaRkEtiNgKApOST


Content marketers will become more adept at marketing automation and analytics, enhancing their ability to maximize performance and

connect content campaigns to business results.

PAUL rOETZEr@paulroetzer

cEOpR 20/20


Last year I predicted that Brands will get serious about planning content marketing.

While not enough did, I hope I wasn’t completely wrong. For 2014, I predict tremendous growth for marketing automation. Acquisition and consolidation in the space, along with the drive to

truly measure content marketing will fuel this.

WILL DAVIs@willdavis

chiEF MaRkEtiNg tEchNOlOgy OFFicERRIGhT SOURCE MARKETING


We predict that brand marketers will use video and other multimedia formats to create deep and rich engagements with their customers.

Social media, tweets and other short-form mobile messaging will not be used to carry brand messages alone but rather to promote

engagement with video content and other rich media formats.

BArry hArrIGAN@BarryHarrigan

chaiRMaNpURE INCUBATION


Marketers will begin to be smarter about creating one body of content and distributing it in a variety of short, easily digestible

formats. The research, preparation and effort that goes into writing one 16-page white paper will be re-directed into short-form videos,

infographics, blog posts, LinkedIn updates, executive quotes,survey snippets and shorter form information bits.

MELIssA chANG@mchang16

PREsiDENt & cEOpUREB2B


Marketers will embrace persuasive messaging as the bestway to make their content more relevant and influential.

MIchAEL cANNON@MessagingMatter

SIlvER BUllET GROUp, INC.


By now, many brand marketers have enjoyed some success with content. But, how do you repeat that success reliably, across a large organization? You have to scale. So, in 2014, I predict brand marketers will focus more on scaling their content creation and distribution. That means smart brand marketers will start focusing more on the 3 Es:

Evaluating whether their content is effective and refining their strategy and tactics. Engineering their marketing automation, content management, and other technology to make distribution faster, easier, and more agile. Empowering their in-house teams and outside partners with training, templates, and guides.

cOLLEEN JONEs@leenjones

PRiNciPalCONTENT SCIENCE


In 2014, content marketing will be more closely tied to demand generation. We already understand that more content doesn’t

equal better content and quality wins, so there will be a shift to the distribution side of content marketing to ensure all content is

reaching the right audience and driving results.

AMANDA MAKsyMIW@amandamaks

cONtENt MaRkEtiNg MaNagERlATTICE ENGINES


I think we’re going to see consolidation of efforts, both in channel and in how brands choose to manage content marketing. People are suffering

from fatigue, and yet there’s this sense you have to feed this hungry content machine. We need to be more strategic so we

don’t overstay our welcome.

A good way to do this is really align content creation with business objectives and get stakeholders on board with these efforts. Once you have

a clear road map, you really are following a strategy.

AhAVA LEIBTAG@ahavalPREsiDENt

AhA MEdIA GROUp


We’ll start to see technical content marketing strategistsdifferentiating themselves from editorial/brand content

strategists by focusing on demand generation.

Furthermore, content creation as part of lead capture/nurturing programs for customer acquisition and retention will become

more mainstream as pressure from management requiresan ROI on content.

ALANA FIshEr-chEJOsKI@aussiegoldy

cONtENt aND sOcial MEDia stRatEgistAMp


As more companies embrace content marketing, those whobuild larger, more engaged, direct audiences will see far better

results than those who rely solely on the kindness of Google and the amplification of others. For that reason, my hope is that 2014 will be the “Year of Audience” in content marketing such that we’ll see companies invest as much in proprietary audience development

as they do creating quality content.

JEFFrEy K. rOhrs@jkrohrs

VP, MaRkEtiNg iNsightsExACTTARGET


Companies will put customer-centric content strategies and execution plans together and stop random acts of content creation.

sArAh McINTyrE@brightinbound

DiREctORBRIGhT INBOUNd MARKETING


In 2014, the PR profession will no longer be a silo under marketingbut be fully integrated into the content marketing workflow as

owners of a brand’s story.

hEIDI sULLIVAN@hksully

sVP, Digital cONtENtCISION


I think that all types and sizes of organizations, whether B2B or B2C, will start focusing more on doing business person-to-person.

They will embrace the idea of being more transparent and authenticin the content they create and overall conversations they

have with their customers.

DEBBIE WILLIAMs@debwilliams23

cO-FOUNDER, chiEF cONtENt OFFicERSpROUT CONTENT


In the past, quantity of content has been a large focus -- trying to publish as much content as frequently as possible. In 2014, there will be a large shift to quality driven both by Google’s algorithm

changes to reward unique quality content, as well as a greater need for marketers to differentiate from each other as content marketing

goes mainstream. As a result, we will see a heavier emphasis on being unique, adding value, annotating, and ultimately the convergence of

curated and created content.

PAWAN DEshPANDE@TweetsFromPawan

cEOCURATA


This will be the year of Content Marketing Operations as companiesbed down their people, processes and plumbing. Look for Centers

of Content Excellence that help big companies spread thecontent gospel internally.

Plus the rise of content marketing technology as integratedplatforms eat up the point solutions. Game on.

(Bonus Prediction: Joe Pulizzi sues Fanta for use of orange).

DOUG KEssLEr@dougkessler

cO-FOUNDERvElOCITy pARTNERS


What will separate the long remembered from the quickly forgotten will be the ability to connect all brand activities into a positive-sum

experience. Winner brands will be Secretaries of Understanding, Champions of Network Smarts, and Meaningful Actions Agents

who master the ability to draw relationship between relationships.

VALErIA MALTONI@ConversationAge

FOUNDER & cEOCONvERSATION AGENT llC


Brand marketers, whether B2C or B2B, will need to focus more on impact and less on reach in 2014. While studies show that most brand marketers believe their content can, and should, drive new leads, successful brand

marketers are already having influence on the majority of thenew business they obtain.

In regards to distribution, brand marketers will continue to rely less on search as they realize that not only is Google a competitor, but their

prospects and customers are smarter and more empowered.

rOB yOEGEL@robyoegel

cONtENt MaRkEtiNg DiREctORMONETATE


PR will finally put traditional tactics such as press releases and media outreach in their place as part of a bigger content marketing plan.

They will push back in favour of PR that puts them in the role of publisher and facilitates true storytelling.

MAGGIE PATTErsON@magspatterson

PREsiDENtMAGGIE pATTERSON pR


Acquiring valid email addresses will be THE most important goalof content marketing. Not Twitter followers, not Facebook fans,

not G+, not the number of downloads or visitors to a landing page,and certainly not RSS subscribers.

2014: The target is the inbox and the killer app is email.

JOhN FOx@b2bmarketing

cEOvENTURE MARKETING


More content marketers will realize that “story” is everything. Without a coherent story to bring together the message, all they have is more

disconnected dots, more noise, and more confusion.

Related prediction: Realizing this, more laid-off journalists will recreate themselves as brand journalists.

Related prediction: A few enlightened content marketers will see that “less is more” and free themselves from their onerous editorial calendars. They will

publish less but more substantial content that works harder and lasts longer.

GOrDON GrAhAM@WhitePaperGuywhitE PaPER wRitERThATwhITEpApERGUy


Next year, personalization will be the name of the game.Much like Pandora learns from music choices, brand marketers will

curate and create content that learns from reader choices.That’s why the most effective content curation solutions will

make use of machine learning technology that delivers an individualized, content-rich experience.

PATrIcIA hUME@Trapit

PREsiDENtTRApIT


Next year sees the rise of much more quality and long-form content. Sites aggregating masses of low-value keyword-stuffed articles

for SEO is over, thanks to Google. We’ll see content mill and revshare junk-article sites continue to plunge in search rankings and traffic.

Many such platforms will die, merge, or go in new directionsfor content development.

cArOL TIcE@TiceWritescEO & JaNitOR

MAKE A lIvING wRITING


More companies will hire a cross functional editor-in-chiefin charge of all editorial content produced by the company.

JOAKIM ArhAMMAr@jarhammar

cONtENt stRatEgistKw dIGITAl


I think the main trend will be towards more. I don’t mean that in terms of quantity, but rather more formats, posts that pack in more useful

information and an acceptance that good content marketing requires more time and effort than some previously realized.

KrIsTEN hIcKs@atxcopywriter

FREElaNcE cOPywRitER aND cONtENt MaRkEtERAUSTIN COpywRITER


New visual and video tools will make it easier for marketers to create easily viewable content, and social plugins will make it possible to share across multiple channels at once. To really win though, these

tools will need to provide detailed analytics.

ANDrEA BrIDGEs-sMITh@abridgessmith

cONtENt MaRkEtiNg MaNagERSpANNING ClOUd AppS


As the surge for great content continues to pull for brand marketers’ time, 2014 will see more brand marketers outsourcing at least some

of their social media efforts. Or at least purchasing more social media conglomeration, posting and analyzing, services or platforms.

hEIDI rUsT@hlrMN

wEB MaRkEtiNg sPEcialist@ESUlTANTS


As brands develop content marketing strategies (and they will),they will scale back the number of channels they use and the amount

of content they push. This will streamline the lead generation process and improve overall quality.

MIKE MOONEy@michaelmooneyy

MaRkEtiNg cOMMUNicatiONs sPEcialistSRI INTERNATIONAl


Inbound-only approaches (and the hype surrounding them) willlose some of their shine as they struggle to get noticed over the deluge of competing content. Outbound content marketing and

content-based nurture campaigns will drive the majority oftangible revenue-generating performance in 2014.

JAsON BALL@ConsideredB2B

chiEF cONtENt OFFicERCONSIdEREd CONTENT


Real-time content marketing will emerge as a new tool for marketers to take advantage of live events

ANDrIs K. BErZINs@akberzins

cEOBUZZTAlE


I believe we’ll see much more collaboration in the vein of brandscaping. Influence marketing will also be a huge strategic

focus. On the channel side I think Slideshare will become a powerful tool for repurposing, atomizing and distributing content

in epic proportions.

GrEG ELWELL@gregelwell

PRiNciPalB2B INBOUNd


Content Marketers will embrace their sales teams having them personally use content to help develop and close opportunities.

cLIFF POLLAN@cliffpollan

cEOpOSTwIRE


Marketers will learn that they will not succeed with their content marketing efforts without a solid content strategy! And therefore

companies really need to establish a powerful content department dealing with all content issues in daily business. So hopefully in 2014 companies stop spreading the content work via various departments that are not communicating with each other and start getting content

marketing into a solid, centrally-organised framework.

MIrIAM@TC_ThinkContentcONsUltaNt, lEctURER

ThINK CONTENT!


In companies across the globe, social content marketing will startto become widely disseminated in-house, with employees

contributing to the content needs of large brands. Marketers will also continue to pervade the mobile space, where new

technologies like augmented reality and 3D printing presentnew marketing opportunities for innovative brands.

cArLA DEWING@Carladewing

cEO, sOcial cONtENt stRatEgistCONTRAST MEdIA


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Content marketing predictions 2014