Video projected to dominate content marketing in 2018

By Princewill Ekwujuru

Marketing experts have  projected a rise in the use of video for content marketing in 2018, with more than 40 percent expected to add video into their marketing plans this year.

This, they said is because technology has made it possible for brands with the best content marketing tools to be the ones with interactive content hubs that drive consumer conversion.

The experts said also that as technology and search engines change, so do the strategies marketers use to engage customers online.

Likewise, they stated that social media presence, innovative new technology integrations, and strong behind-the-scenes strategies and measurement plans are some of the benefits brands that use content marketing enjoy when they use search engines.

Vanguard Companies and Markets, C&M, findings in the content marketing foray showed an update on the latest content marketing trends and tools companies employ to reach their customers.

The findings reveal that companies that are not in tune with the latest content marketing tools will not be abreast of the newest trends.

According to a Content Marketing expert, Joe Ibekwe:  “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

He noted that majority of business–to-business (B2B)    marketers and business–to- consumer (B2C) marketers who use content marketing increase their market leadership and drive their brand (s) forward. Ibekwe observed that the content marketing landscape is changing with focus more on video.

He pointed out that staying ahead of these changes can give companies a competitive edge in a crowded market.

Video rules

Ibekwe however said that video is expected to be huge in 2018. “Video is a growing priority with 48 percent of marketers planning to add Youtube to their marketing plans this year, while 46 percent plan to add facebook video. Companies no longer need an expensive camera or high-tech editing software to make a professional-looking video. All they need is a smartphone, a phone tripod and a social media account to leverage live video on Facebook.”

He said: “In 2018, content marketing will be about creating interesting content people actually want to engage with. Do not talk about your brand.    Start creating content people want to read, watch or listen to. Look at what the big brands are doing.

Apple recently committed $1billion on content for its streaming platform. PepsiCo opened a brand new content creation studio in New York with the aim of generating revenue and creating a vehicle for advertising their products.”

Another expert, Mike Igbandu, of Octopus Marketing, said: “In fact, 2018 is the best time to invest in content marketing.    As the industry pivots away from branded content aimed at selling, there are wide open opportunities for new brands to enter the market and grab the attention of consumers. Branded emails and traditional ads are no longer as effective as they once were. If you are not looking to create useful, interesting content in 2018, your efforts are going to fall flat.”

However, findings by C& M showed what some brands are doing with content marketing.

Coca Cola

For example, as people begin to drink less soda, brands like Coca-Cola have faced challenges in terms of retaining customers and keeping sales up. Coke has shown itself to be particularly good at content marketing, creating an online magazine and going all in with a marketing mission christened Content 2020. Simply put, Coke knows that it needs to produce the best and most engaging content if it wants to continue to connect with its customers.

Heneiken

Last year Heineken seized the political conflict that has been growing around the world and found a positive spin: rather than polarizing and dividing, Heineken brought people together with beer of course.

The brand paired a handful of individuals who had aggressively opposite viewpoints for Example, they paired someone who thought that men should be men and women  should be women with a transgender person. They went through a series of bonding challenges before their disagreements were revealed and they were given a choice to leave or sit down for a beer and discuss their differences.

They promoted the video on Facebook and it went viral with over 138,000 shares and 324,000 engagements. The video received over 17.7 million views, with 3 million happening in just the first eight days. They captured their message in a hashtag, #OpenYourWorld, which quickly earned 22,000 tweets that were overwhelmingly positive. Heineken got an extra boost in publicity for executing the theme of “coming together despite the tension.”

Domino’s

Domino’s has been widely regarded for its marketing brilliance ever since their turnaround. Since 2010, they have not slowed down by opening several branches. Their recent campaign “Domino’s Anyware” has earned them growth and made them look like a tech company than just a pizza chain. The goal of the campaign is to make their pizza as easy to order as possible from any of   the consumers favorite tech hardware.

It started by letting customers order via Twitter. Then it expanded with the addition of Amazon Alexa, Slack, and Facebook Messenger Chatbot.

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source https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/05/video-projected-dominate-content-marketing-2018/