Joe Pulizzi, the founder of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), has some interesting things to say about content marketing trends in the New Year. In a recent post, he makes note of five important ones. As a content creator who all too often reads dismal prognostications about the importance of writing in business communications, I can only applaud.
First, companies will be making “big bets on original content.” Not surprisingly, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google are putting mega dollars into this space. Mr. Pulizzi says, “In some ways, we are seeing the golden age of a new television … it just happens on any and every device imaginable.” As a writer, I say hooray! (Like everyone out there, I’ve spent hours glued to the likes of “Longmire” and “Bosch” and am happy to see the fruits of the writer’s labor.) For companies, this investment is a wake-up call. As Mr. Pulizzi notes, “… if your main competitor isn’t betting big on original content, it will be soon.”
Second, companies are buying content brands. Netflix is one of the acquirers. And so is Arrow Electronics, a company I had never heard of. This organization has bought 51 media properties that target the Double-E crowd and has created a division to run the operation. Sez Mr. Pulizzi, “The build-it or buy-it question is still in play, and from the current flow of money, it looks like both avenues are strong and growing in the content creation and distribution space.”
Third, marketing is actually going to become a profit center. Mondelez and Pepsi, for example, have built in-house content studios, which look as though they’ll generate revenue as they target and monetize various audiences. Mr. Pulizzi believes that the more innovative companies will make enough money to stay ahead of expenses, transforming marketing into a “self-sustaining entity.”
Fourth, content marketing budgets are increasing in the U.S. And a recent study revealed that achieving proficiency in content marketing is goal #1 in Asia Pacific. Good and bad says Mr. Pulizzi. The good is the commitment to content marketing with “real marketing dollars.” The bad? Too much of the money is going toward short-term, advertising-focused projects. “For content marketing to truly work, it must be differentiated (https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/02/killing-content-marketing-ignoring/) and consistently produced over a long time.”
Finally, the “turf war is on.” Content marketing has captured everyone’s imagination, and everyone wants in. Different organizations within the enterprise are hiring their own content teams, bypassing the in-house studio, and overall strategy is fragmenting. The challenge will be getting everyone on the same page as the players scramble to achieve glory (my thought) and save their jobs (Mr. Pulizzi).
Let me just say that I find content marketing fascinating. CMI is the Energizer Bunny of high-quality content marketing education, and I’m glad it is. What I’m also glad about—to steal a phrase from Mark Twain— is that reports of the death of writing have been greatly exaggerated.
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