Content marketing is a very elegant system and, done well, it will help you stand out from your competition and contribute to the generation of more leads and, therefore, more revenue. But for now, it’s crucial that if you haven’t already made the leap into content marketing, you do so as soon as you can, so you and your ideal customers can find each other in the delightful business of commercial transaction.

It’s anybody’s guess where the world of content is headed but it seems logical to me that there will be an increasing focus on analytics going forward and I also think there is going to be an increasing move towards micro communities. As more and more companies dive into this beautiful world of online storytelling, it’s going to be increasingly important for smaller businesses to learn how to develop a client community so they can create a virtual “place” for their clients to gather. The big brands are already doing this, some of them very well, and it takes a lot of time—read investment—to make it happen.

I also think that video content will continue to be an important place for businesses moving forward to the future. The challenge is that it’s going to continue to be tough for smaller businesses to create enough quality video content to make a big difference to their online presence. If video isn’t done well, it doesn’t reflect a business in the best light possible. While you can generate a piece of strong written content for $2,000 it takes at least 10 times that amount to create a strong piece of video content. A cheap, poorly scripted, poorly written video with insufficient lighting and an inexperienced videographer behind the lens and an amateur editor in the cutting room can do more damage to your brand than good.

Aside from all, that, however, it seems to me that we can talk about the “future of content marketing” until we’re blue, but if your business has not already started to create content then the issue of “where the industry is headed” is irrelevant. Where is YOUR business headed online? Unless you are a street vendor who relies on walk-by traffic for 99.9% of your sales, there is a probably a pretty compelling reason for you to have an online presence. Do you want to stay in business? Do you want more business? Then you need to be producing content that tells the people with whom you want to do business what you do and how you do it. The digital revolution may sound like a techie thing that relies on data, analytics, IT and coding. But when you strip all that stuff away, it is actually, at its heart, about finding the people your business is here to serve and starting conversations with them that might lead to a sale. Content marketing is about people. Just like your business.

If you would like to discuss what that might look like for you and your business, then please feel free to contact me at susan@crossmancommunications.com. Content marketing is a wonderful topic of conversation and I’d be pleased to share my insights with you!

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