Tips, news and views from Green Light Copywriting

What's the future of content? 30 December 2014

Image by tpholland

On sale: high quality crystal balls

There must have been a roaring trade in crystal balls in the Boxing Day sales. Yes, it’s trend watching time again. As we stand on the precipice of a new year, we can see a veritable snow flurry of articles and think pieces on upcoming trends for content and business copywriting for 2015. While these are often interesting, they can also be somewhat distracting for the business-owner looking for ways to simplify but strengthen their own content approach for the 12 months ahead.

Content goes large

Some say that so-called ‘fat content’ will be the big thing for content marketing in 2015:

“‘Fat’ content will become the focus of marketers everywhere. This includes content types like white papers, videos, eBooks, infographics… content that can be broken up and used as the fuel for multi-channel campaigns.” —Jesse Noyes, Senior Director of Content Marketing, Kapost
(Source: Content Marketing Institute)

Great, but this still needs to be a part of a coherent content and copywriting strategy, as always.

Inbound for success in 2015?

Inbound marketing has been around for a while, but it seems that companies could be doing more to benefit from it in 2015, as another trends post suggests:

“Inbound marketing is all about creating original content that engages your target audience — buyer persona — in a conversation. According to HubSpot, inbound content best practices include researching and understanding buyer personas, creating content tailored to both your buyer’s persona and your buyer’s three journey stages — awareness, consideration and decision — and leveraging your content to serve your business goals by optimizing distribution channels.”

While inbound marketing certainly isn’t new, it would be great to see more companies creating strategies around their content to reach potential leads at different stages of the buying cycle.

Bring it back to the customer

Closely linked to the more focused approach of inbound marketing, the Guardian foresees a more customer-based dedication for business content:

“CMOs will begin to instil a culture that is focused on customers. Budgets will shift away from paid promotion and into brand content that their audiences actually want to consume. Marketing organisations will move away from silos based on channel or functional ownership. Branding, advertising, PR, demand generation – all will begin to dissolve into three areas: data, technology, and content.”
(Source: The Guardian)

About time too. I think that this is part of the shift that will differentiate successful companies from the others.

Survival of the nimblest

In another Guardian piece, it is predicted that the companies which thrive in the year ahead will be those that are nimble with their content:

“The best way for brands to connect with people is to behave like them…This means they need to be as instinctive, natural and – most importantly – creative as everyone else. But, as the velocity of content increases, the timeframe for responding decreases. The days of the 24 hr sign-off process are over, as brands need to jump in within minutes, even seconds, with just the right piece of content.”
Camilla Grey, Global Head of Content Strategy, Wolff Ollins
(Source: The Guardian)

I think this is a really important point. Having a long-term strategy matters, but so does having a clear plan for responding to changing trends and news in a way that is fast, appropriate and informative – without feeling opportunistic.

The top trend businesses shouldn’t overlook in 2015

My own view of the trend that businesses shouldn’t overlook in 2015? UGC or User-Generated Content.

Sounds highly technical, but it’s simply the approach of building in how your clients and potential clients respond to your product or service. Or actively transforming your audience into a content source which then informs your audience…

I’ve noticed a shift in the way that companies present themselves – in advertising, content, copywriting strategies etc…Customers and customer feedback are becoming the focus of marketing and content campaigns. Even the BBC is getting in on the act with the launch of its own UGC hub. Companies are now starting to put client/user experiences at the centre of their marketing approach and I see this as a growing priority for organisations of all types and sizes in the year ahead. While your content and copywriting strategy needs to be focused, it will also benefit significantly from incorporating the ideas and experiences of your customers. The secret to success with User-Generated Content? Doing it in a way which is authentic and entertaining.

That’s enough from me and my crystal ball. What do you think lies ahead for content in 2015? Add your comments below!