2013 is the Year of Content Marketing
According to an end of year survey of more than 700 digital professionals in late 2012, Adobe found that content marketing is going to be the most significant digital marketing trend this year. The survey helped identify the top challenges and opportunities that will dominate 2013.
Companies and agencies in the state of Utah and across the nation agree that content marketing is a top priority, but also social media engagement, targeting and personalization, and mobile optimization.
Adobe's research shows that 52 percent of content marketing professionals say that targeting and personalizing is they key to success when it comes to their online strategy. It is important for companies in Utah to consider targeting, segmentation and personalization when it comes to their sales funnel. This is especially important for email marketing campaigns.
Other intriguing facts highlighted in the Adobe study cover what marketing professionals feel they lack. The biggest was training and resources. Adobe reported that just 18 percent of surveyed marketers think they have all of the marketing technology they will need to be successful. It is not uncommon for marketers to feel overwhelmed with the amount of content marketing information they need to know. The lack of resources seems to be an issue as well.
According to the same study, the top three marketing tasks for 2013 were content creation, data integration, and measurement accuracy. Creating appealing and constant content on many different platforms was of great importance to survey respondents. When it came to data integration, they reported that joining online and offline data was also a key component. The other top marketing task was measuring data with accuracy.
A not-so-surprising 43 percent of survey responders reported that mobile optimization was one of the most exciting digital marketing realms of the year. The majority of Utah businesses do not have a mobile-friendly website. This is encouragement for marketers because it opens up new business for agencies to work with.
Content marketing is consistently remaining on the top of the list of key areas for marketers to focus on. Marketers in Utah do need to be careful. Content marketing is more than just publishing a snappy blog post. Writing intriguing content is actually the easy part. The hard part is actually getting people to read that content. Content that does not bring relevant traffic is not doing the marketer or client any more good than a Facebook friend list or Twitter followers that never actually buy anything.
About the Author
Brooke Gillepsie is a writer for Fusion 360, an advertising agency in Utah that provides SEO and content marketing.