With just three months of the year left, marketers now have their eye on strategies for 2020, and as content marketing takes on ever-greater importance in business, brands will need to tweak and update their campaigns to stand out in an increasingly competitive environment.
Be transparent
Authenticity and transparency win big with consumers, and content marketing is one of the best outlets for demonstrating these sought-after values. A regular blog will allow you to tackle certain topics that customers want to see large and small enterprises talk about in 2020 before they click the purchase or subscribe button.
You could, for example, showcase how you have recently pivoted to more sustainable ways of doing business, talk about the ethical standards that you adhere to when managing a supply chain, or cover a diversity drive in hiring and leadership. These blogs allow you to talk about your business and provide content from which audiences can take something.
Personalisation
A study published last week by Episerver found that personalised content will be the top priority for B2Bs during the next 12 months, and 82% are planning to leverage cutting-edge tech such as artificial intelligence to give their efforts the extra edge.
The year 2020 will see personalisation taken to the next level, and marketers will need to do more with data to keep up. Personalisation is more than just tailoring a single piece of content for a specific buyer persona. It involves delivering targeted content across more touchpoints, effectively moving customers through the sales cycle.
A few easy ways to improve your efforts here without AI include updating the blog on your website with specific tags and categories so that audiences can be directed to what they need more effectively and creating marketing emails prompting customers to review products or services after they make a purchase.
Voice search
Half of all Google searches are expected to be made via voice inputs by next year, so marketers are urged to act now and optimise content for this disruptive evolution. Content with natural language keywords and phrases is perfect for voice search, as are FAQs and how-tos with conversational questions.
