The vast majority of marketers expect campaigns spearheaded by content to grow during the next two years as brands begin to experiment with a diverse range of formats to reach audiences.
The ‘Understanding the Future for Content-Led Marketing Around the World’ report from eMarketer found that 98% of respondents are forecasting growth or stabilisation in the amount of content-led campaigns by the end of 2021.
While editorial-based content, blogs and news feeds are a prime area of investment, marketers are now also looking to leverage non-traditional forms of creation to deliver more personalised and targeted materials.
Nine in 10 marketers said that they have their sights set on the production of podcasts and other forms of audio-based content in 2020.
A similar number of marketers are also aiming to incorporate new tech such as AR, VR and voice search to give campaigns an extra edge.
“Content, when produced strategically and with regularity, can be the backbone of a marketing and advertising plan,” eMarketer principal analyst Jillian Ryan said.
Marketers are currently benefiting from the evolution of content marketing, which has seen it become a tool for driving action at various points across the sales cycle and customer journey rather than merely being for lead generation.
This holistic approach calls for more sophisticated strategies and the deployment of new formats such as infographics, interactive video and live streaming.
In particular, brands are now more aware of the impact of disseminating content at the right time through various channels.
The study also found that brands are compelled to push themselves as experts on certain topics to give customers a reason to return for repeat business.
Perhaps most importantly, content is now viewed as being perfect for supporting and improving other marketing and advertising efforts.
“Brands are starting to realize that content-led strategies can inform and provide fuel for most of their other marketing and advertising initiatives,” Ryan concluded.
