I often find that at the close of a year and the beginning of another, there seems to be a deluge of articles and guides and lists and how-to’s from various content marketing platforms that flood my inbox. It can all get a bit overwhelming! So, I decided to spend the first three weekends of January, just making sense of what all the gurus out there were talking about. Partly this was an exercise to archive my inbox [New Year resolution!] and partly this was to ensure that my assumptions for 2017 were on track. So here are my top picks grouped in broad segments - Content Strategy, Content Creation, Content Distribution and Content Measurement. I am certainly going to keep my eye on these pointers. Perhaps they may be of use to You as well.

Content Strategy

1. Emphasize content quality and efficiency, not quantity.

This is basic common sense as far as I am concerned, so let’s just use “Create Effective Quality Content” as the foundation of all content marketing goals. While increasing the content amount each business creates seems to be trending with the new year, this doesn’t mean that quantity should surpass quality. According to a study of B2B Marketers in North America, conducted by Content Marketing Institute, 85% of content marketers attributed their success in content marketing to “higher quality, more efficient” content. It is important to create content that sparks a relationship between you and your customer, not only to get the sale but to also make sure your customer will be a returning customer. Enough said!

2. Don’t rule out niche markets.

This can be hard for businesses who want to appeal to a broad audience rather than a sub-segment. One must get over the element of FOMO [Fear of Missing Out] that plagues our everyday. By appealing to a narrower demographic range, your business can cut though the over-crowded space that is the Internet, especially in the content and social media marketing avenues. Because more businesses are engaging in the niche marketing trend, authenticity and agility is crucial to gain and keep your consumers.

Content Creation

3. Tell a story.

Business storytelling is here to stay. We no longer live in a world where any content is good content. Create content to engage your audience by telling them a story and outlining your customer’s decision-making journey. Be careful not to get too carried away when thinking up a storyline. Millennials especially prefer a non-fiction story, grounded story.

4. Interactive and video content is the new blog.

Demand for interactive content will continue to steadily grow and video content is on the rise since Facebook and Instagram have been emphasizing live videos. When creating a video marketing campaign, be sure to stimulate an emotional reaction in your viewers, which will cause them to want to share your video. Besides video content, virtual reality content is increasing in popularity, ever since the success of Pokémon Go.

5 Use user-generated content.

In order to add authenticity to your brand, create user-generated content, such as The Ice Bucket Challenge campaign or a sponsored filter on Snapchat. Consumers tend to trust content created by other consumers more than content created by the brand itself. Encourage your target market to share their experiences with your business online in the form of either a photo or review (or both). [UGC, UGC, UGC! Do you hear the cheerleaders?]

6. Email newsletters are a must.

It seems that we were all premature with our past predictions for the death of email marketing. Businesses must earn the right to email and engage with their customers. Most inboxes are filled with offers, so you must stand out to earn your audience’s attention. The majority of B2B (and B2C) marketers already email their newsletters to prospective clients. If you don’t already have a newsletter email campaign, 2017 will be a great time to launch one. Be sure that your email newsletter is optimized for mobile, as 56% of users open emails on their mobile devices.

Content Distribution

7. Go Native

It is becoming more of a challenge to reach one's target audience organically on Facebook, along with other sites and search engines. It will take more advertising money to reach a larger audience online than it ever has before. The dawning of native advertising, a type of paid promotion, is upon us now that ad blockers are making it more challenging for businesses to reach their consumers with Internet ads. The goal of native advertising is to match the ad to whatever the consumer is currently viewing in order to allow for a seamless transition.

8. Drive the sale.

Shoppable content will continue to be in demand in 2017 with Pinterest’s “buy it” button, Facebook’s “shop now” call-to-action button. With 51% of consumers reporting they prefer to shop online, it is crucial that businesses engage their consumers with personal interaction, same as they would receive while in the retail store.

9. Move towards mobile.

While all content should, by now, be optimized for mobile devices, location marketing is on the rise. A customer’s mobile device will track their location, allowing businesses to target them by location. And with 87% of consumers positively favoring personalized and relevant content, it is a no-brainer that businesses should take advantage of the abundance of consumer-specific data available to them and tailor their customer’s experience. Chatbots are also gaining momentum with businesses requiring customer service, as they are, essentially, a sales associate that never sleeps.

10. Kiss your celebrity spokesperson goodbye.

Influencer marketing is crucial. No longer do companies have to chase down celebrities to be their brand ambassadors. The market is shifting towards influences from all walks of life becoming more and more popular. And the rise of micro-influencers may also lead to more authenticity associated with a product. This comes back to the point of targeting niche audiences as well. Small is getting bigger!

Content Measurement

11. As much about relevance as it is reach.

While overall views are becoming less important, measuring your content’s effectiveness by customer interactions is the growing trend. Social media is not just for millennials anymore, as 65% of all adults hold at least one social media account. Google Analytics has fallen short of providing feedback on content engagement, so it is expected that more companies will turn to solutions such as Trendemon or Chartbeat to better analyze their true content engagement.

12. Ask A Question and Load Faster for SEO

According to a Google study (which is still being quoted today despite having been conducted in 2014), 55% of US teenagers report that they use voice search on a daily basis, while 56% of adults report that they enjoy using voice search on their mobile devices. More recently, Forbes points out that many SEO experts say that 2017 will be the year of voice search.Because most voice searches are posed as a question, try reformatting your headlines as questions while also being sure to include key words. Google has begun to favor Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) recently because they use eight times less data and can load up to four times faster.. Consider a few simple tweaks to your website in order to take advantage of this trending option because slow-loading pages can negatively affect your user’s experience.

So, I am on my way to happily archiving January with some solid strategies in my toolbox. Would love to hear what You and your organization are working on for 2017. And if you need some help, feel free to drop me a line.

Ayesha Kohli is the Founder, Principal Consultant at Sparq Communications. She can be reached at ayesha.kohli@sparq-communications.com