We’re back to talking about Trends & Content Marketing and we at YourTarget can’t stop our mouths from watering! The recent study carried out by BuzzSumo on the different aspects and trends of Content in 2018 clarifies the direction that content marketing is moving towards in English. We’re sure that these trends tend to repeat themselves in other languages too, including Italian – maybe with some delay, but with the same dynamics.
Here’s our selection of key trends in Content Marketing to not miss out on in 2018, directly from BuzzSumo’s report.
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Posts increase but engagement decreases
The number of posted contents continues to increase but isn’t followed by an equivalent increase in engagement on behalf of users. Respecting the principle of “less is more”, production and engagement remain as a defense for the few sites that have earned a certain level of online-prestige over time, form the point of view of search engines as well as that of a developed audience.
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Content is a saturated market in which standing out is difficult
A dynamic that doesn’t surprise us: if content is an effective strategy, it’s normal that there are more and more players who want to “enter the content market” compared to another topic. This is due to the minimal barriers at the entrance, especially if we have good SEO optimization to back us up.
BuzzSumo takes us back to the example of the BitCoin-topic, which became a trend in a small window of time and already counted more than 40,000 items by the end of 2017.
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Traffic from Social Media is in decline
The traffic deriving from social media declines in favor of Google Sites, (“historically” these networks are manned by businesses as they’re an excellent stream to develop online presence). This decline is strongly influenced by the fall in organic traffic recorded on Facebook, as Shareaholic states in the same report.
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Sharing on Social Media has dropped 50% since 2015
What are the reasons, according to BuzzSumo?
- Increase in competition for contents for the same level of engagement;
- Change in Facebook algorithm, decreasing organic visibility of contents;
- Increase in “private” sharing, or sharing via email and private chat (eg. WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger). This is a shift that could create a genuine change in the habits that characterize content-consumption, both for social and private media, like Mark Schaefer stated in 2016; an environment that GetSocial defines as “Dark Social”.
In a world where competition over contents continues to grow, the point isn’t creating excellent content, but rather “the best, the most prestigious”, so that it’s considered worthy of being used and shared. If, on one hand, Facebook’s algorithm no longer favors the more indiscriminate use of the platform, on the other, it’s also the habits of “consumers of contents” that evolve towards new prospects.
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The sources of information used to consume content have changed
BuzzSumo can’t but mention the recent results of the study conducted by HubSpot on the matter of trends in Content Marketing.
While search engines remain as the first sources of information online – with Google in first place – young people continue tending to Facebook and smart phone notifications, while consumers from more mature generations tend to call on the site in which the content is posted and/or stay informed via email marketing and newsletters.
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Quality is still the golden ticket
Harvard Business Review and The Economist, reviews with notable prestige both on and offline, have not registered elevated variations in the number of visits attracted in the past year, (that goes for shares and backlinks too), despite Facebook’s changes in algorithm. This confirms that, in a scenario which is more and more competitive, quality in content, along with the subsequent prestige it carries with it, makes all the difference.
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New content vs / & Evergreen content
Regardless of the fact that the results of HubSpot’s Content Report record a high propensity of consumers using formats such as video and news, BuzzSumo demonstrates how evergreen contents are the most interesting ones. We’re talking about content that’s able to stay relevant with the times, such as: research reports, statistics, articles starting with “what you need to know about …”, posts that define topics, etc. This tendency further increases if we take a look at the contents that are regularly updated with new inputs, giving them greater importance, or rendering them more “shareable”.
“Standing out is not easy but you can do it by using the right content! ”
Content Trends 2018: all is lost?
What are the implications for those dealing with Content Marketing? Indeed, the future isn’t looking so rosy. BuzzSumo concludes its study with 10 key points and suggestions for those of you who want to work in Content Marketing in 2018, (and we at YouTarget cant’ help but share some of them with you) :
- Clarify your objectives for Content and Social Media Marketing. If social networks stick around as an important source of traffic, it’s equally crucial to keep in mind that their roles doesn’t end here. It still benefits branding and online-image, not just sharing content online.
- Don’t chase viral contents and titles. Becoming viral means being more generalist, in order to be liked by an elevated number of people. A fight for visibility that could possibly not bring the results you hoped for.
- Develop authority and audience – before the trends. Don’t ride the wave of the current trend, but work instead on a long-term strategy aimed at developing authority within your niche or sector.
- Never forget the value of distribution. Promotion of content must be strategically evaluated just as much as the creation of that very content.
- Delve deeper into specific topics – before others do. In a world that’s getting more and more competitive, remaining a generalist won’t help you. Focus your efforts on specific key words, like long-tail-keywords, which you’ll want to exploit before your competitors do.
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