2018 is set to be a blockbuster year in terms of content as multiple trends building up over the course of 2017 come together. These trends affect everyone, from small, one person businesses all the way up to global corporations all looking to create powerful content strategies that will keep them relevant and in the public eye. Don’t forget to check out part 1 if you haven’t already – and now, let’s see the remaining five content marketing trends that are going to make 2018 and exciting watershed year in this industry!

Content Distribution Will Matter Even More

It’s easy to look at the huge mountains of content being pushed out daily and think there’s way too much content out there. People have been saying this for years, but what that actually means is that it’s not so much the content that matters – but where you distributed it. Consider it this way: if you have a smart content distribution plan targeted at the right people and written to engage them, then they will find you, no matter what else is out there. In other words, it’s time to focus more on where you distribute your content just as much as creating the actual content itself.

Content Is Becoming More Focused on the Readership

Businesses are starting to see their content become successful – but that’s not simply because the content has been around for a while. It’s not that the content has become better in that time – but what other departments, such as marketing, have done to give that content a powerful injection. Companies that have content that can be used by other departments means a certain evolution to the industry. That evolution is about engagement and bringing that engagement to a more granular level. Instead of focusing on ‘the audience’ as a kind of monolithic industry, businesses are now writing content that’s geared at different segments of the audience and engaging them at their specific level of interest. The key to successful content marketing is making meaningful engagement – which means writing for employees, customers, investors, and more.

The Importance of Being the Niche Leader

In just about every industry and niche, there’s at least one website that everyone turns to when they want to get the latest information, insights, great resources, and even opportunities. It’s not an easy spot to get, but a judicious use of content marketing tools (along with fabulous content) is a must. This isn’t just about your website, however – this is a multi-channel effort that means multiple resources – a blog updated daily, a regular newsletter, multiple great resources, and much more, all designed to keep people tuning in. This isn’t just a powerful position to hold in terms of being a major hub in your niche or industry – it’s also a great place to spread your message, services, and products, growing your influence and business.

Micro-influencers Will Continue to Grow

Blame it on social media or blame it on the Instagram and YouTube influencers, there’s no denying that this bold new form of marketing has become incredibly prevalent in recent years. First, the social media stars started to take what was traditionally a celebrity gig, but now another group is rising for a piece of the influencer pie: micro-influencers. With digital marketing, anyone can become a micro-influencer – think of it as the first rung on a ladder of influencing power. These smaller niche operators can act as message amplifiers, getting into all the nooks and crannies larger, more established influencers cannot. What’s really unique about this group is that it only takes one person to send the message home – and with micro-influencers springing up like mushrooms across multiple channels, getting content to the right audience may soon be as simple as getting it to the right person on the right platform.

Brand Blogs Are Rapidly Turning into the Hot New Thing

So, you know how it is with most business blogs – a complete yawn-fest of company updates that practically nobody cares about. For years, this has been little more than a content wasteland. Now, though, many brands are starting to focus on transforming the blog into a real asset; something that could even be considered a genuine publication packed with great content. That’s good news for readers – nobody cares about the majority of ‘company updates,’ and also a boon for content marketers. Consider this: if you’re a hired writing gun, then these are great publications to boost your visibility, especially in certain niches while expanding your own content marketing reach. Not just this, but this new brand blogging is opening up doors for savvy businesses to start collaborating with each other in order to create content that reaches new, wider audiences – not unlike influencer marketing.