[et_pb_section transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#cc4315″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” padding_mobile=”on” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” padding_top_1=”0px” padding_right_1=”0px” padding_bottom_1=”0px” padding_left_1=”0px” admin_label=”Top skinny IC Logo Section” custom_css_main_element=”@media only screen and (min-width: 1350px)||.page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0, .page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0 .et_pb_row_0 {||padding: 0 !important;||}” disabled=”off” global_module=”26126″][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” padding_mobile=”on” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” padding_top_1=”0px” padding_right_1=”0px” padding_bottom_1=”0px” padding_left_1=”0px” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”Row” custom_css_main_element=”@media only screen and (min-width: 1350px)||.page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0, .page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0 .et_pb_row_0 {||padding: 0 !important;||}” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ disabled=”off” padding_bottom=”0px” padding_left=”0px” padding_right=”0px” padding_top=”0px” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://iriscontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IC-logo-horizontal-framed-e1468862028685.jpg” alt=”Iris Content logo” show_in_lightbox=”off” url=”https://iriscontent.com” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” admin_label=”IC logo Image” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1px” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_css_main_element=”@media only screen and (min-width: 1350px)||.page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0, .page-id-25059 .et_pb_section_0 .et_pb_row_0 {||padding: 0 !important;||}” disabled=”off”]
Playing Safe With Your Content Marketing Strategy: Is It Wise?
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section transparent_background=”off” background_color=”FDF3E7″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” admin_label=”Blog post main Section” disabled=”off”][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ custom_padding=”0px|||” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” admin_label=”Blog post Date Text” text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_font_size=”10em” text_text_color=”#cc4315″ text_line_height=”1.1em” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”0px||0px|” disabled=”off”]
2
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#cc4315″ show_divider=”on” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” divider_weight=”1px” hide_on_mobile=”off” admin_label=”Divider” custom_css_main_element=”width:20px;” disabled=”off”] [/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” admin_label=”Month Year Text” text_font=”Montserrat|on|||” text_font_size=”18″ text_text_color=”#cc4315″ use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”-10px||0px|” disabled=”off”]
FEBRUARY 2017
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” max_width=”620px” admin_label=”Text” text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_font_size=”24″ text_text_color=”#363636″ text_line_height=”1.4em” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”10px||0px|” disabled=”off”]
You’ve heard about content marketing and understood the reasoning behind it, so you decided to launch a content marketing initiative. You hired some freelancers who started to turn out content. Now, a full year has gone by. You have a ton of content, and you’ve worked hard to distribute it, maybe even paying for a few campaigns here and there. After all of that work, you ended up with nothing. You didn’t get any leads, your website traffic was high initially but leveled off quickly, and your social media engagement was lacking. Does this scenario sound like your company?
There could be a number of reasons why your campaign lacked success, such as poor content, unsuccessful distribution channels, lack of SEO or unfocused content, but probably the greatest fail of all was that you played it safe and did what everyone else in the industry does by using the same lingo, channels and maybe even the same freelancers. And because you wanted nothing but the best, you followed the same strategies that everyone else did because you weren’t courageous.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” max_width=”620px” admin_label=”Text” text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_font_size=”20″ text_text_color=”#363636″ text_line_height=”1.5em” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”30px||0px|” disabled=”off”]
Even though start-ups and tech companies pride themselves on being disruptive, they are generally the worst when it comes to falling into the industry’s marketing norms. With that said, it is crucial to not be boring. Create content that is completely different from everyone else, content that is off the beaten path. If your company manages to stand out from the crowd and win big when competition sets in, you are able to hold a one-of-a-kind presence while delivering a one-of-a-kind performance that isn’t simply slightly better than what the other companies do.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ custom_padding=”50px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”17px|||” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”Row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://iriscontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/playing-safe.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”on” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” admin_label=”Image” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1px” border_style=”solid” custom_css_main_element=”max-height=600px” disabled=”off”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ custom_padding=”0px|||” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” max_width=”620px” admin_label=”Text” text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_font_size=”20″ text_text_color=”#363636″ text_line_height=”1.5em” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”30px||0px|” disabled=”off”]
The Most Daring Marketing Trends
Content Strategy
Content marketing, which is an idea that began trending in the early 2000s, has been on the rise in terms of popularity in the recent years, but now it’s in need of a new twist. It is a challenge to create a good content strategy, but it is important to do so, as only 37% of B2B marketers currently have one. In 2017, be on the lookout for marketers becoming more organized with their content marketing strategies.
Short-lived and Mobile Content
If you’re unfamiliar with Snapchat, it is assumed that you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years. Similar to Generation X being known as the MTV generation, Generation Z is starting to be known as the Snapchat generation. Snapchat recently introduced the “Discover” section of their app where the user can view stories, or content channels, hosted by companies. Ever since then, the marketing opportunities for this platform have quickly taken off, and while tackling it isn’t easy by any means, it is completely worth the effort. It has been said that other years before have been the year of mobile, but it is predicted that 2017 will take the cake, which directly ties into the rise of short-lived content.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
The success of Pokemon Go and the release of affordable VR headsets are proof that the world of virtual reality and augmented reality are booming. This creates huge marketing opportunities for businesses in 2017, especially for the industries of real estate and automotive. While virtual reality and augmented reality pose many challenges because they are so new, it is exciting to see what the new year has in store for these courageous marketing strategies.
The Power of Print
Vintage isn’t just a popular decorating trend these days. Vintage marketing strategies are coming back into style. Even with the booming digital world, opportunities in the wonderful world of print are growing in parallel. Go retro and add print marketing in order to cut through the digital clutter, which will make you stand out and get your consumer’s attention. By appealing to the human sense of touch, printed pieces are a very powerful marketing strategy to integrate with your already present digital marketing strategy.
Storytelling
It is important that you make your content very compelling, because with the Internet’s abundance of original and repurposed content, your audience have many places to go both to find information and entertainment. In order to draw the attention away from the competitors, tell a story instead of blatantly trying to sell your services or products. It is a new day and age, and your consumers are able to easily see through your sales pitch.
Distribution and Content Quality
Even if you employ the best of the best when it comes to content production, it doesn’t mean anything unless your consumers are able to find your blogs, social media posts and landing pages. Paid content is expected to play a larger role in the content marketing strategies of businesses. And Facebook will continue to be the best way to get your brand’s name out there in front of your current and potential consumers with substantial content and the right targeting strategy.
Engagement Analytics
The bigger the data, the easier it is to find out who is engaging with your content and where their interests lie. By continuing to play a large role in content marketing this year, engagement analytics will allow for more brands to dig deeper into data sets and metrics in order to create content that is more focused on the consumer.
Branch Out
You don’t have to color in the lines by focusing solely on written content, which is something that many brands are beginning to understand. Take advantage of video, professional photography and graphics in order to further engage your users and build up your credibility online.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ custom_padding=”50px|||” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”Row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_divider color=”#7e8f7c” show_divider=”on” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” divider_weight=”1px” hide_on_mobile=”off” admin_label=”Divider” disabled=”off”] [/et_pb_divider][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ custom_padding=”17px|||” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” max_width=”620px” admin_label=”Text” text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_font_size=”20″ text_text_color=”#363636″ text_line_height=”1.5em” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”30px||0px|” disabled=”off”]
If you do everything right, you will set your company apart from the competition, you’re your marketing will begin to pay for itself. And if you fall into the trap and merely mimic the competition, you will never be able to move passed it. When creating your content marketing, consider zigging when the other companies zag, and be courageous with your strategy. Contact Iris Content’s team of professionals for all of your content needs.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ custom_padding=”50px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”30px|||” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”Row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ custom_padding=”17px|||” padding_mobile=”on” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ padding_mobile=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”on” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”Row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_divider color=”#cc4315″ show_divider=”on” divider_style=”groove” divider_position=”top” divider_weight=”1px” hide_on_mobile=”on” admin_label=”Divider” disabled=”off”] [/et_pb_divider][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section transparent_background=”off” background_color=”FDF3E7″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” admin_label=”Blog post main Section” disabled=”off”][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ padding_mobile=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”Row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://iriscontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/author-image-annie.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”right” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” admin_label=”Image” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1px” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_team_member name=”Annie Ianko” position=”Chief Content Officer” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” facebook_url=”https://www.facebook.com/IrisWebContent/” twitter_url=”https://twitter.com/Iris_Content” admin_label=”Person” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1px” border_style=”solid” custom_css_main_element=”box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(0,0,0,.1);||” disabled=”off”]
Annie has 19 years’ experience as an editor and content creator and manager. With work in television and written media, she has dedicated her past 10 years to learning the ropes of online content creation, from writing to editing, from SEO to content management.
[/et_pb_team_member][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#c97824″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”780px” custom_width_percent=”80%” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_method_3=”on” admin_label=”Section” disabled=”off” global_module=”27319″][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”on” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”780px” custom_width_percent=”80%” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ padding_mobile=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”on” parallax_3=”off” parallax_method_3=”on” parallax_4=”off” parallax_method_4=”on” admin_label=”Row” disabled=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ disabled=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_text background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”center” admin_label=”Text” text_font=”Cantata One||||” text_font_size=”36″ text_font_size_tablet=”26″ text_text_color=”#fdf3e7″ text_line_height=”1.4em” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”||70px|” disabled=”off”]
Want new articles before they get published?
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_signup provider=”mailchimp” mailchimp_list=”6d2efc3306″ aweber_list=”none” title=”Subscribe to our email list” button_text=”Sign Me Up!” use_background_color=”on” background_color=”#c97824″ background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_focus_border_color=”off” admin_label=”Email Optin ‘graph text” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1px” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”20″ button_text_color=”#cc4315″ button_bg_color=”#fdf3e7″ button_border_color=”#cc4315″ button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon=”%%%” button_icon_color=”#fdf3e7″ button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_text_color_hover=”#fdf3e7″ button_bg_color_hover=”#cc4315″ button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ disabled=”off”]
Yes, I want to learn more about content marketing! I want to incorporate the latest marketing strategies to improve my brand, reach a wider audience and sell more stuff!
[/et_pb_signup][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]