Recently, I participated in a Webinar with my friend and client Chris Baggott of Compendium. We talked about the convergence of search and social media, and how content marketing is bridging both areas.
We settled on 5 trends that we think will be especially important in 2011 (read or print yourself via Scribd, or see below for short summary). Also, if you’re a content marketing fan, check out this other white paper on Rethinking Your Content Digital Marketing Strategy.
1. Organizations Will Become Publishers
Every company needs to think of itself as a TV station, magazine, and newspaper. Make your own news. But be very strategic about keyword usage.
2. Organizations Will Better Understand What “Good” Content Is
Good content needs to solve your audience’s problems. That’s job one. Not search friendliness, or sharable. Does it solve a problem and answer a question?
3. Organizations Need to Better Understand Demand and Fulfillment Funnels
Traditional marketing creates demand. Social marketing fulfills demand. They aren’t at odds. They are part of an ecosystem that should be working together.
4. Conversion and Measurement Tools Will Force Social Media to Evolve
It’s time to think about social media with a purpose. Just showing up to the party isn’t enough anymore. There will be more talk (and more books) and more action about social media measurement, and how it ties to search.
5. Social Media Operations Will be Decentralized
As social grows, it will become a skill, not a job. More and more employees need to be answering the metaphorical social telephone.