60 Content Predictions for 2015 by Content Marketing Institute

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60 CONTENT PREDICTIONS FOR 2015

Here are three predictions I’m mulling over for the upcoming year:

We will see a surge in print magazines from brands in 2015. As most brands continue to focus heavily on digital, smart brands will realize that it is much easier to cut through the clutter by leveraging “the post” — without much competition at all.

Medium-sized and large businesses will begin to purchase niche media companies be-cause they thirst to create real relationships with targeted audiences.

We will begin to see well-known publishers and editors of B2B media franchises leave to be recruited by large B2B brands, with technology companies leading the way.

Joe PULIZZI@JoePulizziFounder • Content Marketing Institute


We will see a shift from discoverability-oriented content development and distribution (SEO driven) to context-aware content. It’s a shift from utility to utility-in-the-moment. Think about how you can create and distribute content triggered by weather, location, or news events. The bar will be raised on hyper-relevance.

Julie FLEISChER@JFLYDirector, Data + Content + Media • Kraft Foods


It seems there’s an appetite for brands to show consumers how they’re changing the world. For brands, content marketing directly correlates to what story they can tell. In 2015, creating engaging content will rely on defining what that story is and finding the right people and mediums to tell it.

Steve YUEN@StevejonathanUniversity Marketing Specialist • Zipcar


2015 is the year the nurturing and lead capture process finally gets customer-friendly! Nurturing and soft gates will help marketers shift from buying 100% of their leads to earning them via value-based content marketing.

Mike WEIR@mikedweirVertical Director, Technology Industry • LinkedIn


In B2B in 2015, we will see: More emotional content as we take on our B2C peers Budgets shifting from creation towards promotion The return of email and outbound The rise of interactive — more marketing apps Marketing ops will come of age We will graduate from “data kindergarten”

Doug KESSLER@dougkesslerCo-Founder, Creative Director • Velocity


More companies will create content centers of excellence to increase the relevance and consistency of brand stories shared across channels. That efficiency gains reduce costs through better cross-purposing and distribution strategies will be an additional win. Brand marketers will finally realize that audience personas (whether decision makers, influencers, customers, or end users) are the only way to get the insights needed to develop content strategies that resonate and motivate the willingness to embrace change with your company’s help. Finally, brand marketers will do away with the standalone campaign to embrace the “continuum experience” to share a highly relevant story that engages seamlessly across the entirety of the buyer-to-customer-to-advocate life cycle. No more stops, starts, and stalls allowed.

ArdathALBEE@ardath421 CEO & B2B Marketing Strategist • Marketing Interactions, Inc.


For my “safe, soft prediction,” I predict 2015 as the year of content-as-process. Brands will stop looking at content marketing as “campaigns” and instead will look to create smart processes.

For the one you can call me out on: I predict that Google will acquire Twitter, and SalesForce.com will acquire a content management company.

Robert ROSE@Robert_RoseChief Strategy Officer • Content Marketing Institute


Rather than trying to publish as much content as soon as possible, we’ll move towards content marketing that’s both sustainable and reliable. We’ll build up content suppliers (both internal and external), and work more closely with other teams to act as content distributors (such as ad or social media teams).

Pawan DEShPANDE@TweetsFromPawanCEO • Curata


2015 will be the year of cooperative content. Companies want to create more and more content, but how can they do so efficiently (and affordably)? Increasingly, the answer will be found in their customers and their employees. 2015 will bring decentralized content creation programs with participants across the company (not just marketing), as well as content initiatives that rely on user-generated content in expanded and highly strategic ways. The best source of content in most companies may be right under your nose: your employees and customers.

Jay BAER@jaybaerPresident • Convince & Convert


If you want your content to be great, get customers to participate! I think we’re going to see a lot more of what I like to call “participation marketing.” The value of co-creating content with the very audience you want to do business with is very powerful. Participation marketing is co-creating content with existing customers, partners and especially with prospective customers in the community, and I think we’ll see a lot more of that kind of crowdsourcing, which will affect content development and promotions.

LeeODDEN@leeoddenCEO • TopRank Online Marketing


As marketers see the limited returns of merely creating bite-sized social content, “fat” content will become the focus of marketers everywhere. This includes content types like white papers, videos, eBooks, infographics... content that can be broken up and used as the fuel for multi-channel campaigns. Expect to see fatter content next year.

Jesse NOYES@noyesjesseSenior Director of Content Marketing • Kapost


The line between B2B and B2C content will start to blur as storytelling and the customer experience become more important than ever. B2B companies will place more of a focus on telling compelling and interesting stories in a more humanistic and entertaining way. B2B content marketers will have to be multi-dimensional and more multi-channel, focusing more on behavior and emotional appeal. In addition, mobile and multi-device content will become increasingly more important. I think more and more content will be read on mobile and tablet devices in 2015, so marketers will have to think about mobile user experience with all of their content and even create content specific to mobile devices. Wearable technology will also add an additional layer to providing content user experiences on-the-go.

DaynaROThmAN@dayrothSenior Content Marketing Manager • Marketo


Content creation has gotten a lot of attention lately, but content management and distribution will rule the day in 2015 (watch out, here comes the analogy...). You can have the nicest car (read: content) in the world, but if no one knows about it, you won’t be able to sell it.

Mike mYERS@mikemyers614 Consultant, Content Marketing • Nationwide


In the words of Frank Underwood, “There’s no better way to overpower a trickle of doubt than with a flood of naked truth.” Brand storytelling will get even more authentic and candid, and people will not be able to get enough of it.

PatriciaTRAvALINE@travwinVP, Marketing • Skyword


The “second generation” of content marketing will emerge, and its leaders won’t necessarily come from the marketing tech ranks. We’re starting to see fresh content marketing thinking coming from unexpected places, like the landmark Thom Yorke/ BitTorrent collaboration and viral campaigns from non-profits. This trend will accelerate in 2015.

Joe ChERNOv@JchernovVP of Content • HubSpot


Content marketing will become marketing... no more watching from the sidelines.

CraighODGES@king_contentCEO • King Content


I think we are going to see more of a move toward apps and presenting content in an aggregated and curated fashion, so people can get the information they need served contextually for them. Think the Youtility model. I also think we’re going to see SEO continue to evolve and change as mobile forces a different game.

Ahava LEIBTAG@ahavalPresident • Aha Media Group


2015 will be the year of “mobile-first.” Get it to work on mobile-first and let all other platforms follow. We’ll all be sick of hearing it by the end of the year.

JohnFOX@b2bmarketingCMO • Venture Marketing


I predict that companies will pay better attention to their global web presence and make needed changes so they can engage with customers worldwide.

Val SWIShER@ContentRulesIncCEO • Content Rules, Inc.


2015 is the year content will get personal! Chief Content Officers will become a real thing, with budgets and the authority to drive strategic content programs. We’ll move beyond quantity + quality, to creating the right content for the right person in the right place and time. Content will get personal as people-centric marketing takes over.

MichaelBRENNER@BrennerMichaelHead of Strategy • NewsCred


I believe 2015 will be the year where SMBs embrace content marketing massively. This will be made possible by ROI becoming much clearer and more direct (maybe we’ll start to measure CCPL — i.e., content cost per lead?).

Guillaume DECUGIS@gdecugisCo-Founder & CEO • Scoop.it


Content marketing slides down from heightened expectations to disillusionment as brands begin to realize “content marketing” isn’t the same thing as merely producing content. Whether on television or YouTube, an advertisement is still an advertisement, and advertisements are rarely helpful. Those brands that are not succeeding will maintain the vain search for a silver marketing bullet; they hire a new CMO every two years who continues to run the CMO playbook: a) fire an agency, b) reorganize staff, c) launch a rebranding campaign. Those that are succeeding will double-down their investment and add the responsibility of producing useful content to roles across the organization — and most notably to those outside merely marketing. The gap between these two lines of thought will widen. Content marketing will become increasingly a requisite skill for most employees — a minimum barrier to entry, no different than using a telephone or sending an email.

FrankSTRONG@Frank_StrongCommunications Director • Lexis


The content marketing trend will reach corporate communication, starting with CSR. It’s a great source of engaging stories, and companies are used to telling them. We’ll also see groundbreaking content marketing efforts in investor relations, R&D, and public affairs.

Joakim ARhAmmAR@jarhammar Content Strategist • Comprend


From research from CMI and others, we’ve been seeing and reading about the greater need for a documented content strategy. Now is the time to have content marketers really step up and lead a centralized organization that directs, creates (or supports the creation of), and distributes content. 2015 will see the end of fractured programs and tactics.

AmandamAKSYmIW@amandamaksContent Marketing Manager • Lattice Engines


In 2015, businesses must evolve how they plan and measure content. There are still too many marketers who are not understanding the value of content marketing. This is common when strategies, goals, and metrics are not clearly spelled out up front. Better planning will lead to better results.

Tommy LANDRY@tommy_landryPresident • Return On Now


Smaller businesses will realize that they need to up their content marketing game if they are going to stay relevant as big brands continue to ramp up brand journalism. Smaller, more agile organizations will increasingly find ways to insert themselves into the conversation using storytelling.

MaggiePATTERSON@magspattersonCommunications Strategist • Maggie Patterson - Intelligently Crafted Communications


Remarkable content and storytelling isn’t enough. Marketing technology, specifically marketing automation and analytics platforms, will play an increasingly important role in the planning, creation, and distribution of content. The technology enables marketers to be more sophisticated in targeting the right content, to the right audiences, at the right times. High-performing content marketers must become hybrids — part marketer, part technologist.

Paul ROETZER@PaulroetzerCEO • PR 20/20


With a close eye on Amazon Local, more brands will test hyper-local content in 2015. Peer-to-peer marketing has a natural home in local communities. It will be a refreshing step away from content fatigue; but hyper local will also be susceptible to over-saturation with white noise.

PatrickhAYSLETT@patrickhayslettMarketing Communications • @LinguaLinx


Brands will recognize the role of editor as the missing link to true content marketing effectiveness. We’ve figured out how to create content and how to publish, but can’t move firmly into brand journalism until we adopt an editorial discipline.

SarahmITChELL@globalcopywriteHead of Content Strategy • Lush Digital Media


My prediction is that brands will start leveraging niche blogging networks more, through sponsored events and professional development programs. Companies are looking for cost-effective solutions for increasing their reach and impact, and they are starting to realize that by supporting the growth of the blogging community, they are investing in relationships that can bring them a return on investment in the long term.

CasmCCULLOUGh@casmcculloughFounder • Content Marketing Cardiology


The consumer will become the marketer’s most effective tool. Currently many brands rely heavily on “traditional” forms of sharing content — i.e., paid advertising space on Facebook. In the future, marketers will increasingly use consumers as brand ambassadors. To earn this unwritten title, they would have already bought in to the brand due to the sharing of content, buying a product, or joining the company’s social media community. Brands will build communities where these brand ambassadors can access content and share it with others.

LucyhELLIWELL@ljhelliwellSenior Content Producer • Lush Digital Media


People outside of marketing will begin to understand the importance of content. It’s not something that is simply for marketing, but rather it’s an asset that needs to be managed across the organization. The better the coordination and management of the content, the better your customers and prospects will feel about your company as they’ll have a consistent experience.

MicheleLINN@michelelinnVP of Content • Content Marketing Institute


Advanced content strategy informed by multiple data sources will help shape a brand marketer’s content in 2015. Brand personalities will arise to inspire crowdsourced content created by wearable technology & other hardware-software integrations. Virtual content will step into the real world (aka Amazon stores), closing the online/offline distribution divide.

CarlaDEWING@carladewing Contrast Media


I am seeing lots of advertisers & everyday folks switching from putting videos on YouTube to putting them on Facebook. I think in 2015, Facebook will be at risk of junking its news feeds with all this stuff and it may backfire and drive users to users to Google or other platforms.

KarynGAvZER@karyngavzerConsultant • KG Marketing & Training, Inc.


Marketing technology will allow marketers to create smarter, more targeted, and more effective content marketing campaigns in 2015. The most effective content marketers will make it their business to understand, not necessarily exactly how particular technologies work, but rather what can be achieved with certain technologies — i.e., the potential of marketing technology. They may not have a marketing technologist in place (yet), but they will structure their teams and agencies in such a way that they have access to tech skills.

KarenWEBBER@webber_karenMarketing Director • Axonn Media


I expect to see big brands increasingly steer away from Twitter — it’s too difficult to control those hashtag conversations. Haters are quick to jump all over the brand names on that platform, as recently happened when Ronald McDonald started tweeting.

Pinterest and Facebook seem to work better (brands can always hide hater comments on their FB business pages). With Google’s continuing campaign to exclude SEO-focused junk content from its results, we’ll see more detailed, long-form blog posts, and more interviews and research. The distinction between a blog post and an article will continue to blur, as internet news sites scramble to stay competitive by delivering magazine-quality stories. There’ll be more of a call for sophisticated ghostwriters for CEOs and other thought leaders, who can create the kind of posts that build authority and bring leads — and a struggle by writers to educate the industry about appropriate pay for longer posts. (Hint: 1,000-word posts should pay twice as much as 500-word ones.)

CarolTICE@TiceWritesDen Mother, Freelance Writers Den • TiceWrites LLC


Why would we predict when we can know? Look for evidence, then help bring to life the expressed and/or latent desires people have. Content’s value: It gives brands the ability to gain a nuanced understanding of their audiences through a simultaneous process of examining alternative story lines and engaging the remix culture of the web.

ValeriamALTONI@ConversationAgeFounder & CEO • Conversation Agent LLC


Content marketing success will depend more than ever on the strength of the collaboration between the marketing and creative teams. It will equally depend on these stakeholders’ ability to translate their joint perspective into visually rich content. It takes a village to build truly impactful content that drives results.

I can see campaigns emerging that encompass a variety of content (video, design, copy) all with a common focus. Those who plan ahead well and are strategic in nature will reap the benefits.

RichardPATTINSON@BraftonCEO • Brafton

FrancismA

VP of ContentBrafton


As “branding” ascends as a marketing priority, digital leaders will use a smart mix of videos, blogs, and design to define and differentiate themselves. Tone and style will transcend every channel with a consistency we haven’t encountered before. #BrandIsAVerb

Successful content marketing will, more than ever, come as a result of conceiving of and creating the content and user experience as one. Gone are the days when web design and content can be effective in silos.

Katherine GRIWERT@kgriwertMarketing Director • Brafton

Colin CAmPBELLLead StrategistBrafton


There’s a definite need to scale back on volume and, instead, focus on quality. Marketers will need to generate content that can’t already be found in 25,000 other places, which means they will need to be deep thinkers and strong analyzers.

Brands will continue to pursue personal connections through social mediums and campaigns evoking heartfelt emotion. Communicating through mobile devices and other handhelds will have brands reaching users at the most relevant times to experience their brand.Sara

BERKE@CMSaraBSenior Content Marketing Strategist Brafton

AndrewWALTERS@walterscontentContent Marketing Strategist • Brafton


In 2015, the shift from all text to visual will continue. But marketers who are ahead of the curve will start to move past creating content purely for consumption and begin to create assets that start a two-way interaction. #BrandIsAVerb

While video may be the preferred content type of 2014 and beyond, I think marketers will begin to look at new ways to repurpose their other existing content types… and get the extra mile out of their existing content efforts.

Lauren KAYE@LaurenEkstrandKMarketing Editor • Brafton

HollieFARRAhI@HollieFarrahiSenior Content Marketing Strategist Brafton


The top-down model will be flipped. In addition to creating content, brands will invite their users to create, share, and discuss their own. Positive customer experiences are powerful, but they need the forum to be shared. Brands will increasingly focus on creating this outlet and prompting fans to share their experiences.

BrianhONIGmAN@brianhonigmanMarketing Consultant • Honigman Media


Four-dimensional content will emerge as a strong business case for investment. This includes creating bespoke content for specific individuals only — the influencers. Or creating content with an evergreen functionality far greater than traditional content — e.g., utilizing many data resources at once, such as Amazon Echo hardware or creating content that constantly updates. This comes at the same time as publishers starting to use their own content as the native advertising opportunity for any brand to sponsor, based on targeting specific readers with personal recommendations.

Matt D.WRIGhT@MatDWrightContent Insights Lead • Adjust Your Set


I predict more collaborations of multiple forms of content — infographics, video, audio files, and written copy — to create a comprehensive piece of work that combines two key elements: data and stories. People can take their own preferred piece of the content away and share.

HalitBOZDOGAN@TheBozDog Content Creative • Axonn Media


Mobile will become do or die. Not only will search engines continue to favor mobile more and more, the on-the-go experience giving customers what they need, when they want it, will be critical — and expected.

CathymCPhILLIPS@cmcphillips Marketing Director • Content Marketing Institute


Content marketing ecosystems will be created — including websites with personalization, marketing automation, CRM, and eDM platforms. Content ideas will be developed to production and mapped to customer personas and lifecycles on content management platforms. Automation will ensure content is distributed to the customer at the right time on the right channel.

AlanaFIShER-ChEjOSKI@aussiegoldySenior Digital & Content Strategist • NSW Trade & Investment


Here in the German-speaking world, in 2015 companies will finally start to understand that content marketing is more than online attraction. Lead generation could be the key that opens the door to sales directors or even CEOs. In the moment, the term “leads” gets 2,400 Google searches per month. Let us see if there is a significant growth in 2015.

In these countries we will also see a substantial number of specialized new content marketing agencies.

The biggest challenge in 2015 will be as it is now: the production of content that converts. Journalists who learn how to write for lead generation will soon be in the role of developers: highly searched for and well paid. How will we know if this prediction comes true? It is the hourly payment. The payment for content marketing journalists will reach the realm of developers.

MartinBREDL@mbredl Managing Partner • Take Off PR


2015 will be a year for listening — listening to data, to your audience, and also to your instincts. People will realize that being the same as everybody else will not get you ahead in the industry. It will be a change in the way we create content.

CharlotteBENNETT-SmITh@Char_Bennett_Axonn Media


In 2015, I think we will see less copy and more data visualization. Infographics will become more widely accepted as the means to convey a story, solution, or statistics.

LauraCRAvEN@dadepaperDirector of Communications • Dade Paper


Consumers have been advertised “at” for too long, and companies will have to become increasingly honest. “We’re not the best, but we are trying our best to get there” will be the overarching message from brand marketers in 2015.

NeilWILSON@axonnmediaSenior Finance Specialist • Axonn Media


With the foundation and success of subscription marketing and sales this year (think Dollar Shave Club), subscription marketing will continue to expand to many more industries as consumers look for simple, time-saving solutions.

HeidiRUST@hlrMN Web Marketing Specialist • Esultants Web Services


I think all content marketing innovation will be driven by one overwhelming factor: exploding information density on the web. The challenge of cutting through this density and holding on to customer “mindshare” will force us to evolve our strategies. In 2015, I’ll be looking for breakthroughs in content formats (interactive video?), an emphasis on extreme, heroic content (movie-quality), and an acceleration of the trend of marginal content producers falling by the wayside as the cost to compete increases in many sectors (i.e., declines in “free” Facebook reach).

MarkSChAEFER@markwschaeferExecutive Director • Schaefer Marketing Solutions


Prospects are tired of the onslaught of messages competing for their attention. To cut through it, marketers will need to show their “realness.” Relatable people with faces and names — that’s where marketers need to go.

AndreaBRIDGES-SmITh@abridgessmithSenior Content Marketing Strategist • Spanning Cloud Apps


I think more marketing professionals will realize how important content promotion is to the content marketing equation and how much really goes into doing it well. I’m surprised there aren’t more positions in content marketing departments focused on promotion or freelancers marketing their services this way already. Right now, too many businesses lump it in as an extra with content creation or think a few simple social media updates will do the trick, when really there’s a more involved process and skill set involved. I suspect that will change and more people will carve out careers with content promotion as a central skill.

KristenhICKS@atxcopywriterFreelance Copywriter • Austin Copywriter


This year, we’ve seen a change emerging where marketing and sales are starting to focus on adopting the buyers’ perspectives with regards to selling. This “customer-based selling” is not selling in the traditional sense but rather it’s more about helping customers to buy — a subtle but distinctive shift in mindset — and content is absolutely key to the success of this effort. Moving into 2015, we’ll see content play an even more critical role in the customer-based selling process, as marketing and salespeople look to share insights and engage customers based on what they need to make it easier for them to buy.

POLLAN@cliffpollanFounder, CEO • Postwire

Cliff

About Content Marketing InstituteContent Marketing Institute (CMI) is the leading global content marketing education and training organization. CMI teaches enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multi-channel storytelling. CMI’s Content Marketing World event, the largest content marketing-focused event, is held every September, and Content Marketing Sydney, every March. CMI also produces the quarterly magazine Chief Content Officer, and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the world. CMI is a 2012, 2013, and 2014 Inc. 500 company. View all CMI research at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research. Learn how to create a documented content marketing strategy, a key component for improving overall content marketing effectiveness.

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