The rise of search and social media have put content at the heart of marketing, with paid advertising making way for earned and owned media. Dale Lovell publishing director of Search News Media explains why marketers need to think like publishers in the changing marketing landscape.
The latest research surveying more than 1,300 marketers, has found that while the majority of professionals can see the benefits of content marketing, few of them are putting enough effort in for success.
The research, from eConsultancy and sponsored by Outbrain, found that while 90% of respondents understood the validity of content marketing, most businesses do not have the resource to undertake content marketing effectively.
Many in-house marketers cite a lack of staff resource (42%), a lack of available budget (35%) and company politics (30%) as ‘road blocks’ to implementation. Only 38% of those surveyed have a content marketing plan defined and in place, despite the fact that 73% believe that ‘brands are becoming publishers’ and that 90% of those surveyed believe that content marketing is set to become more important over the next year.
Why? Content is at the heart of online marketing these days. Social media growth and search engine algorithm update changes give backing to websites and brands that create content. If you read this website regularly, you already know this. You’ll also know that engagement is key and the majority of companies that are doing content marketing well know this.
The many hats of content marketers
Content marketing covers many disciplines; writing, advertising, marketing, PR and SEO. To do it well you need to understand elements of all these disciplines, and the brand you are working for, too. There is a fine line to get the balance right, but done correctly content marketing can bring together all of these elements to achieve real, tangible business results.
Perhaps for this reason the majority – 64% – of in-house marketers interviewed for the study now claim that content marketing is fast becoming a discipline in its own right.
Is this, as has been predicted for a while now, the end of SEO and SEO agencies? Only time will tell, but one thing looks certain, content marketing agencies are on the rise.
By Dale Lovell
Publishing Director
Search News Media
About Dale Lovell
Dale Lovell is Publishing Director at UK based content marketing agency Search News Media. He has been working in online content since 2001. Follow him on Twitter and Google+.
