As content marketing continues to grow in popularity, there has been an influx of updated software and new digital tools to use. The purpose of this software is to help promotional content reach new levels of efficiency.
This requires a depth of knowledge and constant knack for learning to use properly, but the benefits of this shift are very clear.
In their implementation, new content marketing tools have not only spurred better content, but made the way for more continual output.
This is especially being propelled with the help of data and analytics, which allow for more customer-focused practices. With the help of cloud systems, it can also be worked on anytime and anywhere by multiple parties.
Considering this boost in efficiency, it is vital that content marketers learn to utilize this wide array of digital tools.
Here are some of the most effective digital tools and trends that will allow marketers to create better content and receive even better engagement.
The use of these tools is slated to push content marketing abilities even farther in the future.
Tech-Forward Content Creation
Content marketing is a term that describes digital marketing methods that use social media, blog posts, videos, and infographics to engage potential customers.
It is specifically applied to digital marketing, not forms of print advertisement and journalism.
For this reason, technological innovation is the primary factor advancing these marketing practices – that is: new technology propels new content marketing strategies.
We can see how quickly this has happened by looking back at fairly recent digital marketing predictions.
For instance, information pulled from 2013 and 2014 predicted the biggest marketing trends of the future would be social media, video, and customized content.
Not only did this actually happen, but all three of those content trends are used in conjunction.
This has boosted the amount of content in question and caused creators to be more detail-oriented and thoughtful with their output.
For this reason, experts tell business owners to keep concentrating on their content. It is the most accessible form of digital marketing right now, and growing all the time with new technology.
Additionally, content quality is improving with collaborative editing tools and new software that focuses more on blog posts and online video than traditional forms of advertisement.
This does put a lot of pressure on content marketers, however. How will they know if their efforts are going to work?
Digital Tools: Advanced Data Analytics
Since content trends are always changing, it is crucial that marketers are able to use data analytics to direct their content distribution effectively.
Analytics will inform you about how consumers are finding your content and whether or not they are engaging with it.
Additionally, it will help you discover how much traffic you are attracting overall, in relation to your conversion rates.
Some data software like Google Analytics and HubSpot offer in-depth information on site visitor activity.
How much time viewers spend on a web page, what a page’s click-through rates are, and demographic information of site visitors can all be provided with this kind of software.
The latter is very useful, especially in the age of voice searches, which often include longtail language about location.
Small businesses can particularly benefit from this as a means of getting to know their local community, and changing their search engine optimization (SEO) efforts to target local searches.
The takeaway that analytics can offer is answering the question of “who is your audience?” As previously mentioned, all good marketing involves getting to know a potential customer base.
This is probably the most efficient tool for doing that on a quantifiable level. Using it correctly will help you to optimize your content for SEO, and additionally cater it to the people who are engaging with it.
Communicative Technology
Something technology has done at large is made it possible for people to communicate from remote locations. This has had a major effect in the workplace.
Due to communicative technology, those who are traveling, have families to attend to, or are unable to work in close proximity are still able to be a part of the content marketing team.
Messenger applications and e-mail are often used to make this happen. By using tools like Slack and Google Hangouts, higher ups can communicate with remote employees immediately as if they were in the room with them.
The latter also has video chat, which can be effective for consultation and meetings. Even entire department meetings, remote employees can be included with the help of video software.
But communication technology has had a profound effect on client interaction as well.
Businesses are able to use digital document signage to enact client agreements as well, which can be beneficial to data security and is even environmentally friendly.
There are also options to fax these agreements from a smartphone. Since documents can be scanned with mobile devices and e-mails can carry more information than ever, communicative technology is being molded for peak efficiency right now.
With its help, cross-border business operations are able to be more successful and productive.
Content Editing Systems
Aside from general means of communication, this new era of technology has added significant aid to content collaboration. This is primarily via the cloud, which is also known for its organizational abilities.
Google Suite is one of the more popular forms of cloud collaboration tools, and free to anybody with a Gmail account.
Some content is more complicated than Google Suite can handle, however. Infographics and other types of visual content may be better edited with Adobe’s products like Photoshop and Premiere.
Luckily, they can be stored and transferred on the Adobe Creative Cloud. Though these programs can be pricey, they are considered standard for editing visual content.
For content managers, however, there is a monthly pricing option for businesses that provide these softwares for an entire floor or department — and can be shared with remote workers.
Google Suite and Creative Cloud are both common systems for editing and organizing content. However there are others that work similarly for different types of content.
Cannon and Blackbird are efficient softwares for video editing, but Evernote and WPS Office are decent alternatives for managing documents.
These are all specified for different uses and may be the best choices depending on the project you are working on and who you are working with.
Summary
Utilizing new technology is crucial to creating pristine and relevant content. With data analytics, you can understand why people react to content how they do.
If you use communicative technologies, you can remain in contact with your place of employment while working remotely.
And using the cloud allows different parties to edit the same project from multiple locations, as well as transfer the final products to their destination points along a creative production line.
These digital tools help to streamline the content creation process and make the final product more effectively engaging. Overall, this technology is only expected to improve and will the output it produces.
The results will hopefully bring higher conversion rates to those who utilize it best. The next few years will be interesting for observing these technological shifts.
Ultimately, however, content is here to stay and people are expected to keep responding to it.
The days of traditional advertising may be coming to a close. People want substance, and digital content gives them that in a way that television and radio spots never did.
As target audiences engage with content, we expect to see promotional practices change at large.
