It can be overwhelming trying to stay on top of all the latest content marketing trends when you’re busy juggling every responsibility that comes with working in the retail sphere.
If you haven’t already got around setting one, a great New Years resolution would be to focus on your content marketing in 2019, but don’t let the pressure of churning out new and engaging content be your downfall.
This blog is designed to show you the trends that will drive engagement in 2019 and give you some practical tips on how to successfully implement them in your strategy.
What You Will Learn:
- 3 Content Marketing trends to look out for in 2019
- 3 tips for time-short retailers
Before we take a look at tips to implement content marketing in your retail business lets take a look at what trends, emerging and longstanding, will drive audience engagement in 2019.
Trends for 2019
Voice Search
I’ve written about this in a past blog, Voice Search: Is Your Local Marketing Strategy In-Tune?, but once again want to re-enforce that content designed to be on the receiving end of a voice search will become very powerful in 2019.
Gartner has predicted that by the end of 2020 at least 30% of internet searches will be done without the use of a keyboard.
Both Apple and Samsung phones now have voice search capabilities and the likes of Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home are becoming increasingly popular. As we turn away from the keyboard it’s important to consider where voice search will fit in your strategy.
Neil Patel details how businesses such as Purina PetCare are using voice-enabled search libraries to become an educational source for their audience. Ask Purina is a service that can be enabled through Amazon’s intelligent personal assistant Alexa that allows pet owners to ask questions about different dog breeds and receive a well-researched answer in return. This is a great example of how ordinary businesses can begin to optimise for voice search.
Tip: Keep in mind that a great deal of voice search queries are for local businesses, read this blog to optimise your local voice search strategy to include keywords and conversational language.
Live Video Content
I’ve written one of these trends blogs for two years running now and it seems that video is always on the list…and it definitely won’t be losing its spot in 2019!
In their annual State of Inbound report, Hubspot details how more and more businesses plan to put video at the forefront of their marketing strategy in 2019. The report states that 48% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their content distribution repertoire and 46% plan to get serious about Facebook video.
Most social sharing channels have native tools that now only make creating and uploading video easy, but also have algorithms that will favour it. In 2019 we will see more retailers begin to use live streaming as a way to introduce new products and share helpful insights. Instagram Stories and Snapchat’s, My Story, will also become valuable resources for retailers who wish to share behind-the-scenes snippets of their brand.
Tip: You won’t need a videographer or state-of-art equipment to use video in 2019! Think simple and focus on sharing valuable content before you try and sell. Read this blog to learn what makes videos go viral!
The Ad Slump is at an All-Time High
We’re all sick of ads! We are sick of being told what we want or what we need and would rather be making those decisions for ourselves. The truth is, ads, in their traditional form, are just not having the penetrative effect that they once did.
But what if you could make ads that don’t look like ads? And in a way that’s what content marketing is doing. Although the sole objective of content should never be to sell, it does encourage informed buying decisions. By using content to promote products and services we are not deceiving but instead respecting the intelligence of the consumer.
Tip: Use storytelling in your content marketing. It’s far more likely that someone is going to stop and pay attention to your content if it’s pulling at their heartstrings or making them laugh.
3 Tips for Time-Short Retailers
Quality over Quantity
Set a goal for yourself in 2019 to not allow content marketing to become the bane of your existence. If you are stressing about having to constantly churn out new content you will burn out and your content strategy will fail altogether. Spend your time wisely, creating purposeful and meaningful content that is evergreen and answers the questions your audience is asking. Layout a strategy that centres your content around upcoming events and product launches and if need be re-work old content to bring it up to date.
Listen to Your Customers
If you are stuck with content ideas list out your customers most frequently asked questions and work on creating content that will deliver the answers in a clear and concise manner. List the problem and work on solving it!
Do you want to reinvent your blog? Try experimenting with different blog forms by using Milk It Academy’s 101 Blog Ideas Like No Other.
Let Your Product Speak for Itself
It’s one thing for a consumer to see your product on a styled model or carefully placed in a magazine-worthy lounge-room, it’s another to see it worn/used by someone just like them! You have all these great ways to create and share content that will feed into your customer journey but a defining factor of your success will be your consumer relatability.
Social media is a great place to share video and written testimonials from clients who have bought your product and love it. Use Instagram stories to share different ways to style a piece of clothing or even to show multiple uses for an accessory. Show your product or service in the hands of REAL customers to build trust with your audience. Encourage your customers to create and share their own experiences and reviews of your product and then re-share this content on your profiles.
Conclusion
Content marketing can take an entire team of writers, editors, creators and proof-readers or it could take one person with a few spare hours a week. No matter the size of your business your content marketing should be part of your strategy but don’t feel forced to take on more than you can handle. Start small and as your business begins to grow, so can your content marketing efforts. Think simple and purposeful and listen deeply to what your audience wants.
Interested in maximising your businesses growth in 2019? Check out our blog on 4 Growth Marketing Hacks to Scale Your Retail Business.