Content Marketing PREDICTIONS FOR 2014
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To heck with the vague
predictions...here’s three specific predictions:  Microsoft will buy one, maybe two, media companies in certain industries. The outcome will pave the way for further media purchases throughout the year by non-media companies.  Red Bull will announce a series of daredevil movies to be produced by Amazon.com.  At least three Fortune 500 brands will hire a Chief Content Officer. JOE PULIZZI @JoePulizzi FOUNDER CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

2014 will be the year
of short form sound, sight and motion... gifs, vine and instagram videos will deliver greater viewership and higher engagement than long-form. Agencies will compete over who can tell the shortest stories with the biggest impact. Consumers will be charmed as their attention spans continue to deteriorate! Julie Fleischer @jfly Director, Media & Consumer Engagement Kraft Foods contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

The strategies behind paid, owned
and earned content will merge even more - and 2014 is the year that companies finally start to proactively and formally create internal organizations for the management of content marketing strategies. ROBERT ROSE @Robert_Rose Chief Strategist Content Marketing Institute contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Sadly, brands will struggle to
do more than shill their wares. Hopefully, the smart ones will start seeing content as an engine to extend the brand narrative beyond advertising. Content as means of brand personalization will be key. We will also see new tools (like Buffer app) to help automate and organize this mass content as well. MITCH JOEL @mitchjoel President twist image contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Bigger success, less content. That’s
the motto I expect to see more and more content marketers embrace in 2014. With more and more organizations taking a more strategic approach to driving sales and higher-quality leads, we’ll see brand marketers create content brands designed to build subscription-based relationships with a loyal audience. Subscriptions that demand higher-quality content, delivered consistently and shared widely. ANDREW DAVIS @TPLDrew Author of Brandscaping & Marketing Speaker contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

In 2014, more brands will
partner with publishers beyond the ad buy. I am not talking about “native ads” that consumers ignore but true content partnerships where brands and publishers will co-create sponsored content for both the publisher and brand websites and the social web (paid, owned and earned). Michael Brenner @BrennerMichael VP, Marketing and Content Strategy SAP contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Content becomes the currency of
the Modern Sales professional. Sales people will use content to be part of the buyer’s learning party (57% of the buying process is done prior to engaging Sales). The modern sales professional is a content connoisseur and an information concierge with a strong personal brand. Jill Rowley @Jill_rowley Social Selling & Social Business Evangelism Oracle contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Brands begin to realize visibility
is a commodity. Everyone wears a content marketing hat. Brands double down on the evangelist from the magic middle rather than the thought leader. Longer content will seek out the longer tail which will come at a longer price, but also with longer results. FRANK STRONG @Frank_Strong Communications Director LexisNexis contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

As the market continues to
mature the role of technology will play an increasingly critical role. Content strategies will include technology recommendations to ensure the proper outcomes are measurable. Craig Hodges @king_content CEO King Content contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

The volume of content necessary
to earn and keep attention will skyrocket, as more brands creating more content produces more brands creating even more content. Thus, short-form, mobile-friendly micro content will be the new strategic darling, with Instagram, Vine, SnapChat and other tiny executions leading the way. In an effort to have some editorial rationale for this avalanche of micro content, we will see an increase in brands trying to ride the real-time marketing wave, with most of them looking exceptionally vain and foolish while doing so. JAY BAER @jaybaer PRESIDENT Convince & Convert contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Real-time content marketing will become
the new goal as companies strive to participate in conversations versus just sending content to people on their own schedule. Mike Weir @mikedweir Global Head of Category Development - Technology LinkedIn contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

There is a definite trend
toward small. If we can’t get big chunks of content through a limited “pipeline” of brain cells, maybe we can get grains of sand through. This would explain ideas like Vine (6 second videos), infographics and even Pinterest, which is simply easy on the eyes without a lot of processing. Mark W. Schaefer @markwschaefer Excutive Director Schaefer Marketing Solutions contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

I predict that the need
for translated content will increase, perhaps exponentially, into 2014. More customers are translating more content into more languages all the time. It is no longer acceptable to reach international markets with an English-only strategy. Val Swisher @contentrulesinc Founder & CEO Content Rules, Inc. contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

The “distribution” slice of the
content marketing pie will grow in 2014. As brands begin to create a surfeit of content, the meritocracy (if one even exists) will shift from the “best” content to the smartest distribution. Solutions designed to increase content reach will rise in popularity. JOE CHERNOV @jchernov VP CONTENT HUBSPOT contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Brands maturing their content marketing
efforts from increased quantity to better quality will expand beyond providing useful answers to customer questions in 2014. More brands will publish and promote across channels integrating owned, paid and earned media emphasizing a customer experience that attracts, engages and converts across the customer lifecycle. LEE ODDEN @leeodden CEO TopRankMarketing.com contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Content marketers will discover that
it takes more than publishing content to move the needle. ARDATH ALBEE @ardath421 B2B Marketing Strategist Marketing Interactions, Inc. contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

In 2013, organizations got serious
about content production. In 2014, they’ll get serious about building out their teams. Structuring and hiring around content marketing and “content operations” will be a huge topic. JESSE NOYES @noyesjesse Senior Director of Content Marketing KAPOST contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Content marketers will become more
adept at marketing automation and analytics, enhancing their ability to maximize performance and connect content campaigns to business results. PAUL ROETZER @paulroetzer CEO PR 20/20 contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Last year I predicted that
Brands will get serious about planning content marketing. While not enough did, I hope I wasn’t completely wrong. For 2014, I predict tremendous growth for marketing automation. Acquisition and consolidation in the space, along with the drive to truly measure content marketing will fuel this. WILL DAVIS @willdavis Chief Marketing Technology Officer Right Source Marketing contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

We predict that brand marketers
will use video and other multimedia formats to create deep and rich engagements with their customers. Social media, tweets and other short-form mobile messaging will not be used to carry brand messages alone but rather to promote engagement with video content and other rich media formats. Barry Harrigan @BarryHarrigan CHAIRMAN Pure Incubation contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Marketers will begin to be
smarter about creating one body of content and distributing it in a variety of short, easily digestible formats. The research, preparation and effort that goes into writing one 16-page white paper will be re-directed into short-form videos, infographics, blog posts, LinkedIn updates, executive quotes, survey snippets and shorter form information bits. MELISSA CHANG @mchang16 PRESIDENT & CEO PUREB2B contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Marketers will embrace persuasive messaging
as the best way to make their content more relevant and influential. Michael Cannon @MessagingMatter Silver Bullet Group, Inc. contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

By now, many brand marketers
have enjoyed some success with content. But, how do you repeat that success reliably, across a large organization? You have to scale. So, in 2014, I predict brand marketers will focus more on scaling their content creation and distribution. That means smart brand marketers will start focusing more on the 3 Es:  Evaluating whether their content is effective and refining their strategy and tactics.  Engineering their marketing automation, content management, and other technology to make distribution faster, easier, and more agile.  Empowering their in-house teams and outside partners with training, templates, and guides. COLLEEN JONES @leenjones PRINCIPAL CONTENT SCIENCE contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

In 2014, content marketing will
be more closely tied to demand generation. We already understand that more content doesn’t equal better content and quality wins, so there will be a shift to the distribution side of content marketing to ensure all content is reaching the right audience and driving results. AMANDA MAKSYMIW @amandamaks Content Marketing ManageR Lattice Engines contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

I think we’re going to
see consolidation of efforts, both in channel and in how brands choose to manage content marketing. People are suffering from fatigue, and yet there’s this sense you have to feed this hungry content machine. We need to be more strategic so we don’t overstay our welcome. A good way to do this is really align content creation with business objectives and get stakeholders on board with these efforts. Once you have a clear road map, you really are following a strategy. Ahava Leibtag @ahaval PRESIDENT Aha Media Group contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

We’ll start to see technical
content marketing strategists differentiating themselves from editorial/brand content strategists by focusing on demand generation. Furthermore, content creation as part of lead capture/nurturing programs for customer acquisition and retention will become more mainstream as pressure from management requires an ROI on content. Alana Fisher-Chejoski @aussiegoldy Content and Social Media Strategist AMP contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

As more companies embrace content
marketing, those who build larger, more engaged, direct audiences will see far better results than those who rely solely on the kindness of Google and the amplification of others. For that reason, my hope is that 2014 will be the “Year of Audience” in content marketing such that we’ll see companies invest as much in proprietary audience development as they do creating quality content. Jeffrey K. Rohrs @jkrohrs VP, Marketing Insights ExactTarget contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Companies will put customer-centric content
strategies and execution plans together and stop random acts of content creation. Sarah McIntyre @brightinbound DIRECTOR Bright Inbound Marketing contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

In 2014, the PR profession
will no longer be a silo under marketing but be fully integrated into the content marketing workflow as owners of a brand’s story. Heidi Sullivan @hksully SVP, Digital Content Cision contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

I think that all types
and sizes of organizations, whether B2B or B2C, will start focusing more on doing business person-to-person. They will embrace the idea of being more transparent and authentic in the content they create and overall conversations they have with their customers. Debbie Williams @debwilliams23 Co-FounDer, Chief Content Officer SPROUT Content contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

In the past, quantity of
content has been a large focus -- trying to publish as much content as frequently as possible. In 2014, there will be a large shift to quality driven both by Google’s algorithm changes to reward unique quality content, as well as a greater need for marketers to differentiate from each other as content marketing goes mainstream. As a result, we will see a heavier emphasis on being unique, adding value, annotating, and ultimately the convergence of curated and created content. Pawan Deshpande @TweetsFromPawan CEO CURATA contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

This will be the year
of Content Marketing Operations as companies bed down their people, processes and plumbing. Look for Centers of Content Excellence that help big companies spread the content gospel internally. Plus the rise of content marketing technology as integrated platforms eat up the point solutions. Game on. (Bonus Prediction: Joe Pulizzi sues Fanta for use of orange). Doug Kessler @dougkessler Co-Founder Velocity Partners contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

What will separate the long
remembered from the quickly forgotten will be the ability to connect all brand activities into a positive-sum experience. Winner brands will be Secretaries of Understanding, Champions of Network Smarts, and Meaningful Actions Agents who master the ability to draw relationship between relationships. Valeria Maltoni @ConversationAge Founder & CEO Conversation Agent LLC contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Brand marketers, whether B2C or
B2B, will need to focus more on impact and less on reach in 2014. While studies show that most brand marketers believe their content can, and should, drive new leads, successful brand marketers are already having influence on the majority of the new business they obtain. In regards to distribution, brand marketers will continue to rely less on search as they realize that not only is Google a competitor, but their prospects and customers are smarter and more empowered. Rob Yoegel @robyoegel Content Marketing Director Monetate contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

PR will finally put traditional
tactics such as press releases and media outreach in their place as part of a bigger content marketing plan. They will push back in favour of PR that puts them in the role of publisher and facilitates true storytelling. Maggie Patterson @magspatterson PRESIDENT Maggie Patterson PR contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Acquiring valid email addresses will
be THE most important goal of content marketing. Not Twitter followers, not Facebook fans, not G+, not the number of downloads or visitors to a landing page, and certainly not RSS subscribers. 2014: The target is the inbox and the killer app is email. John Fox @b2bmarketing CEO Venture Marketing contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

More content marketers will realize
that “story” is everything. Without a coherent story to bring together the message, all they have is more disconnected dots, more noise, and more confusion. Related prediction: Realizing this, more laid-off journalists will recreate themselves as brand journalists. Related prediction: A few enlightened content marketers will see that “less is more” and free themselves from their onerous editorial calendars. They will publish less but more substantial content that works harder and lasts longer. Gordon Graham @WhitePaperGuy white paper writer ThatWhitePaperGuY contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Next year, personalization will be
the name of the game. Much like Pandora learns from music choices, brand marketers will curate and create content that learns from reader choices. That’s why the most effective content curation solutions will make use of machine learning technology that delivers an individualized, content-rich experience. Patricia Hume @Trapit President TRAPIT contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Next year sees the rise
of much more quality and long-form content. Sites aggregating masses of low-value keyword-stuffed articles for SEO is over, thanks to Google. We’ll see content mill and revshare junk-article sites continue to plunge in search rankings and traffic. Many such platforms will die, merge, or go in new directions for content development. Carol Tice @TiceWrites CEO & Janitor Make a Living Writing contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

More companies will hire a
cross functional editor-in-chief in charge of all editorial content produced by the company. Joakim Arhammar @jarhammar Content Strategist KW Digital contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

I think the main trend
will be towards more. I don’t mean that in terms of quantity, but rather more formats, posts that pack in more useful information and an acceptance that good content marketing requires more time and effort than some previously realized. Kristen Hicks @atxcopywriter Freelance Copywriter and Content Marketer Austin Copywriter contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

New visual and video tools
will make it easier for marketers to create easily viewable content, and social plugins will make it possible to share across multiple channels at once. To really win though, these tools will need to provide detailed analytics. Andrea Bridges-Smith @abridgessmith Content Marketing Manager Spanning Cloud Apps contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

As the surge for great
content continues to pull for brand marketers’ time, 2014 will see more brand marketers outsourcing at least some of their social media efforts. Or at least purchasing more social media conglomeration, posting and analyzing, services or platforms. Heidi Rust @hlrMN Web Marketing Specialist @Esultants contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

As brands develop content marketing
strategies (and they will), they will scale back the number of channels they use and the amount of content they push. This will streamline the lead generation process and improve overall quality. Mike Mooney @michaelmooneyy Marketing Communications Specialist SRI International contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Inbound-only approaches (and the hype
surrounding them) will lose some of their shine as they struggle to get noticed over the deluge of competing content. Outbound content marketing and content-based nurture campaigns will drive the majority of tangible revenue-generating performance in 2014. Jason Ball @ConsideredB2B Chief Content Officer Considered Content contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Real-time content marketing will emerge
as a new tool for marketers to take advantage of live events Andris K. Berzins @akberzins CEO BUZZTALE contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

I believe we’ll see much
more collaboration in the vein of brandscaping. Influence marketing will also be a huge strategic focus. On the channel side I think Slideshare will become a powerful tool for repurposing, atomizing and distributing content in epic proportions. Greg Elwell @gregelwell Principal B2B Inbound contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Content Marketers will embrace their
sales teams having them personally use content to help develop and close opportunities. Cliff Pollan @cliffpollan CEO POSTWIRE contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

Marketers will learn that they
will not succeed with their content marketing efforts without a solid content strategy! And therefore companies really need to establish a powerful content department dealing with all content issues in daily business. So hopefully in 2014 companies stop spreading the content work via various departments that are not communicating with each other and start getting content marketing into a solid, centrally-organised framework. Miriam @TC_ThinkContent Consultant, Lecturer Think Content! contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

In companies across the globe,
social content marketing will start to become widely disseminated in-house, with employees contributing to the content needs of large brands. Marketers will also continue to pervade the mobile space, where new technologies like augmented reality and 3D printing present new marketing opportunities for innovative brands. Carla Dewing @Carladewing CEO, Social Content Strategist Contrast Media contentmarketinginstitute.com #cmipredictions

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