Content Strategy Trends for 2016 12/09/15 | Four Columns Marketing Over two decades ago, Bill Gates declared content as king, thereby launching a worldwide marketing phenomenon summarized by this oft-quoted phrase. In the digital era of today’s marketplace, this adage couldn’t be truer. Oftentimes the success of a campaign, website or article hinges on content strategy. The goal of this marketing trend is twofold: to build customer engagement and loyalty by providing valuable information, and to generate traffic (and ultimately leads) by attracting visitors to your business. With a strong content strategy, brands can engage with their customers and provide them with credible expert knowledge about their company, product or industry. As you're preparing to enter 2016 with new initiatives, goals and budgets, consider these five up and coming trends to help you develop a content strategy for your business or brand. Visual components As you develop content, you should consider integrating complementary visual elements. Illustrations, videos and infographics contribute to your brand’s visual storytelling strategy. Content with compelling images increases total views by an average of 94%, compared to content without images. Interactivity Interactive content, such as graphs, charts, quizzes and even contests, gives brands an opportunity to engage with their audience. When you create an avenue for your customers to engage with your business and brand message via your website or social media channels, you may find customers visiting more frequently and developing a loyalty to your brand. SEO It's no secret that marketers should focus on creating valuable, meaningful content to drive their SEO, but this is becoming even more vital as 2016 approaches. When developed thoughtfully and intentionally, SEO can boost your search results, generating more traffic and customers to your website. Mobile With almost 4 billion mobile users around the globe, there is an increasing need for companies to optimize their content for mobile use and incorporate mobile strategy into their overall marketing plan. The majority of consumers are more likely to purchase from a business with mobile capabilities than one without. Analytics Marketers will continue to use analytics to drive strategy and generate results. More than ever before, it’s important to understand the audience, and to have a plan in place that measures the return on investment. When measured effectively, ROI can help determine the success of your content and assist toward directing which changes need to be made in the future.