As brands seek innovative ways to cut through the noise and connect with their audience, the social media marketing agency in Orange County is continually evolving. It needs the right tools to effectively distribute and promote content, keeping up with the trends that shape how brands use content and how people consume it.

The highest social media content marketing spending in Orange County in 2019 is on content creation (56%).

So, what’s changed compared to previous years, and where should you go for content marketing?

1. The most commonly used content format

The online industry is adopting new tools and technologies, but the rules remain the same for most companies: creating compelling content to reach the right audience at the right time.

So, what content format did marketers use compared to last year?

As 69% of marketers use more video content, we can see brands investing more and more in visual media. More than 500 million consumers watch video content on Facebook every day. By 2021, video traffic will account for 82% of all Internet traffic.

Written digital content remains an area for brand growth, with 64% of marketers increasing their use of formats. 

Marketers who prioritize blogs are 13 times more likely to get a positive ROI, and 60% of consumers will interact with brands after reading blog content.

The growth of social media continues to drive investment in image content, with 63% of marketers increasing their use of image content. Facebook posts with images are 2.3 times more engaged than those without. 

2. Top Content Distribution Trends and Technologies

What tools are available to assist with the content creation and distribution process?

Social media channels provide a lot of data. And 85% of marketers are using tools and technologies to help them process this information.

After identifying and prioritizing, you need the right tools to collect the data to optimize content performance and provide a basis for future strategies. 

Social media analytics tools can collect data from multiple platforms and networks.

This helps determine how your audience engages with and shares your brand and can also look at competitors’ content. Tracking and measuring these metrics is critical to the success of your social media content publishing efforts.

Email is still the most common communication channel, and 77% of marketers are using email marketing software to help their content distribution. 

Compared to non-segmented campaigns, consumers are 75% more likely to open segmented campaigns to send an email.

CMS software remains an essential tool for content marketing, with 54% of marketers using it. The software integrates content tools, enabling content creation, management, tracking, and optimization through an integrated platform.

3. Brand investment in content marketing is increasing

Brands are investing more energy than ever before to create content that reduces noise and brings real value to the audience: 57% of content marketers say their budget has increased over the last year and 29% of content marketers say budgets have increased by 9%.

As brands explore new technologies and formats for content distribution, budgets across industries are increasing.

Although all forms of marketing can help your company achieve its business goals, content marketing puts consumer needs first. It can promote your products and services and increase brand awareness, but it doesn’t alienate consumers with invasive advertising.

Content marketing eliminates noise by finding out what your customers are looking for and then delivering that information in the most focused way.

4. ROI for content marketing continues to grow

As companies continue to increase their content marketing budgets, do marketers achieve their goals? What is the return on investment?

Investment is a critical term that relates to content marketing. You can take content as a strategic asset that continuously provides value after its initial release.

The report shows that content marketing is yielding results, with 79% of marketers successfully using content to build brand awareness, while 67% of marketers have built credibility and trust with audiences. Although feedback from marketers provides valuable insights, content marketing is about consumers.

So how do consumers perceive a brand’s content marketing efforts and how it drives business results?

70% of consumers say they feel closer to a brand after reading useful brand content. 82% said they understand the brand better after reading the content.

After reading educational content, consumers are 131% more likely to buy from a brand.

Although content marketing focuses on building positive relationships with consumers and is well received, other forms of marketing are less popular with consumers. For example, 65% of consumers said they skip online video advertising and only 30% of consumers buy from brands that they subscribe to via email.

In today’s digital consumer environment, modern consumers want help in making informed buying decisions. That’s why content marketing is critical to attracting customers’ attention, guiding them through the buyer’s journey, and increasing business awareness.

As content marketing evolves with consumer preferences and needs, these trends by the Orange County social media marketing agency are the beginning of new changes in the industry.