How Content Marketing Agencies are changing drastically?
Content marketing has changed forever, post pandemic. You may have come across examples of this hyperbolic statement across the web. But the fact is content marketing and how agencies operate is constantly changing. The pandemic perhaps pushed the change forward a little more. But change has been ongoing much before the pandemic.
Quality over quantity and high value versus repetitive are some of the big changes that content marketing agencies are grappling with in 2021. Gone are the days when agencies could get away with paying pittance to writers hired from content mills and still generating value for clients. On both ends of the spectrum, generating value has lead to higher payments for high quality writers who can create well researched content. In turn agencies have become much more circumspect in hiring writers with proven track record. This has led to a ripple effect across all aspects of content marketing from ideation, research, SEO optimization to distribution. At every stage, agencies are investing in hiring and working with high quality professionals. Read on for a breakdown of other changes and challenges digital agencies are facing.
Research, Research, Research
With the demand for quality content, demonstrable results and high functioning plagiarism detecting software, agencies have realized the importance of hiring competent writers and paying them well. In addition, they have realized the importance of groundwork and brainstorming before beginning the content process. All this may have added to the time required to deliver content. But is the only way forward to create content that creates results. The brainstorm starts from the time a client is signed up. From getting a detailed understanding of expectation, brand, prospective customers, mapping buyer personas, content marketing has become much more labour intensive and detailed. Researching keywords, call to action, images, headlines, time of distribution etc. have all come into play and each piece of content now has to meet a specific purpose.
Engaging with Writers
Content mills made writers into replaceable and cheap commodities. But in the last few years, digital agencies have realized the importance of paying well for work as high quality work can only be received through higher payments. To that end, agencies have also realized the importance of training or guiding their writers from the get go. Writers need a roadmap in order to deliver results you need from them. And a concrete content plan and discussion regarding expectations, deliverables and feedback is essential. Digital agencies are increasingly focused on creating a long term and deep relationship with their writers and other employees involved in content marketing. And are refraining from the cheap and quick method of hiring anonymous writers from content mils.
Quality over Quantity
Quality has been an essential component of content marketing right from 2011 with the Google Panda update. And this trend is not going away any time soon. The sheer scale of content available on the web has made the importance of long form, in depth research content even more apparent. Specialist content, source citation and backlinks have gained ground. Digital agencies cannot get away with creating generic, dime a dozen content for their clients anymore. There are other businesses that have already cornered the search engine market on that. And it is impossible to get ranked creating that kind of content anymore.
Digital agencies have been forced to research niche specific content with low competition and work on creating content that is better than competitors in those niches. Low level topics do not get as much traction anymore and agencies cannot get away with bombarding websites with repetitive content.
Plagiarism Free Content
Now that Google commands you to have plagiarism-free content as it affects your indexing directly, Content Marketing Agencies are becoming more and more cautious of the same. Moreover, this results in coming up with novels ideations and content strategies, and curations that are unique to your brand and help it stand out. Digital marketing necessitates individuality. Big companies employ a variety of strategies to capture the attention of their target audiences and generate a large amount of traffic. For this, they include many details in the marketing campaign that individuals find appealing. They tailor their advertising modules to the interests of their target audience.
Post-Pandemic Approach
COVID-19 changed the entire trend of marketing from head to toe and the same warranted amping up of skills by content marketers who were earlier slagging. With that also came Meta, an offshoot of Facebook that is a marketplace in itself. Such massive transformations in the existing content marketing industry shook the promoters of the status quo to the core. Content Marketing Organizations that appeal to the cheapest bidder will always exist. These digital marketing businesses seldom produce enough effort to pass Google’s basic publication standards. Do not fall for that, as it will affect your brand image and scores in the long run. Thus, it is keeping looking for agencies that keep their marketers on their toes.
High Influx of Data and new norms for Data Privacy
There was a time when platforms like Facebook would let you post and promote just about anything. That is not the case anymore. Most platforms are becoming content-sensitive in a way that they wish to quash cyberhate and cybercrime as much as possible. With that, a dyad of ethical content practices and data privacy is rising. Agencies are proactively working towards learning the complex rigours of the same as the new age of content advertising is all about being woke and inclusive.
Long Term Approach
Content marketing agencies have finally come around to the importance of long-term strategization. It takes time for organic ranking and search results to show up for any new site. And even for established sites, it takes months to see visible results.
Content marketing agencies are therefore promising long term investment and results to their clients and not short term temporary gains like Google search ranking. To that end, digital agencies have had to put in effort to convert clients who may be reluctant to invest in long term marketing without seeing results.
Exclusivity and Targeted Relationships
Content marketing agencies have become pickier. With the increased focus on quality, long term associations and more labor intensive work, agencies are wary of working with multiple clients at the same time. The days of a single, one-size-fits-all content marketing agency that can take on any client are over. Agencies care more about value creation and ultimate testimonials.
Paid Advertising Getting Expensive
With paid advertising and social media becoming more expensive than ever, content marketing has become the only affordable option for most new businesses. Virality has become the focus and content marketing agencies are aiming to create trending, one of a kind content that will get them results over a period of time.
Finally….
At Write Right, our focus from the very beginning has been evolution. We take client feedback and past results into consideration when devising new strategies for our clients. We are focused on developing long term relationships with our customers. And to that end, we work with a team of highly qualified experts who under promise and over deliver. Contact us to learn more about how we can help your business stay ahead in this ever changing content world. Get all your stressful questions answered upfront. And only pay when you are convinced. After all, we want you to stick around.