As we near the end of 2020 and this year’s #ContentChat lineup, the community and Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo), chief marketing strategist at NeoLuxe Marketing, took this week to reflect on the past year and predict what 2021 has in store for the world of marketing.
Q1: Let’s start with a celebration! What are you most proud to have accomplished in 2020 (can be personal or professional)?
The community has a lot to celebrate this year. Check out what we’re most proud of below, and comment with your big win(s) from the year.
A1: I’m proud to have survived. This has been the most challenging pers/profess years in my life (cause they’re connected). Between challenging business circumstances to opening up tough personal conversations, this year was a doozie. I’m here! I’m alive! YAY! #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
A1b: I’m also proud to have partnered with the amazing @craftwrites! He keeps surprising me the best ways. We are delightfully complimentary! #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
A1: I’m proud to have taken a leap of faith to expand my knowledge base and get out of my comfort zone by going back to school 20 years into my career. Gulp. #ContentChat
— Erika Koff (@KoffErika) December 7, 2020
A1 I’m super proud to have gotten my license for insurance in both WA and ID, it took a lot of studying and patience, but I’m excited for this new career path I’ve started down
-Alyx #contentchat https://t.co/G2ayvxEQJR— Charlie Appel Agency (@ColfaxInsurance) December 7, 2020
A1: #SEO improvements that have helped broaden awareness for @WriterGirlAssoc and put us in a good place to launch some exciting projects in 2021. Also, joining this Twitter chat!! #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) December 7, 2020
A1 Sorry to have missed the introductions… proud of my team for navigating more cases than this office has seen in history and maintaining a high quality of professionalism in the midst of a crisis situation. #ContentChat
— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) December 7, 2020
A1: Despite 2020 being… 2020… I’m thrilled to be working more regularly with Erika and to have moved from Chico to Sacramento. #ContentChat
— Alek Irvin (@AlekIrvin) December 7, 2020
A1 I earned the certification for being a woman-owned business. Even though I was already living the role, I got through the paperwork to be certified. Thanks, 2020. #ContentChat https://t.co/FYh7FKMUyw
— Shane Shaps (@520eastbrands) December 7, 2020
A1. I was laid off in March and had to up my game on the professional branding. I wrote about five thought leadership articles on PR. I’ve been in the biz 20 years, and globally, so was glad to be able to summarize some learnings – see here: https://t.co/ydYhUcBKGx #contentchat
— Caroline (@CAZJAMES) December 7, 2020
Mindset shift. And now I’m ready to start a new business #ContentChat
— Teodora Ema Pirciu (@emapirciu) December 7, 2020
Q2: Obviously, COVID-19 has dramatically shifted how the world works. From a content marketing standpoint, what is the No. 1 lesson you’ve extracted from the pandemic?
This turbulent year highlighted several foundational truths about marketing. First, personas are vital to your organization’s ability to appropriately reach your audience, and they must be updated regularly to increase your likelihood of success.
A2: Keep up with the personas. No one has come out of 2020 untouched. If you thought you knew who your customer was before, they have likely psychologically changed and it’s time to connect with them to understand how you can serve them today. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
Related to personas, brands must understand that marketing is not business to business or business to consumer, but human to human. Personalization is key to building a relationship and showing that you care about your audience beyond the potential money they can give you.
A2. Content marketing isn’t B2B or B2C. Good content is H2H: human to human. #ContentChat
— Teodora Ema Pirciu (@emapirciu) December 7, 2020
A2 Take the time to check in on your existing clients on a personal level, and make sure to let them know you appreciate them and care that you’re offering the best you can
It’s been rough for everyone, sometimes that little touch is all someone needs
-Alyx #contentchat https://t.co/8H6ChyqP1x— Charlie Appel Agency (@ColfaxInsurance) December 7, 2020
A2b: I also think 2020 was the year that showed us how important a 1:1 approach is with marketing. Making it personal makes a difference. #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) December 7, 2020
A2: Location, location, location – pandemic has treated different places and markets SO drastically different. Always consider the location you’re building content around, a.k.a “read the room”#contentchat
— BegayaCat (@Begaya) December 7, 2020
Content can be created simply to delight your audience. Use fun videos or other short-form content to give your audience a quick laugh or break from whatever they are facing in their day.
Great advice. Leverage the pandemic to get back in touch. I think there’s been runaway success with TikTok too – making fun videos that are easily digestible and community sharing to lighten the burden of us stuck at home unable to access what we were before. #contentchat
— Caroline (@CAZJAMES) December 7, 2020
Circumstances change quickly, so have a backup plan in case your original marketing plan is no longer viable.
A2: Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. I think content marketers always have this baked into their plans, but boy, 2020 really tested our chops on this! #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) December 7, 2020
Absolutely. I’m not a “Plan B” type of person but 2020 has been one big Plan B. #ContentChat https://t.co/PxU9iF8bY8
— Shane Shaps (@520eastbrands) December 7, 2020
I feel like 2020 has us all up to about Plan D 🙁
— Jennifer L. Dawson (@JLDContentQueen) December 7, 2020
Video communications are here to stay, so invest in decent lighting.
A2b: Invest in a good ring light and don’t take meetings in bed. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
And let’s agree to remove “these unprecedented times” from our language.
Number one: If you weren’t the first to use “these unprecedented times” then DON’T use it. HAHAHAHA! #ContentChat https://t.co/kYCnoUHwUd
— Shane Shaps (@520eastbrands) December 7, 2020
Q3: What content marketing trends fell flat this year, despite their anticipated traction?
Marketers stepped into 2020 with a range of predictions—this will finally be the year for AR and VR, right??—but many of these hopes were left unfulfilled as marketers had to completely reinvent their plans.
If you’re curious about the types of predictions we’ve seen, you’ll see this whole pile of sweet and unsuspecting content marketing experts share their unspoiled thoughts about what was to come for us in 2020: https://t.co/wyMm9bCvMq #contentchat #cmworld
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
A3: 2020 started out so aspirational. So many juicy predictions around personalization, video/multimedia usage, and influencers. So many of these took a backseat to the unfolding complexity of the social, political, and healthcare situations. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
A3: I know for us, we had big plans to celebrate our 20th birthday as a company. We wanted to do all these fun partnerships with our clients and employees but…well, that wasn’t exactly a priority when our clients were fighting a pandemic. #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) December 7, 2020
One positive trend we’ve seen is that brands are using social media for what it is meant for—conversations, not announcements.
A lot of them. But I’m pleasantly surprised that we got back to what social was meant to be – SOCIAL. One-to-one convos, being real, less “buy my stuff.” That’s refreshing. #ContentChat
— Shane Shaps (@520eastbrands) December 7, 2020
A3b: What came to be is the desire to create deeper connections beyond promotion. Authentic and meaningful interaction between brands and consumers were prioritized. A few orgs rose up and delighted, so many fell and failed. #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
What do you think 2021 will be the year of?
And yet … 2021 will probably *still* be the year of the customer … or of mobile … to some marketing thought leader(s) out there. SMH #contentchat
— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) December 7, 2020
Or ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE or MACHINE LEARNING! I think 2020 is just the year of VIDEO CONFERENCING. LOL #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
Also, who comes up with these “year of..” type announcements. Maybe it should be us. “This year is the year of kittehs with big glassy eyes” or “delicious manhattans” #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
Q4: How is your content marketing budget changing next year? Which areas will you invest more or less in?
Our community of marketers has a few priorities for 2021. First, multi-channel campaigns with a trackable ROI will be a focus for many…
A4: We are investing in multi-channel campaigns and thought leadership. SHOWING not telling about our expertise is a better way to build up pipeline. We’re going to be finding ways to distribute that in many modalities to appeal to the widest segment of our audience. #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
As well as a focus on strenthening relationships through personalized communication.
A4: Going back to that 1:1 communication and finding ways to spend budget that makes better connections with our clients. Video and email are big on our list for this. #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) December 7, 2020
Following on the theme of community building, social media and email marketing will be a focus for some. This includes budget for social media advertising and promoted posts.
A4. I’ll spend more resources on creating content for social media and email marketing. And I’ll encourage my clients to do the same. #ContentChat
— Teodora Ema Pirciu (@emapirciu) December 7, 2020
I think one has got to up the budget on advertising and paid social. The amount of trades that have asked for advertising when pitching editorial! Personally I think facebook ads are smart – spend on paid social and build out blog posts/short video clips from there. #contentchat
— Caroline (@CAZJAMES) December 7, 2020
And the marketer’s ultimate goal: investing in high-quality content that meets the needs of an audience.
A4: Investing into quality vs. quantity content. Working on finding the right “copywriter” is a task of its own. #ContentChat
— BegayaCat (@Begaya) December 7, 2020
Q5: Digital events have skyrocketed in importance and remain an area of opportunity for many content marketers. What is your advice for those teams planning digital events in 2021?
Maureen and the community share their top advice for digital events in 2021 below. If you’re looking for more help, check out our chat recap on how to host digital events that your audience will love.
A5: Build in community. Don’t append it as an afterthought. Ensure that you’ve created space for people to actually meet one another, build their connections and share their experiences. THAT’S the magic of events. And it can be done well. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
A5b: I just went to an amazing 100+ Women’s business planning retreat and it was 100% the best online event experience I have had the pleasure of joining. Live community was built into the fabric. Thanks @FBombBClub ! #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
A5 Invest in a quality, user-friendly platform. #ContentChat https://t.co/H8u7JQ0acv
— Shane Shaps (@520eastbrands) December 7, 2020
A5: Find ways to elevate your sponsors/exhibitors and make sure their time and $$ is worthwhile. I attended some great virtual conferences this year, but as an exhibitor, I’m thinking about spending budget elsewhere. #contentchat
— Melanie Graham (@WriterGirlMel) December 7, 2020
Q6: What do you predict will happen in #contentmarketing in 2021? What stays, what goes, and what’s new?
What does our community expect in 2021? Orgs will keep focused on building community…
A6: I think orgs will continue to build the connection and community skillset in lieu of more months of isolation. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
Crisis comms playbooks will be updated and expanded…
A6b: I also think that organizations will be taking a hard look (if they aren’t already) at their crisis comms approach. This year has tested so many content producers and every.single.department has learned a lesson or two in what not to do when things are hairy. #ContentChat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
AI will supercharge many content marketing needs…
A6c: The use of AI is shifting from “a neat thing that might save us some time” to a tool that will help keep content production going on skeleton crews. #contentchat
— Maureen Jann (@NeoLuxeMo) December 7, 2020
Diversity and inclusion content will keep a spotlight…
Probably a continuation of D&I too in content marketing – continues to be a big, trending topic. #ContentChat
— Caroline (@CAZJAMES) December 7, 2020
And hopefully bots will be less prevalent on social media.
Q6: What I wish would go away: bots on social. Waiting on a young genius mind who can invent a bot destroyer. What stays: authenticity. What’s new: machine learning improves by one more year of data harvesting and compounds that knowledge… #contentchat
— BegayaCat (@Begaya) December 7, 2020
After a year like 2020, though, some of us are ready to stop making predictions.
A6. After 2020, I’ll make no more content marketing predictions. 🤣 #ContentChat
— Teodora Ema Pirciu (@emapirciu) December 7, 2020
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