2019 Content Marketing Predictions: A #CMWorld Chat with Robert Rose

I’m not talking about promotions or marriages here. But if we looked into a crystal ball, how is the landscape of our industry changing? What should marketers be focusing on?

Combing through the many predictions out there can be challenging. Not to be deterred, we asked CMI Chief Strategy Advisor and Founder of The Content Advisory, Robert Rose to break it all down and give us his take on content marketing in 2019.

(Before we dive in, you’ll want to read Robert’s prediction, as well as the predictions of dozens of other content marketers, in our latest e-book.)

Not only did we grab great insights from Robert, but our community shared their thoughts. Some predictions they believed were off base. Others they found to be spot-on. The following is a brief look at two questions from this week’s chat. We covered a lot of ground, so be sure to check out more questions and their responses in our Twitter Moment.

CMI General Manager Stephanie Stahl believes GDPR is a reminder we must earn audiences’ loyalty and trust. How can we be more strategic in creating more genuine experiences for our customers and building/keeping that trust?

1: Yes! #GDPR is a gift to content marketers. It is the best business case for it yet. Treating audiences like customers. Earning trust from the first moment. #CMWorld – This is really where we have to shine this year.

— Robert Rose (@Robert_Rose) January 8, 2019

Another part to A1: be upfront about how you’ll communicate and always let customers opt in. I’ve had nonprofits doing work I care about text me and I feel no shame blocking the number, because I did not opt in to texts. #CMWorld

— Kristen Hicks (@atxcopywriter) January 8, 2019

A1: This is why personalization will become even more important this year. And not just inserting [Name] here or [Company] there, but really personalizing the whole customer experience. Only serving them what’s relevant to them in the moment they want it #cmworld pic.twitter.com/sOaVYb3YfN

— PathFactory (@pathfactory) January 8, 2019

A1: We can plan before we execute. That planning will help you prioritize the content that your audience will prize.

We create content for the audience, not for ourselves. #cmworld #contentstrategy #contentmarketing https://t.co/44lXOL4bC1

— Buddy Scalera (@BuddyScalera) January 8, 2019

Many experts believe content marketers will be under increasing pressure to prove ROI. What equation do you currently use to determine ROI? What will you experiment with this year to attempt to achieve a higher return?

A5 – My fave question. Biggest problem with ROI & Measurement is most content marketers are measuring quantity of content, not impact on audience. We must set appropriate goals, for audiences, then work to design measurement appropriate for those goals. #CMWorld

— Robert Rose (@Robert_Rose) January 8, 2019

A5: There’s only one way to measure ROI (otherwise we’ll need to call it something else please):
Gain from investment – cost of investment divided by cost of investment. #CMWorld

— Mike Myers ? (@mikemyers614) January 8, 2019

A5: By tagging and utilizing annotation in @GoogleAnalytics and your various #MarTech platforms. Track dates, assets, and efforts over time to show what worked, what didn’t, and what cane be improved, good or bad. Also – always be mindful of resources (time and budgets). #CMWorld

— Patrick Delehanty (@MDigitalPatrick) January 8, 2019

A5: Revenue generated less cost to get that revenue (includes LTV and usually more than just marketing costs). #CMWorld

— Sue Brady (@SueBrady) January 8, 2019

A5: if the client extends the contract, pays me or says “good job!” that’s all the ROI I need 🙂 #CMWorld

— michael weiss (@mikepweiss) January 8, 2019

Do you have a prediction for the new year? Let us know in the comments below.

As for our crystal ball, we see new Twitter chats in our future. Have a guest you’d like to suggest? A topic you want covered? Tweet me and let’s discuss!

Want to attend a conference but can’t bear to wait until September for Content Marketing World? Then attend ContentTECH Summit. You’ll hear keynotes from Robert and Henry Rollins, as well as sessions by Vishal Khanna, Allison Wert, and many others. Super Early Bird rates expire this week so don’t delay and grab your ticket now.