Most Marketers to Increase Content Management Spend in 2014

ExactTarget’s massive, 2,500-marketer 2014 State of Marketing survey is out, and, as expected, this year’s big winner is destined to be banner ads.

Just kidding. It’s all about content — especially when you read between the lines. Fifty seven percent of marketers plan to increase their content management spend in 2014; unsurprisingly, 57 percent also plan to increase their social media marketing spend, as content management and social media marketing are intrinsically linked. After all, a big part of social media marketing is managing a constant flow of short-form and long-form content.

More surprising were the social channels that marketers plan to adopt in 2014. My top three guesses would have been Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr … probably because I’m a 26-year-old who just read Gary Vaynerchuk’s new book. Instead, these were the top 5 results:

• Google+ (18 percent plan to introduce in 2014)
• SlideShare (17 percent plan to introduce in 2014)
• Blog (17 percent plan to introduce in 2014)
• Podcasts (17 percent plan to introduce in 2014)
• Pinterest (16 percent plan to introduce in 2014)

Surprised that Google+ topped that list? It’s all about the long-hyped impact of Author Rank on search results. Of course, Google+ can only improve your SEO results if people share your content there, and with that social network being a ghost town it remains a very difficult proposition. (Unless, of course, you have some sort of large-scale employee-sharing scheme.)

The three other areas that marketers plan to increase their spend will impact brand publishing efforts as well, although they touch on many parts of a brand’s overall marketing plan.

Data and Analytics (61 percent): This is an area that impacts every aspect of marketing (BIG DATA holler back!). But it’s also a very important part of optimizing brand-publishing efforts and getting eyeballs on your content.

Email Marketing (58 percent): Email remains one of the most effective ways to distribute branded content, and if you want people to open your emails, you better be sending them something compelling.

Marketing Automation (58 percent): Marketing automation tools are going to be a big part of the way that brands get eyeballs on their content in 2014 — mostly through content-rich native ads on social media platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

This is just an examination of the survey through a content-focused lens, but there’s no doubt that marketers are poised to invest heavily in content in 2014. The entire survey is worth a read; check it out.

Contently arms brands with the tools and talent to become great content creators. Learn more.