Written by Kit Falvey

If you engage in content marketing, i.e., creating and sharing content, you’ve likely noticed the increased effect that technology plays in your marketing strategy—from PR and social media to advertising. If not, you will. Technology is driving content marketing and will continue to do so as we increase our consumption of content on mobile devices, and as improvements in reporting tools and personalization, mobile optimization, and virtual reality continue. Here are a few developments that we think are interesting that were recently discussed in a Forbes article.

As time-sensitive, reputation-management functions such as PR engage more heavily in social media and other nontraditional mediums, the need for more advanced tools to understand audience preferences and to inform content development becomes critical. Accordingly, social media tracking tools are expanding to capture not only important influencer activity but also consumer engagement via more obscure channels such as email and messaging. As a result, PR strategy will become even more responsive to and dependent on nimble and reliable metrics going forward.

On a related note, mammoth brands such as Amazon have long served up personalized experiences for customers – e.g., making recommendations based on past searches and purchases, and communicating with customers via conversational, personalized communications. Advanced analytics tools provide more refined identification of target audiences, preferences and behavior, and now allow smaller brands and marketers, with fewer resources, to make informed decisions about the right type of content to offer to motivate and engage their consumers.

The on-the-go aspect of mobile device use enables brands to reach broader audiences and engage with them faster and more frequently. To keep up and compete, marketers must optimize their digital channels (e.g., websites, etc.) to meet user expectations and to provide the best possible experience. Given consumer expectations, mobile optimization is no longer optional and true optimization goes beyond simple responsive design and includes app development – where applicable and possible – and content that’s developed specifically for mobile consumption.

On a “fun” front, virtual and augmented reality, already established in gaming technology, are becoming viable marketing tools as the technology is incorporated into mainstream apps, videos, and other visual mediums. Still evolving, virtual and augmented reality brings a compelling, fresh approach to content development and storytelling and add exciting opportunities for advertising and other types of marketing.

Approaches in content marketing are always shifting, but the end goal to provide nonpromotional content of value and interest to consumers remains. If advances in technology make that goal easier to obtain, we at Reuben Rink are excited to keep up and to continue applying and watching the trends.