In 2014, we’ve seen content marketing soar in purpose, function and popularity. In fact, a report by the Content Marketing Institute tells us that 93% of B2B businesses use content marketing as part of their overall marketing plan. With that said, let’s take a look at the hottest content marketing trends that businesses are taking advantage of. Let’s hope you’re one of them!

Mobile Content Brings Companies to a New Level

With Google’s Hummingbird update, the importance of a mobile content strategy is more important than ever. Businesses know this, but many of them still lag when it comes to creating mobile-friendly content. The brands that get this right have the potential to separate themselves from the pack, at least today.

More Companies are Hiring Content Managers

If there are two things that successful content marketing brands have in common, it’s a smart content management strategy and a key individual to execute this strategy. Look for more companies to hire someone to create and oversee a detailed content marketing strategy so that it gets the attention it deserves.

High Quality Content Equals Increased ROI

The industry is seeing increased ROI in regards to content marketing. For this reason, content creation companies are emerging and gaining momentum by matching writers with companies looking for engaging content. And, companies are willing to pay more to get varied, quality content since the return on value is higher.

Marketing Automation Sounds Attractive, but it has its Pitfalls

Marketing automation certainly has its perks. The software allows brands to streamline and automate content marketing, and many are jumping on board to save both time and money. Unfortunately, marketing automation is only successful when a strong foundation has been laid and leads are continually nurtured. Too many brands rely on marketing automation to do the entire job for them, which just won’t work.

Location-Based Content is Big for Small Businesses

Brick-and-mortar businesses often struggle with creating a strong online presence, but with location-based content, they finally have the opportunity to be frontrunners in their sector. The greatest asset to location-based content is that it drives in-store visits and sales in addition to brand awareness, reputation and visibility.

LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter Still Rule the Roost

Despite the hype with Google+, the top social media platforms being used by marketers are LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Use for both SlideShare and Google+ has increased, but marketers are still most likely to put their time and dollars into the top three social media channels because of their potential for engaged, targeted audiences.