If you want to succeed with content marketing and position your business as a thought leader in its industry, you can't always produce content that is intended for a broad audience. The real value that you provide to your customers through content will come from tailoring your message to a specific audience.

No one can deny the rapid rise of video content on online platforms. More than 22 million consumers have cut the cord with their cable and satellite TV packages and are choosing to use online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube TV to watch their favorite shows. By eliminating the need for a cable or satellite company as a content distributor, consumers are able to save money and stream content from anywhere at anytime, including on their mobile devices.

A consumer's perception of a brand has always been shaped by what others say about the business. However, thanks to the widespread adoption of social media and the growing number of online review sites, today's consumers are more exposed than ever to people's decisions about what to buy, wear, and like.

As the year is winding down, businesses are ramping up their online presence in preparation for the holiday marketing season. While there is no official start date for when businesses begin running their holiday promotions, the trend in recent years has been to start campaigning on November 1.

Facebook has been in the spotlight a lot throughout 2018, and the press has not always been positive. The social media giant has been under scrutiny for its privacy protocols and has had to revamp its advertising platform to give peace of mind to users that their private information would not be compromised.

It's no secret that the demand for video content is on the rise. As of 2018, consumers are viewing more than 500 hours of YouTube videos each day. Approximately 85 percent of American consumers that use the internet watch video content online. In fact, one-third of all online activity is spent watching videos.

For many businesses (especially those in the retail sector), the last quarter of the year is when the most sales are generated. If you didn't take our advice back in August and start planning your 2018 holiday marketing campaign, you still have time to put together a strategy to end the year strong.

If you want to really make an impact with the content that you create, you need to develop a working list of content ideas that address topics that matter to your target audience. However, one of the most difficult and time-consuming aspects of content marketing is the brainstorming process of coming up with ideas to write about.

As a marketer, you can't ignore the growing prevalence of consumers' use of voice search. In the second quarter of 2018, global smart speaker sales grew by 187 percent with the purchase of 17 million voice technology devices.

Thanks to the internet and the widespread adoption of digital communication tools such as social media, businesses have fewer opportunities to have a genuine face-to-face conversation with customers. Given the convenience factor, more consumers are choosing to make purchases online. In fact, there's a very good chance that the only interaction a customer will have with your business is through your website.