What’s next for marketing?

See the examples for some of the best content hubs of 2016

by BARBARA MATIJASIC, EDITION DIGITAL

In our era of digitalization, we may all wonder; what is next for marketing? Some might say that in the future user-generated content shall be foremost in the minds of every social media savvy publisher, whilst others might suggest that micro-targeting and hyper-personalization will go mainstream. A third stance may be that as more and more brands embrace storytelling, they will shift the nature of those stories from fiction to non-fiction (source).

Whilst I personally believe there is definitely some weight in these predictions, and the future of our industry will certainly be built upon these pillars (and surely a few more), there is something that is even more certain. Brands are already leaning away from traditional media channels and instead are investing more in owned media channels. And these channels need appropriate technological infrastructure to carry the provided content.

Yes, every brand has a website, a blog, a regularly updated social network etc. But what’s noticeably missing is a channel that works as a destination where website visitors can find branded, curated, social media, user generated, or any other type of content related to a topic or a brand – a content hub (as defined on Kissmetrics’ blog here).

As I believe content hubs should now be in included in every comprehensive marketing strategy, we’ve decided to prepare a short list of the best content hubs of 2016. To inspire and help you to understand how the largest sources of marketing leads are developed and nurtured.

The selection is based on criteria of attractive design, user experience, definition of what a content hub is, and is focused on the marketing ⁄ technology field.

Best content hubs of 2016:

Adobe CMO.com
Why it’s amazing: Dating back to 2009, this is one of the earliest content hubs to deliver marketing insights, expertise, and inspiration for and by marketing leaders. We especially like the great insights it provides and how it’s localized according to continents. 

Uberflip
Why it’s amazing: This is a proper content hub by definition – it includes articles, presentations, publications, podcasts, social media posts etc. All carefully curated in order to perfectly compliment Uberflip’s marketing strategy. Good job!

Intel’s iQ
Why it’s amazing: iQ by brings you deeper into the lives of people and the technologies they are using to change the world – with fashion, sports, gaming, health, lifestyle, and other themes. Very cool!

Think With Google
Why it’s amazing: It’s Google. It’s awesome.

NativeAdvertising.com
Why it’s amazing: It’s clear, simple, and filled with interesting industry topics. From Sharethrough, it is native advertising software which sells "native" advertising that appears in streams or feeds.

The Edition
Why it’s amazing: It’s not just because it’s ours, I truly believe The_Edition is filled with a collection of great, inspiring stories. As a mixture of news, articles, interviews, and case studies it stands as a unique source which addresses the challenges facing the rapidly-changing marketing and digital publishing industry.

* If you are interested in building your own content hub, contact our team here and we’ll help you get online today.