Remember those teen magazines, where editors told you ‘what’s hot’ and ‘what’s not’? Consider this the content marketing equivalent, with more emphasis on the ‘not’.

Trends come and go, and it’s important to learn to let go of techniques that are no longer as effective today as they once were. Here are 5, I’m sure you can think of more:

1. Ghostwriting

There was a time when firms relied heavily on ghostwriters, and while this is still sometimes the case, it’s no longer adequate. Prospective clients see straight through this, so you would be much better off tapping into one (or both) of two big trends: user-generated content, or expert-led content. 

It recognizes two types of people we are likely to listen to: people just like ourselves, and people whose opinion we trust (as they are the experts in their field).

2. One size fits all

Is your website just a single landing page that has to be all things to all people? That’s not really cutting mustard anymore. Intelligent marketing is here, you can now make sure the content a user lands on is personalised for them – down to the language. 

2016 is therefore all about multiple landing pages aimed at specific segments of your audience.

3. Offline

Offline marketing will always have its role, but, and I shouldn’t even have to say this anymore really, you’re missing a trick if you are not online. More than this, you’re missing a trick if you’re letting your online content just sit there. Share your content on social media, in email marketing campaigns, and so forth.

Increasingly, brands are targeting more unusual social hubs (such as Snapchat) for their content rather than the big three (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter). There is less competition in these networks and a bigger opportunity to attract attention from people in an unexpected way.

4. Keywordfests

Ok keywords are still important, but you need to concentrate more on creating relevant content focused on your business niche rather than shoehorning keywords that may or may not have anything to do with it. Essentially, you should be creating content for people rather than search engines. Leave the keywords in the tags section.

5. Text-based dominance

Text will always be a part of content marketing, but it is not the only major player anymore. Audiences demand visual content, particularly video.This does not mean doing away with traditional blogs, but thinking about each post as a multi-faceted entity: how can you translate it into a different format and thus extend its shelf life?

Why not start with the video, then write a blog summary linking to it?