It’s the time of year we start looking forward — making resolutions and plans for the new year. Today the Brand Newsroom team gazes into the crystal ball to see what 2017 might hold in the marketing and communications industry.

Here are some key take-outs:

• It’s time to get your content strategy in place if you haven’t already got one.
• Spend more time with your clients. Meet face-to-face more often.

“It really goes back to ensuring our customers are having good experiences, not trying to game the technology, not trying to find a silver bullet. And for me that starts with strategy.” — Sarah

• For many companies, it’s time for a new approach. The old ways of marketing aren’t necessarily working. It’s time to make customers feel something. That pressure is likely to come from the C-suite.
• It could well be time to bring in the professionals: get an agency on board, find the right freelancers, and get the best team together. It’s often more cost-effective to outsource.

 “I think a lot of companies are going to wake up to the fact that what they have been doing hasn’t been working as it should be and they need to look at a new way of doing it.” — James

• Attention spans are getting shorter, so our content needs to be more concise.
• Video will continue to be an increasingly important medium for content. Personalised and interactive videos are likely to take off as the technology improves.
• Some social media platforms will stop bearing fruit for brands and many will begin to move away from them.

“In 2017, have a review of your social media. See where it fits into your business. Review its value to your organisation.” — Nic

Here are the links you might need

• CMO.com.au had a list of 17 predictions, too.
• Convince and Convert had five predictions, here.
• Here’s Marketo’s take.
• Sarah weighs in (page 45) on the Content Marketing Institute predictions of 2017.
• And, finally, here’s Campaign Monitor with their predictions on email marketing.

Have you heard the one about…

Recently James, Sarah and Nic took a close look at email marketing best practice.

And the team was also joined by ADMA’s Jodie Sangster for a look at the biggest trends in content marketing predicted for 2017.

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For more information about the show, visit the Brand Newsroom website, where you can join the Brand Newsroom Community and receive exclusive content and opportunities to meet James, Nic and Sarah.