Prepping for 2018 yet? Of course you are. And we are too! We’ve been reading up on the trends expected to impact content marketing, social media and digital marketing next year along with analyses of what worked in 2017. I know December might be a busy time for trying to catch up on industry reading, but I’ll just leave this list of our top article picks right here for when you have time.

Content Marketing

22 Examples from Brands that are Winning Content Marketing Read about the cream of the crop and gain inspiration for your own content strategy.

New Research Reveals Habits of Top Content Marketers Nearly 65% of B2B marketers report more success with their content marketing strategies this year. See what sets them apart.

3 Ways to Ensure Early Content Marketing Efforts Pay Off 70% of B2B firms and 73% of B2C firms plan to do more content marketing next year. Find out how to get incremental ROI while waiting for the long term effect to pay off.

The State of Content Strategy (Infographic) Strategy—write it down. Enough said.

Social Media

Why B2B Marketers Can’t Afford to Ignore Facebook For one thing, 74% of people say they use Facebook for professional purposes. And there’s a lot more in here than just that stat.

Beware of Relying on Fake Social Media Followers. Ever Heard of Shadowbanning? I don’t just dislike the practice of buying fake followers; I hate it! In my humble opinion, it goes against the whole point of using social media which is to connect with REAL PEOPLE who have a genuine need or interest in your product. But you don’t just have to take my word for it…

Mixing in Digital in the B2B Marketing Approach Probably no surprise that B2B marketers are using more digital and primarily for lead generation and sales conversions. B2B strategies are more complex than ever.

Digital Marketing and Technology

How AI Can Enhance Your Content Marketing Strategy Yes, artificial intelligence is primed to transform content marketing too. Are you ready?

SEO in 2018: 7 Google Updates You Need to Know About (Infographic) You can’t win the game if you don’t know the rules! Get caught up on changes.

60% of Marketers To Increase Focus on Organic Search in 2018 It worked well for marketers in 2017 so they plan to continue their efforts next year, followed by second and third priorities of paid search and social.

We also have a few books we haven’t read yet, but we’d still like to get to over the break, Grit, Setting the Table, Rework, Stacking the Deck, and The Lost Art of Closing.

That’s our reading list! Hopefully you now have a well-rounded marketing outlook for next year. Now it’s your turn…read any good articles lately? Share them in the comments so we can all enjoy!