In 2015, it was pretty important to have a content marketing strategy. For 2016, it’s going to be even more important than ever to have a well-planned content marketing strategy.

So which elements should your strategy contain? With all of the updates from Google and new trends with the way that people consume content, here are 5 content marketing trends for 2016 that you should definitely include in your strategy.

1. Quality Over Quantity

With quality standards becoming stricter, it’s now more important than ever to focus on quality over quantity. Having 10 pieces of content that get lots of links, shares, and engagements is way more beneficial than having 100 pieces of content with zero backlinks, shares, and engagements. With more and more content being produced, people are becoming much more selective with the content that they share and engage with. Furthermore, other content writers and website owners are becoming pickier with the type of content that they link to for reference. Each piece of content that you write should be fully researched, well-written, and offer value to your audience.

2. The Importance of Video

Over the past few years, videos have become more accessible and have gained a considerable amount of Internet content market shares. Incorporating videos into a content marketing strategy is becoming more and more necessary if you want to gain visibility. Some Ecommerce sites have already integrated videos of their products on their product pages. However, simply just uploading a video of a product will not do. The video, just like written content, needs to be engaging and offer value to the viewer that will ultimately lead to a conversion.

3. Optimizing Content for Rich Answers

In early 2015, around 20 percent of all Google queries yielded some kind of rich answer result. Over the rest of the year, that percentage has increased significantly. In 2016, Google’s machine-learning algorithm RankBrain will process even more complex and ambiguous user queries. What does that mean for businesses? Rich answers will provide answers to queries with no need to browse the actual search results. If your content is not optimized for this, you may see a reduction in traffic from users searching for raw information. When selecting topics for your content marketing strategy, avoid topics that can be commonly found or succinctly answered. Focus more on complex and multifaceted topics. Example of a Rich Answer:

4. Relationship Marketing: Social Engagement Matters

The rise of Relationship Marketing is another big trend we will see develop in 2016. Companies will need to focus on “humanizing” their brand. The traditional social media engagement will become more of a relationship. This will help to build a loyal and trusting audience that content can be pushed out to and that will result in a loyal customer base.

5. New Content Distribution Channels

Among Millennials, Instagram and Snapchat are already big content distribution channels. Since Instagram is purely media based (images and short video) and Snapchat content disappears after a short period of time, marketers will really need to develop good content that will both engage and build trust. It is still important to focus on channels like FaceBook and YouTube as well. As FaceBook and YouTube evolve, marketers will need to implement new features into their strategy; for example, live streaming video.

These five content marketing trends will define 2016 for all of us marketers. Which one is your favorite?