With the wearable tech market estimated to include 411 million devices worth $34 billion by 2020, the battle for content marketing begins now.
The numbers are staggering, and they tell an important tale. Consumers crave their smartwatches, fitness trackers and innovative technology. According to Forbes, experts estimate that the wearable tech industry will reach the $14 billion mark in 2016. Familiar names such as Fitbit and Garmin experienced a 25.4% and 27.8% growth from 2015 through the first quarter of 2016, and other companies such as Apple, Samsung and Motorola have joined the pack, increasing consumer options and wearable tech’s visibility as smartphone users search for the next big thing to enjoy.
Familiar names such as Fitbit and Garmin experienced a 25.4% and 27.8% growth from 2015 through the first quarter of 2016, and other companies such as Apple, Samsung and Motorola have joined the pack, increasing consumer options and wearable tech’s visibility as smartphone users search for the next big thing to enjoy.
So what does this mean for content marketers? There’s an enormous audience out there just waiting for your content. There’s also a huge gap between current content marketing practices and the ability to translate that marketing to reach wearable tech users. If you’re already crafting ideas in your head, keep a few basic tips in mind to help tailor your content marketing campaigns to this rising technological trend.
Local SEO and long-tail keywords maximize your reach.
Remember that wearable tech relies on voice searches. With no keyboard, users of these hands-free devices speak their commands. This means content marketing needs to utilize local SEO to connect with users who are looking for specific products near them. Long-tail keywords, those three- or four-keyword phrases, also offer increased specificity to help connect content marketers with consumers.
Beacons guide consumers.
Use those pop-up messages that alert wearable tech users when they’re near a business, as this is another great opportunity to connect consumers with businesses and products. For example, if a user has been running a voice search for a plaid fedora for several days and he happens to be parked near a store that sells fedoras, a beacon can pop up on the wearable tech device to let him know.
Measure results with calls, in-store visits and purchases.
Many wearables double as smartphones, which means that many consumers will perform searches and then make related phone calls. Measure the success of your content marketing strategies based on these key data points.
(Source: CCS Insight/Forbes.com)
This breakdown describing the wearable tech revolution highlights how users will wear these devices by 2020, with wristbands and watches leading the pack.
The Numbers
To get a better idea of exactly how many users you could be reaching right now with your content marketing campaign, look at how many devices some of the top wearable vendors shipped in the first quarter of 2016.
Top Basic Wearable Vendors
- Fitbit: 4.8 million
- Xiami: 3.7 million
- Garmin: 800,000
Top Smartwatch Vendors
- Apple: 1.5 million
- Samsung: 700,000
- Motorola: 400,000
When you look at the volume of business just among the top vendors in the market, it’s easy to see that there’s a real opportunity here to change the game when it comes to content marketing. Whether or not this will be the dominant way to reach consumers in the future remains to be seen. Get your battle plan together now for a chance to win the coming war.
