2014 has lots of great things in store for your content marketing strategy, but like all good things, these rewards will take some elbow grease. (But not TOO much. Here’s how to work smarter; not harder.)

A few weeks ago, Content Marketing Institute (CMI) published their 2014 Content Marketing Predictions eBook, featuring 50 predictions from content thought leaders on what they think is next in 2014. Many of these thought leaders were right on par with where Curata sees content marketing going in the new year!

We have three New Year’s Resolutions for those of you hoping to whip your content marketing strategy into shape this year: (1) hire a team dedicated to content (2) integrate technology into your content workflow and (3) improve the quality of your content.

Resolution #1: Hire a Content Team

Joe Pulizzi, Founder at CMI, predicts that in 2014 “at least three Fortune 500 brands will hire a Chief Content Officer.” This is where we think content is headed. With the increasing significance of content marketing and the positive impact it’s having on businesses, it’s becoming more and more important to hire a content executive to manage your company’s editorial. The next step is to build a sustainable content team.

Content marketing is not a part-time job. It requires a team dedicated to creating and managing content that helps to boost brand awareness and thought leadership; ultimately driving qualified and sales ready leads. Hire a content marketing team that understands the editorial process AND your brand values to better drive team organization, content quality and leads.

Joakim Arhammar’s, Content Strategist at KW Digital, prediction aligns with this resolution as well. He predicts that in 2014, “More companies will hire a cross functional editor-in-chief

in charge of all editorial content produced by the company.” Decide what type of content leadership your organization your benefit from and build your team from there.

Robert Rose, Chief Strategist at CMI, predicts, “…2014 is the year that companies finally start to proactively and formally create internal organizations for the management of content marketing strategies.” The formation and development of a content marketing team will further the credibility of your organization’s content through a stable strategy and management process.

Resolution #2: Content Marketing Technology

Content marketing technology is becoming more and more critical as organizations try to differentiate themselves and stay ahead of their competitors. Without it, you may fall behind in 2014. (For a full list of content marketing technologies out there today, check out Content Marketing Tools: The Ultimate List by our CEO, Pawan Deshpande.)

Content software designed to help users distribute their content will become a necessity for organizations looking to stay ahead of the curve. Getting your content out to multiple channels with one-click can be a life saver when it comes to saving time. Publishing real-time content will keep the conversations going on your topic, position you as in-the-know and make your content a dependable source for your audience. Distribution is key when it comes to content. How can you get all your information to the right audience, in real-time AND in an organized fashion? By implementing content marketing technology, of course!

Joe Chernov, VP of Content at HubSpot predicts, “As brands begin to create a surfeit of content, the meritocracy (if one even exists) will shift from the “best” content to the smartest distribution.”

Jon Miller, VP of Product Marketing at Marketo, gave his predictions in his article, “When it Comes to Marketing in 2014, the Only Thing You Can Predict Is Yourself,” originally posted on Inc. “Today marketing is about conversations instead of campaigns, and that means being able to communicate with prospects and customers where they are and when they want to hear from you. Consumers today are better at filtering out noise than ever before, and your business relies on your having the right tools.” Having the right content marketing technology helps your business distribute to the right audience at the right time.

Making a resolution to put technology into action this year will also help you stay organized. Using a platform that allows you to find sources, organize and publish content in one place keeps your content developers coordinated and on schedule. The ability to crowd-source in a content marketing solution (like Curata’s bookmarklet, for example, which allows your team to add articles on the fly with one click from any page) can lead to more diversity and innovation in content as well.

Resolution #3: Quality Content

Now you have the people and the technology – great! Next it’s time for the most important content marketing resolution of 2014 – quality.

Quality doesn’t always mean quantity. In fact, best-in-class content marketers use the Content Marketing Pyramid to get the most mileage out of one piece of great content. Start with an eBook.

…Then turn that eBook into a webinar.

     …Create an infographic based on the same content.

        …Write a series of blog posts to break down the eBook content.

              …Curate articles on related information.

Get it? You can re-purpose content into more digestible forms to reach a wider audience and increase the buzz surrounding your topic.

Melissa Chang, President and CEO at PureB2B, has the same idea. Her prediction was that  “Marketers will begin to be smarter about creating one body of content and distributing it in a variety of short, easily digestible formats.”

You spent a lot of time working on that piece of long form content and there’s a lot of information in there. Don’t immediately move on to the next piece. Keep pumping out shorter, more digestible assets to accompany the research that you put a lot of time into. Besides, not everyone is going to read your eBook the same month it’s published. Promote it with short form content until you’ve saturated the market your audience is looking for information in. Think about your editorial calendar, if you launch the eBook this month, maybe launch a blog series next month. (Content marketing technology can also help you manage this as well.)

Best-in-class marketers are also upping the quality of their original content by supporting it with curated content. Curation of information from third party sources (i.e. thought leaders) adds credibility, variety and further establishes your organization as in-the-know. The ability to annotate curated pieces and add your own insights still allows you to display your expertise on your topic. It’s a great way to save time and resources with the need to publish fresh content every day.

Pawan Deshpande’s 2014 prediction is aligned with the quality aspect of your content marketing strategy. As content gains more attention, there is going to be a growing need for marketers to stay ahead of their competitors. “As a result, we will see a heavier emphasis on being unique, adding value, annotating, and ultimately the convergence of curated and created content.”

Ready to kick these New Year’s resolutions into gear? Download our latest eBook, Stop Egocentric Marketing for more information on how to publish a higher quality of content.

To see the full list of content marketing predictions for 2014, check out CMI’s eBook.