The wild west.

Are you confused about what’s going on in content marketing? Trust me, you’re not alone.

After attending numerous webinars and presentations, reading a zillion newsletters, and scrolling through LinkedIn posts, here’s my impression of the main thing to know:

The traditional content funnel is dead. It’s now a pinball machine, with consumers bouncing across diverse touchpoints that range from AI summaries to Reddit posts before potentially reaching your site.

What does this mean for your content marketing strategy?

There’s no more “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.” Voice, authenticity, and originality are more important than ever. When done right, LinkedIn posts, articles in industry publications, and newsletters help build credibility and authority.

That doesn’t mean that you should jettison your blog or other inbound channels you’ve been focusing on. But you might want to explore how to prioritize your resources for maximum efficiency and impact.

In this environment, traditional metrics become less meaningful. Instead, it’s about engagement quality, share rates, and time-to-conversion, not just page views.

Today a couple of things are true: your content needs to work harder, and every organization’s winning strategy will look different.

Start by auditing your current content honestly:

• Are you just copying what everyone else in your industry does?
• Are you chasing after page views instead of focusing on valuable information?
• Are there specific topics or formats that resonate with your audience more than others? Are you clear on what they are?
• Are you stuck on what you think you should write about rather than what you know?

Your next thought leadership article, social media post, or case study could be the one that turns a casual browser into a qualified lead. But it will only happen if you're willing to put in the time and effort to plan and execute thoughtful, original content that offers value—and do it consistently.