Content marketing gives small and medium-sized companies a momentous opportunity to fight the status quo, leveling the playing field between big corporations and start-ups, Ma and Pa suppliers and blue-chip investments. Gone are the days where businesses were only providers of tangible products and services. Today, successful businesses compete through the lens of their content as well, and the strength of their wit, humor and insight all play major roles in how their brands are received.

While the concept of content marketing has been around for decades, developments in the native advertising (or sponsored content) space have focused on standardization and formats. For brands investing in native, there are several watch-outs to ensure your content is effective. These may seem obvious, but I've seen a number of examples in the market that overlook these principles.

Welcome to the new age of influence, where 20-something content creators on Vine can make as much as $20,000 for a 6-second video and Millennial fashionistas can earn six figures for their stylish outfits on Instagram.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 93% of B2B marketers are engaged in content marketing, while 90% of B2C marketers say they have embraced content marketing. I'm not seeing it. Just because the marketing department is producing content -- I mean, memos could be considered content, right? -- does not mean that they're engaged in content marketing.