What does the new year have in store for content marketing?
Here are five trends we have our eyes on. đź‘€
1. The Continual Rise of AI
Let’s start by acknowledging the robot in the room. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is far from being able to produce completely thorough and accurate content without the help of a human, the technology can be helpful in certain aspects of content including: ideation, outline creation and proofreading. For example, HubSpot’s AI-Powered Content Strategy tool offers suggestions about which topic clusters to pursue based on competition and relevance. This can ultimately help you devote more time to strategy and creativity.
Though it feels very important to reiterate: AI can provide the structure, but humans are the only ones who can effectively flesh out and refine the content to make it relatable and compelling.
2. First-Party Data Collection
As we head towards a “cookieless” future, businesses are eagerly looking to incorporate first-party data collection to gain invaluable insights into audience behavior, preferences, and interactions.
First-party data may include: reviewing on-site user registrations, analyzing customer purchase history, conducting surveys or performing event-based tracking. With this audience data, you can ensure your content marketing efforts are future-proof with applicable landing pages, website copy and registration processes.
3. Voice Search Optimization (VSO)
Voice search is not just on the rise but is slowly becoming the norm with “more than 50% of the adults reporting that they use voice search daily.” Brands need to shift their focus to improve their online presence to get selected by and/or read aloud by voice assistants (Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa).
But a voice search isn’t the same as a text search. Queries are phrased differently, closer to how we would speak in real life. To optimize for this, you need to target long-tail keywords, especially with questions, to capture traffic who are posing lengthier queries via voice search.
4. Embracing Diverse Content Formats
TikTok and Threads and Instagram Reels, oh my! As social media platforms continue to evolve, marketers have to adapt to new content formats.
Short-form content is currently reigning supreme here. ‍74% of customers prefer to watch a short-form video about a product or service. These bite-sized videos (typically less than 60 seconds) are direct and to the point, allowing consumers to gather information quickly. Plus, their entertainment value encourages engagement and social sharing.
But with an abundance of this content available online right now, how will brands stand out from the crowd? One effective strategy is to venture into new formats.
Vertical video is a format designed specifically for mobile devices. This allows brands to experiment with behind-the-scenes footage, product demonstrations or user-generated content.
Another format that is gaining popularity is interactive video. This type of content allows viewers to engage with the video in real-time. Brands can test out interactive video by adding clickable elements, polls, or quizzes to the video. These can be particularly effective for educational content, as it allows viewers to engage with the material and test their knowledge.
5. Social Listening
Speaking of social media, long gone are the days when brands could post content and log off for the day. Social listening is poised to become even more critical in the new year. These insights provide real-time feedback, allowing brands to adapt their content marketing strategies promptly and effectively. If a post is performing really well, it’s important to investigate why that may be in order to replicate that success in future posts.
Social listening is more than understanding what people are liking (or not!) about your brand though. It’s also a powerful tool to know about your competitors. Are they launching new products? Developing new social media marketing campaigns? By following their social media activity, you may be able to identify a gap in the market that your content can fill.
Content marketing is ever-changing. It’s gone beyond press releases, newsletters, long-form videos and click-bait headlines. But if you’re still approaching it like you did even last year, you’re going to be behind.
When you’re ready to step up your content marketing, Luminus is here to help! Our strategic processes allow our team to create truly valuable content that goes deeper than basic surface level information. By understanding the ins-and-outs of your brand and value proposition, we can address your audience’s pain points and desires with content that brings them into your world.