Written By : Jordan Beaumont
Posted 25/03/2022The way that people connect with brands has changed, and audiences now demand fully connected brand experiences, not just a transactional relationship. This makes content marketing more important than ever.
B2B content is booming too. Last year, 43% of B2B content marketers said their content budgets had increased, and 66% said they expect more budget rises in 2022.
With the pandemic accelerating transformation, and people still spending unprecedented amounts of time online, there’s simply no time for lazy marketing. If you want to truly engage with your audience in 2022 and beyond, here are the content marketing trends to keep an eye on.
This is the time for relevant, long-form content to shine. Gone are the days of churning out 300-word blog posts in a bid to increase traffic. Providing value is vital. Well-researched and expertly written long-form content that answers problems or explains complex issues is the ticket.
Not only can longer blogs posts and articles turn brands into experts, but they can increase time on site. Google rewards sites with higher dwell time, so there are SEO benefits too.
Short-form content still has a place in every content strategy, but the stats say it all:
When it comes to maximising value, marketers will be turning to content repurposing techniques. Though this concept has been around for a while, it’s often overlooked. But there’s an incredible amount of value in updating or diversifying old content pieces.
By recycling an outdated article, you can refresh its SEO power, reach new audiences, and distribute your content across multiple channels. Plus, you can make your content go further and get a better return for your efforts.
A long-form article can be repurposed into multiple shorter pieces, and it can also be turned into infographics, videos, social media posts, and more.
If you want to find out more about content repurposing (and ways to do it well), see our recent blog post.
It’s no secret that video content is a huge content marketing trend. With the growing number of mobile devices (and millennials and Gen Z now making up over half of the global population), it makes sense to take a video-first approach.
Data tells us that both millennial and Gen Z customers prefer to watch videos for gathering information about products. For distracted, time-poor digital natives, being able to consume information quickly is key. So short-form videos in particular are going to be the most beneficial to include in your content strategy.
Video won’t just be a nice-to-have feature either. As voice search grows, video will be fundamental in improving SEO performance.
The evolution from personalisation and hyper-personalisation is upon us. At the moment, what we have is segmentation based on one or a few data points, but the shift to more bespoke personalisation techniques means being able to really tap into an individual’s wants, needs and desires.
Emails won’t just have the recipient’s name in the subject line. They’ll feature products, offers and content that is relevant to the recipient’s interests or past shopping behaviours. It’s all about driving one-to-one interactions with customers, and making deeper connections that build loyalty and retention.
This year, there’ll be increasing demand for quality and relevance when it comes to content. Google’s E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) guidelines and anti-spam initiatives are raising the bar for content creation.
In a nutshell, E-A-T can help to decipher whether a page is high-quality, and whether it’s valuable to users. According to Google, this is the type of content that is deemed as ‘high quality’:
This means being a trusted source will be a huge content marketing trend. Focus on quality over quantity, and make sure your content provides value to the reader/viewer.
It’s easy to get lost in today’s endless sea of content. Professional marketers and content creation agencies are already vary aware of content fatigue (an inevitable symptom for anyone who spends time online).
So original research will be valuable for any brands or businesses that have the means to conduct surveys and studies. This type of content is highly shareable and could be used to generate a lot of backlinks.
Other benefits include increased brand awareness, traffic growth, media mentions, and improved lead generation.
Content strategies will no longer just focus on one or two types of content. Today’s audience wants an omni-channel experience, and they want to devour brand content in every single format. Your content plan needs to be a motley crew of video, text, visual content, interactive content, and even AR and VR content. The more the merrier!
A fusion approach to content formats will help users connect more deeply to your story. Imagine not only being able to read, but also being able to see and hear your message. This is the way to make customer content experiences more immersive, and it’s a great for brands that need to stand out in a crowded market.
There’ll be continued growth in interactive content in 2022, and it will be applied for all different stages of the buyer’s journey.
Interactive content like quizzes, surveys and polls, interactive infographics, 360 degree photos and videos, or interactive calculators work particularly well in B2B, with 91% of buyers showing a preference to interactive content over static material.
By making your content interactive, you are demanding active participation from your audience, and this is what makes your content memorable.
In 2022, content strategies are moving towards a more cohesive structure. Creating the ultimate content experience – not just customer experience – is how you’re going to wow your audience.
Furthermore, empathetic marketing will become a popular approach. This is about putting yourself in the shoes of your audience and being sensitive to your customers’ reality.
Empathy has been a hot topic in recent years, although it’s not so easy to pull off. But if brands can align their content with the mental and emotional perspective(s) of their target audience(s), they’ll likely see more success.
Need help finding the right content creation agency to improve your content strategy in 2022? Read our guide on hiring a content agency here.
Or to chat ideas about content and digital marketing solutions, get in touch with Identify Digital today. We’re a web design and content creation agency with years of experience – call 01924 911333 or fill in our online enquiry form.
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