One constant has remained the same among changing trends and social media algorithms: the need for content to market your brand. For proper execution, every marketing strategy across every marketing channel requires some form of content. So, even if your strategies and channels evolve, you will still require content to make them work.
At the same time, content marketing trends change over time, as do consumer behaviour and preferences, as well as market changes. If you want to use content marketing to promote your brand, you must stay on top of the trends so that you can always catch up to or stay ahead of the competition. As the best digital marketing agency in Noida, with an understanding on the content marketing trends that are expected to dominate in 2023, here are a few points you must keep in mind.
1. There’ll Be Greater Emphasis On Quality Over Quantity
Publishing frequency was once an important factor that influenced social media algorithms and search engine rankings. This compelled brands to consistently publish a large amount of content in order to improve their visibility across social media and search engines. Many of them may have felt compelled to continue creating content even if they couldn't keep up due to time or resources constraints. As a result, the quality of their content is likely to have suffered, which did them no favours.
In 2023, there will be a greater emphasis on targeting the production process to make higher quality content and thus, more effective. Instead of attempting to produce a large volume of subpar or mediocre content at an unsustainable frequency, brands will realign their efforts to improve content quality.
2. Content Marketing Will Be More Data-Driven
As the demand for more targeted, high-quality content grows, brands will rekindle their interest in data. However, with Google banning cross-app tracking and Apple now requiring brands to ask users for permission to track their IDFA identifier, this may prove to be more difficult. First-party data, fortunately for content marketers, can still reveal high-quality insights to inform your content strategy.
A data-driven content marketing strategy will enable you to deliver content tailored to the specific needs of various audience groups. As a result, you can address their pain points more effectively and move them closer to a purchase decision.
To meet the increased demand for first-party data, content marketing teams will devote more time to developing appropriate measurement plans. This may necessitate a complete rethinking of how performance is currently measured, especially since GA4 (Google Analytics 4) is set to replace Universal Analytics in July 2023 to provide enhanced measurement capabilities.
3. AI-Powered Content Marketing Will Become More Popular
AI technology is rapidly evolving and making waves in the content marketing landscape. For example, Google's RankBrain algorithm employs AI to sort search results and provide better matches to users.
There are now AI tools that can automatically write articles or create complex visuals. While AI-generated copy can assist marketers in creating content at scale, there is considerable debate about the ethics and sustainability of this practice.
Indeed, Google's John Mueller has been quoted as calling AI-generated content "spam," and it's even against the company's webmaster guidelines, implying that, even if they're not doing it yet, Google will soon implement a strategy to combat AI-generated copy. As a result, cautious content marketers are still hesitant to use these tools to aid in content creation.
This does not, however, diminish the growing popularity of AI-powered tools to assist with other aspects of content marketing. Tools like Grammarly and Wordtune, for example, can make it easier to fine-tune your copy. MarketMuse, for example, uses AI to assist with content planning, keyword research, competitor analysis, and content briefing. It even analyses your content and makes recommendations to help you optimise it and increase your overall authority.
4. Social Commerce Will Be Driven by Shoppable Content
Social media platforms have placed a strong emphasis on social commerce in recent years. This has resulted in the development of tools and features that allow for a more seamless purchasing experience. Businesses can now create shoppable content and set up social media storefronts, making it easier for users to buy products without ever leaving the app.
As shoppable content becomes more popular, it will significantly drive social commerce by 2023. More and more brands will include product tags in their social media posts, allowing customers to learn more about the featured product or purchase it directly on the platform. This not only shortens the purchasing process, but it also enhances the brand experience.
Even for brands that do not have the option to add checkout buttons to their social media pages, the shoppable content feature provides significant benefits. It assists them in driving more traffic to their websites, which can result in higher conversion rates. After implementing shoppable posts, brands such as Barbour saw an increase in site traffic from Instagram of 98% and sales of 42%.
Aside from organic shoppable posts, brands will become more accustomed to incorporating shoppable content into paid promotions. This would entail delivering shoppable posts as paid advertisements so that brands could target relevant users who aren't already following their brand on social media. In other words, these ads will be able to move people from the discovery stage to the conversion stage.
5. Podcasts Are On The Rise
The popularity of Podcasts will continue well into 2023, as they provide a convenient way for people to consume content while multitasking. According to the most recent podcast statistics, there are over 2 million podcasts and 420 million listeners.
As their popularity grows, brands are beginning to recognise the invaluable advertising opportunity they provide. Indeed, marketers in the United States are expected to spend more than $2 billion on podcast advertising this year. Furthermore, by 2024, the industry is expected to be worth $4 billion.
So, if your company isn't already incorporating podcasts into its content marketing strategy, 2023 could be the year. Whether it's creating your own podcast content, being featured on another podcast, or promoting your products via podcast ads, take advantage of their popularity to broaden your reach.
If you already have a podcast strategy, it's time to scale it up to stay ahead of the competition. Experiment with different styles (interviews, Q&A sessions, etc.) to see what works best for you, and make sure to test different durations to fine-tune your strategy. In order to get your podcast in front of even more people and expand your reach, invite influential guests. The goal is to maximise the return on your podcast investment, so you should constantly revamp and realign your strategy for a greater impact.
6. Short-Form Video Will Continue To Grow At An Exponential Rate
There's no denying that short-form video has taken over social media in recent years, owing primarily to the introduction of platforms such as TikTok. In fact, the app had already surpassed 1 billion active users on a monthly basis in Q2 of 2022, and its users were spending 1.5 hours per day on the platform, which speaks volumes about consumers regarding short-form videos.
Furthermore, with the introduction of Reels on Instagram, the popularity of short-form videos only increased; the platform even went so far as to push this content format so that more users would choose to create short videos. Reels gained more visibility with the Instagram algorithm prioritising them over other content types, making it easier for users to gain virality for their Reels.
So, we can expect the trend to continue into 2023, with social media users consuming more short-form video content while also continuing the trend of creating Reels and YouTube Shorts. Brands can use this video format when creating owned content while also working with more short-form video creators in their influencer partnerships.
Diversify your 2023 content marketing strategy to ensure that short-form videos are strategically used to drive engagement across various social media channels. For instance, it could be Reels with a sprinkle of regular Instagram posts or repurposing the same content for other platforms.
7. Interactive Content Will Increase Brand Engagement
As the general attention span shortens, brands struggle to actively engage their audience at various touchpoints. However, the rise of interactive content has helped to combat this major pain point by enabling brands to leave a lasting impression on their audience.
Polls, quizzes, surveys, and calculators are ideal for engaging the audience. Many brands have begun to add interactive elements to their websites to create custom experiences for their customers, such as Maison 21G's scent personality quiz, which allows customers to create a personalised perfume.
Furthermore, augmented reality technology has been widely used in recent years to better engage shoppers, allowing brands to create immersive experiences in which customers can interact with the brand and their surroundings at the same time, such as using AR filters to place the brand's products in their space or virtually exploring the brand's stores and factories.
For example, the Ikea Place app allows customers to "place" Ikea products in their homes to see how they would look in the space before making a purchase, saving them the trouble of bringing the product home and assembling it only to discover that it doesn't really fit with the rest of the space.
8. User Generated Content Will Remain An Important Strategy
Despite all of the new tactics and changes, the role of User Generated Content (UGC) remains constant. While consumer trust in influencers has gradually shifted, consumer trust in fellow consumers has remained constant, which means brands will continue to leverage UGC to boost engagement and win the trust of their audience.
According to the most recent statistics, consumer-created content is considered more authentic than brand-created content and stock imagery. Approximately 90% of consumers believe that UGC is useful and believe what other customers are saying about a brand. About 72% of brands believe that user generated content helps them engage their customers and build trust in their brand.
So UGC isn't going away anytime soon and will continue to play an important role in content marketing strategies for both major brands and small businesses. It's especially important in industries like skincare and beauty, where it's critical to show proof of how the product works. Ulta Beauty, for example, regularly shares posts and Reels from influential and regular customers alike to highlight some of the products they sell.
As companies experience layoffs and hiring freezes, we may see various roles merge into one. In many cases, marketers will take over content creation as the need for subject matter expertise becomes critical for establishing authority and improving content quality. To begin, teams will need to prepare for evolving AI tools and learn to better utilise first-party data to keep up with the upcoming changes.
Being among the best digital marketing agencies in New Delhi, we understand the need in these changing times, and have aligned ourselves to offer better. When you know which trends are dominating and which ones you should focus on, you can realign your content marketing efforts to focus on tactics that deliver results. In 2023, there will be a major focus on data-led content that is more targeted and high-quality, while short-form videos, interactive content, and user-generated content will continue to rule the landscape.