Marketing trends change constantly, so staying on top of what your customers want is key. Content marketing is vital to any business or brand’s growth and audience building. Conversions, sales, leads, and email list expansion are all more difficult without it.
Content marketing revenue surpassed $42 billion in 2019 (WOW!) and continues to rise. If you don’t prioritize content marketing, you will be left behind.
Focus on the latest content marketing trends to make 2022 your company’s best year ever. A turbulent fiscal year has ten content marketing trends to watch in 2022. Some of these may surprise you.
1. Prioritize Customer Retention
Doubtless, you realize the importance of quality content marketing for generating new leads and attracting new customers. But few talk about retaining existing customers. Here is a list of content-focused strategies to keep customers interested long after the sale. If you are confident in your product’s quality, it’s time to see how customers interact with it. Email marketing campaigns include promotional information, compelling product features, news about recent and upcoming changes, and any discounts that can re-engage distracted customers.
In 2020, there were 4 billion global email users, with 4.6 billion predicted by 2025.
2. Augmented Reality Visual Storytelling (AR)
The human brain processes visual content faster and retains more data when presented visually. Remember that great images help people remember and care about your brand. You can avoid monotony in your communications and make your customers want more. Consider using augmented reality to promote content. Incorporate interactive features and introduce your customers to something new to make your content stand out.
Personalize your message to your audience.
Promote audience participation during and after the event.
In 2019, 68.7 million people used AR monthly.
Taco Bell used augmented reality to connect people with live social media content. A leader in fast-food innovation, they positioned their company as such.
3. AI Technology
Many startups start with limited resources and must figure out how to maximize them. AI technology speeds up data processing and investigation, making decision-making easier. Increasing AI integration with human labor is expected to boost business productivity and efficiency.
Customers expect instant responses. AI-powered chatbots will still be used in content marketing. Less expensive tools for data analysis and content creation, like optimized blog posts, will be available as AI advances. This type of automation frees employees to focus on other duties.
Many businesses are planning to launch educational podcasts this year. There are already a number of popular business podcasts. Podcasts are a great way to educate your audience on a wide range of topics.
As of 2021, Podcast Insights estimates two million podcasts and over 48 million episodes.
If done correctly, content marketers can podcast their stories. They can highlight the benefits of products and services to niche consumers. Podcasts can also be used to supplement blog content for consumers who prefer audio. Unlike text, podcasts are human. Tone and emotion in the voice can be related to the audience.
Based on the real-life experiences of entrepreneurs who have lasted a quarter-century or more, Basecamp’s Distance podcast examines what it takes to succeed.
5. Top-Notch SEO
SEO and content marketing require consistency. New, unique, and creative content ranks better than low-value, repetitive content. Because 95% of visitors only look at the first page of search results, optimizing your content pays off. Most visitors won’t see your content if it’s on the 2nd or 3rd page. Your content should both entice and solve a customer’s problem. Using keywords and focusing on specific visitors can help you create persuasive content. This is the most important factor in determining a page’s ranking. Unique ideas and keywords are the keys to recognized content. SEO and content marketing are intertwined. They both rely on each other. SEO-friendly content marketing is effective. When SEO and content marketing combine, they are unstoppable.
6. Create a Content Plan
Many startups and established companies have successfully executed content marketing without formal documentation. The Content Marketing Institute reports that 41% of marketers lack documentation for their content strategy. As content marketing evolves, the need for a defined plan will grow. It will help you stay organized and efficient in your content marketing efforts in 2022 and beyond.
Creating a content marketing strategy manually makes it easier to add new team members. Brand recognition is one of the most difficult tasks for startups. Thus, it is critical to streamline your content marketing strategy to focus on your company’s strengths and uniqueness.
One way to do this is to keep up with current events in your niche. Pay attention to your customers’ changing needs and provide solutions.
This achieves three objectives. To begin, create content that your target audience wants to read. Second, it helps you stand out from the crowd and build your brand. Finally, you can show your knowledge and skills.
Voice Search
Demand for voice-activated entertainment is at an all-time high, as evidenced by the popularity of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices. Millions of speakers have been sold worldwide, mainly the Google Home Mini. Nowadays, almost every home has a smart device with voice search built-in for convenience. Around 36 million Americans use a voice-activated assistant. The human voice can be understood by all. As more people use voice search, content marketers will likely adopt it. Using FAQ content to benefit from voice search is one way. People will always have questions. If used correctly, FAQ content can be extremely useful.
9. Individualization
Data-driven content marketing allows startups and established companies to better understand their target demographic. The data you collect can help you create content that addresses your target audience’s pain points and goals at each stage of the buying process.
It’s now simple to spy on your competitors. Research the types and forms of content they provide, as well as how your target audience reacts to them.
10. ABM as a Preferred B2B Marketing Tactic
Back in the day, all B2B marketers used the same sales funnel. This is not the case today, nor in 2022.
Account-based marketing (ABM) does not cast a wide net with generic blog posts in hopes of catching some leads. Ads that appeal to the entire industry and drive more site visitors are not effective in account-based marketing (ABM). ABM emphasizes quality outreach and relationship building. Customizing content and experiences for a specific group of people from certain accounts is an ABM best practice. According to the ITSMA study, ABM outperforms other marketing efforts by 85%, and 41% of global B2B marketers plan to increase ABM spending. Now is the time to up your ABM game in 2022.
Businesses can survive while the pandemic is still a threat. A well-planned content marketing strategy can help. These 2022 content marketing trends to watch are a great resource for businesses.
