What’s New: 2023 Content Marketing Trends
Did you know that the term 'Content Marketing' was coined in 1996 at a journalism conference? (Source) That was 27 years ago, but content marketing has been around for more than a century, taking shape through magazines, newspapers, infographics, blogs, and social media. If that tells you anything, it's that content marketing has always been a strong strategy for brands, but it's continually evolving. To stay ahead of the curve, let's explore the top 2023 content marketing trends.
What we will cover:
Tech Trends: Embrace the Future of Content Marketing in 2023
Content Formats: Engaging and Innovative Ways to Reach Your Audience in 2023
Content Strategy: Humanizing Brands and Adapting to New Realities in 2023
1. Tech Trends: Embrace the Future of Content Marketing in 2023
AI-Powered Content Creation
Image Credits: SEJ
Content has long been the driving force for generating leads and attracting customers. According to CMI, 81% of marketers view content as a core business strategy. Naturally, marketers struggle to produce content at scale and maintain quality. In 2022, we saw the GPT-3 trend take off, and it's expected to gain even more traction as a content marketing trend in 2023. While AI might not be perfect for writing quality content yet, it can help with creating content more quickly and brainstorming ideas.
Conversational Content and AI Chatbots
In 2023, customers will seek a semi-guided buyer journey that allows them to experience your brand with minimal intrusion. This trend will drive the demand for AI chatbots and marketing bots, helping customers get instant answers to their questions in real-time, making it one of the top content marketing trends of 2023.
Voice Search
With the growing use of digital assistants, voice search is set to become even more popular this year. A 2018 study by PWC found that 71% of consumers prefer using voice search over typing a query. This shift means content writing styles will need to adapt, focusing on long-tail keywords in titles and headers, writing in full sentences, and taking advantage of 'near me' searches.
Image Credits: SEJ
2. Content Formats: Engaging and Innovative Ways to Reach Your Audience in 2023
Short-Form Video Content
As HubSpot noted, video was the primary content format created by brands in 2022. The explosive growth of TikTok in Q2 2022, boasting over 1M active users per month, indicates that short-form video content will continue to dominate as a content marketing trend in 2023. These bite-sized videos are perfect for capturing and sustaining audience attention, making them ideal for increasing brand awareness and engagement.
Interactive Content
As attention spans decrease, creating content that entices users to stop and engage becomes more challenging. In 2023, brands will turn to interactive content, such as quizzes, polls, calculators, and surveys, to boost engagement and tailor content to their customers. Get creative with interactive content to win engagement in 2023.
Live Shopping and Social Commerce
Live shopping is expected to be one of the fastest-growing content marketing trends of 2023. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, 28% of 16 to 64-year-olds use social media to find inspiration for things to buy. Brands can take advantage of this trend by hosting live sales pitches and targeting younger customers through social commerce platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Podcasts and Audio Marketing
Podcasts will reign supreme in the audio content marketing realm in 2023. SEMrush reports that 60% of listeners searched for a product after hearing about it in a podcast. Other audio marketing channels, such as Discord and Twitter Spaces, will also test their strength within this domain.
Twitter played a significant role in 2022, thanks in part to Elon Musk's takeover. With Musk's plans for the platform's future and an expected user count growth of more than 335 million, Twitter will continue to be a key channel for marketing departments in 2023, solidifying its place among the top content marketing trends.
3. Content Strategy: Humanizing Brands and Adapting to New Realities in 2023
Humanized Brands
2023 is the year of brands stripping down the corporate jargon and adopting a more human approach to their communication guidelines. Adobe talks about empathy and human-focused content as the need of the hour in 2023. Consumers want to feel connected to brands, and that won't fly with salesy language. Their tone of voice throughout will be conversational, driven by empathy, and feel natural.
SEO and People-First Content
SEO has never been a trend, but it remains a valuable practice in 2023. However, Google's December 2022 Helpful Content update, promoting people-first content, will push brands to think about the value of the content they put out. In 2023, recreate your content strategy to be genuinely valuable, address your target customers' pain points, and provide details about your products and services.
Data Privacy: First-Party Cookies
In recent years, customers have become increasingly aware of their privacy and data usage by companies, demanding changes. Google responded in 2020 by stating it would phase out the use of third-party cookies within two years. Though Google has extended the use of third-party cookies till 2024, this year will mark the beginning of companies preparing their strategy to collect first-party data and provide data-driven content.
Image Credits: Entrepreneur
Content Monetization
Content marketing is an essential tool for customers, whether it be for educating buyers at different stages of the buyer journey or producing content for generating revenue. In 2023, we can expect brands to continue subscription-based and one-off sales for both digital and print content.
Conclusion: Navigating the Content Marketing Landscape in 2023
With the changing landscape of data privacy, new technologies, and evolving customer demands, content marketing in 2023 is going to be an exciting ride. To stay ahead of the game and adapt to the latest content marketing trends, it's crucial to keep your strategies flexible and innovative.
If you're looking for a 360-degree marketing partner to help you navigate these trends and optimize your content marketing efforts, our digital marketing agency can assist you. We offer a wide range of content marketing services tailored to your needs. To learn more, visit our content marketing services page or get in touch with us today. Let's make 2023 a year of growth and success together!
