When it comes to getting customers and getting them to buy, then content will never go out of style. When done right, content marketing is an effective and cheap (or even free) way to reach the audience you want with the information they need.
In 2023, content marketing is evolving (in new and wonderful ways that build on the content and SEO trends in 2022). It’s not just about looking at the formats you should use to engage your audience (long-form and short-form) or the rise of TikTok as an effective marketing platform. There’s also a rise in the number of marketers using AI to increase productivity and fight writer’s block. This is especially true if you’re a busy content marketer who writes a lot of copy.
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So, let’s look at the most important content marketing trends for 2023 to see what you should keep an eye on or try out to see if it helps your business. Read on to find out more about these key trends:
- Short-form immersive mobile-first video
- The creator economy has grown quickly.
- Collaboration between Artificial Intelligence and Marketing
- Videos that are both long and live
Short-form immersive mobile-first video
Video has been called the best way for brands to get attention across all channels, especially on social media, for a long time. The 2023 Content Benchmarks Report says that more than half of marketers say that video is the most valuable type of content and that 25% of marketers say that live video helps them reach their social media goals.
Alison Battisby, Social Media Consultant and Founder of Avocado Social, says that because of this, all social media platforms put video content at the top of their algorithms. This includes platforms that usually focus on the text, like LinkedIn.
“2022 was the year of entertaining full-screen immersive mobile-first video, so if you’re making videos in 2023, you need to think vertically. More brands will try out this format, both naturally and through paid advertising.
Battisby thinks that smart brands will first test their ideas in a natural way and then promote the ones that work best. This is a popular trend on TikTok, so if you see videos getting a lot of views and likes, you might want to give it a boost.
Here are some essential things to keep in mind when making short-form content for mobile:
- Keep it strong. Most successful videos are between 15 and 30 seconds long. At the end of your video, add a surprise twist, like a reveal or a change.
- Add captions like “wait to see what comes next” to keep people watching.
- Try making your own sounds or remixing other songs to increase your chances of going viral (check out these tips from top TikTok creators)
- Check out what’s popular on sites like hashtags, topics, or music.
The creator economy has grown quickly.
In our blog about the top digital marketing trends for 2023, we talked about how the creator economy will grow and change. Because of this growth, brands must compete hard to get and keep the best creators across all platforms.
What’s up? Brands want to fill in the holes in their content and keep up with the latest trends. But they don’t always know how to act quickly enough or how to do it in the best way to get people engaged and make sales.
“Contact reviews from content creators can be trusted, and engagement is often higher on profiles of creators than on profiles of brands. So, really think about how you can use creators to help market your brand. Could you send me some things to look at? Could you ask them to a party? Or could you work together on a piece of content, like a sound that’s popular at the moment?” asks Battisby.
Social media networks are making it easier for brands to find creators who are good at what they do and are relevant to their brand. Instagram just started a new feature called “Creator Portfolio.” This is a place where creators can share their unique stories and set themselves up for partnerships.
MIT Technology Review says that YouTube shorts will get 45 per cent of the money made from them. So, Battisby thinks that YouTube will make money off of its new vertical video feature to get creators to make unique shorts.
Collaboration between Artificial Intelligence and Marketing
Copywriting and artificial intelligence (AI) have been linked for a long time. But by 2023, AI will be more important than ever in making content, because consumers will want more and more personalised content.
Many new AI solutions are coming out on the market. For example, UberSuggest uses AI to help write blog posts, Copy.ai helps people write blog posts and social media posts, and Chat GPT is taught to have conversations and can be connected to Zapier to schedule blog posts or social media posts and make drawings or videos. Marketers need to learn how to talk to these new technologies and make prompts for the best content.
Matt Santos, Vice President of Products and Strategy at Neil Patel Brands, says, “We’re seeing people use AI for email, copywriting, subject lines in emails, and even ad copy.”
But it’s not just about writing copy. Matt thinks it can also help content marketers write, especially when there’s a lot of content to make. “I think the best way to use this tool is to just get the creative juices flowing. It helps us get past writer’s block because as soon as we see words on a page, our minds start to race. AI is mostly useful for that right now, right now.”
There will be some big changes in 2023 because more money will be put into software and machine learning. There will be improvements in natural language processing and other areas, and in the future, AI will be able to create great content that only takes a couple of minutes to proofread or edit.
Santos thinks that, despite the improvements, it will be hard to find an AI that can write a perfect blog post from start to finish. We still have a few years before that happens. In 2023, AI will be used to help make the first couple of pieces or help you finish a piece, but a human is still very important.
Videos that are both long and live
Many marketers use and prefer short-term content to draw in and keep people’s attention. But it would be a mistake to ignore content that is longer.
Long-form content like blogs, ebooks, and webinars is great for SEO, and it also helps build backlinks. A Backlinko study found that posts with more than 3,000 words got 77% more backlinks.
But what about videos that are long? A senior Google executive says that 40 per cent of young people now use TikTok and Instagram to find places to eat lunch instead of using Google Maps. So, making videos of places can help get people interested and bring them to your website or brand.
Battisby also thinks that long-form videos on LinkedIn are a huge win for businesses. “Over the past few years, we’ve seen LinkedIn Live, and as a tool, it just keeps getting better. Going live on LinkedIn and hosting professional webinars and conversations on the platform is getting easier and more accessible.
There are also podcasts and other audio files. In the last few years, this format has become more popular. According to Podnews, U.S. podcast revenue will reach nearly $1.5 billion in 2021, with 38 per cent of monthly listeners in the U.S., up from 14 per cent in 2012.
