The latest trends and techs are constantly shaping content marketing. As a marketer, you need a sound strategy to future-proof your content marketing efforts and achieve scalable growth.
Content marketing, just like the digital world, is highly dynamic. New techs, trends, and behaviors are constantly shaping it.
From leveraging AI to embracing a user-centric approach, the most successful marketers are those who look toward the future of content marketing. Staying ahead of the curve and future-proofing your content can go a long way in supporting sustainable growth.
Learn more about the content marketing best practices 2023 and beyond and how they can support goals like long-term growth, brand authority, and engagement.
Embracing Data-driven Insights
Each digital interaction can become a data point. The tech that powers data analysis is evolving quickly, and AI and machine learning are revolutionizing data-driven insights.
From automating data collection to extracting insights from large datasets, AI and ML are reducing the cost of analytics. These technologies support a model where every team can access data and insights.
Data can shape content marketing through predictive analytics. Brands that use historical data to predict future trends can use this information for segmentation based on characteristics new leads share with existing customers. The result is a more personalized approach that ensures content aligns with each user’s goals and preferences.
Data is also a valuable tool for measuring performance and driving content optimization. Using these insights can give your business a competitive edge.
Interactive and Immersive Content Experiences
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) power new experiences that blend real and virtual elements.
With 90 million AR users and revenues that could exceed $31 billion by the end of the year, AR and VR are multiplying.
These technologies create new content marketing opportunities, from immersive experiences to advertising in a digital 3D space. These new experiences will be interactive, put users first, and use gamification elements.
Brands can start embracing these new experiences without significant upfront investments:
- 360° videos are a uniquely immersive experience that VR and traditional users can enjoy.
- Live streaming watching grew by 20% during the pandemic. It’s an excellent format for connecting with your audience in real time.
Voice Search and Optimization
Ecommerce transactions could reach $19.4 billion in 2023. This fast-growing trend puts users in control of their experiences. Smartphones, smart speakers, and smart TVs will continue growing.
For marketers, there is an opportunity to connect with voice search users:
- Focus on local and on-the-go search intents. Developing buyer personas and creating detailed journey maps is a good start.
- Build brand authority by targeting long-tail keywords and conversational questions.
- Create FAQ content to answer questions.
- Target featured snippets and voice answers by publishing short and natural content.
Authenticity and Purpose-driven Marketing
Did you know that products with ESG claims showed an eight percentage point difference in growth compared to other products over the past five years?
The rise of Gen Zers as consumers and a generally increased awareness of social and environmental issues are causing a shift in consumers’ expectations.
You can adapt by embracing purpose-driven marketing. Your content marketing efforts can speak to the social and environmental causes you support. Use storytelling to show how you use sustainable methods to make your products or tell users how your social programs are making a difference.
Beyond building a purpose-driven brand, you can develop authenticity with these techniques:
- Encourage and celebrate user-generated content.
- Partner with influencers who have similar ESG values.
- Adopt a unique and authentic voice in your content.
- Look into supporting employee-generated content.
User Experience and Mobile-first Approach
The future of content marketing is on mobile. Mobile users now account for 58% of all global traffic. Search engines prioritize mobile-friendly content. Marketers need to optimize content to deliver a positive experience.
You can adopt best practices like responsive layouts, compressing images, and avoiding redirects. You should also develop content with mobile users in mind:
- Rethink how users interact with content. Limit vertical scrolling with in-page navigation tools like cards and slideshows.
- The F-shaped reading pattern prevalent on desktops doesn’t apply on mobile. Place important information at the center of the page instead.
- Create summaries to make your content snackable.
- Use white space, multiple headers, lists, and images to structure your content and enhance readability on a small screen.
Content Distribution and Promotion
Meet users where they are by integrating new channels into your content distribution strategy. Joining every new platform can be tempting, but the most successful marketers take a strategic approach. Assess whether a new channel or trend makes sense for your goals and audience before adopting it.
Social media is at the core of this changing landscape. Depending on your audience’s location and age group, you’ll have to adjust your publication strategy to connect with users on relevant platforms. For instance, YouTube and TikTok are currently the top channels among Gen Zers, prompting a content creation strategy that prioritizes videos.
While branded content remains effective, users tend to put more trust in endorsements from influencers. Partnerships and collaborations can become powerful tools for building brand authority, and it’s no surprise the influencer market more than doubled between 2019 and 2022.
As you integrate new platforms into your digital marketing strategy, consider how each channel uses a different algorithm to index and present content. Optimize content for each platform and keep up with algorithm changes.
Measuring Success and Adapting Strategies
Forward-looking brands turn innovation into a process. An essential part of this process is gaining visibility over performance.
You should identify the best metrics for each new project to measure success. These data points can help you manage your content marketing program, track your ROI, determine the most effective platforms, and understand how your content supports conversions.
As advanced analytics become more accessible, more marketers focus on attribution models. These models can map interactions and credit different touchpoints for specific actions. You can see which ads bring traffic to your site or identify which channels get leads with the highest conversion rates.
Your analytics strategy should also include continuous testing:
- Take a strategic approach by determining which metrics you will compare and why.
- Use your findings to develop new iterations of your content marketing campaigns.
- Keep optimizing and using data to improve your results.
Collaboration and Co-creation
Innovative companies look outward for new content creation opportunities. Partnerships with industry experts and professional organizations can be interesting. You could publish research together, invite them to write guest blogs or sit down for a podcast interview.
The most relatable brands also partner with users. Promoting user-generated content or partnering with influencers to develop content fosters a sense of community and belonging. It also provides you with valuable qualitative insights into your audience.
Build a Future-Proof Content Marketing Strategy
Forward-looking companies need to adapt to new trends. They also shape the future of content marketing by actively developing new experiences and strategies.
As a marketer, you can build a future-proof digital marketing process by adopting these content marketing best practices for 2023 and beyond:
- Look into emerging content formats, including AR, VR, voice search, and more.
- Always put users first. Meet their expectations with personalization, a positive mobile experience, and more.
- Keep sight of who you are. Create genuine connections with authenticity, trust, and ESG values.
- Data is an invaluable tool. Use it to measure performance and inform your future decisions.
Flexibility, curiosity, and innovation will continue setting brands apart as the transformation of our digital space accelerates. You can thrive by embracing a process that turns you into an explorer of this ever-changing digital landscape and integrates your findings into developing a future-proof content creation strategy.
At Tempesta Media, we prioritize staying ahead of the curve by discovering innovative ways to leverage the latest techs and trends. Find out how our Bullseye Effect managed service model is consistently helping our customers meet their content marketing goals while fostering innovation.
