Content marketing in 2020 was characterised by some seriously swift changes in strategy and the rapid adaptability of brands. In 2021, this adaptability proved just as relevant, with dramatic changes in consumers’ demands and informational needs driving trends and opportunities for marketers through the roof. As such, according to The Marketing Institute, in 2021, 43 percent of marketers experienced content marketing budget increases, and 66 percent expect to see it rise again in 2022.

To help you know where to focus your content marketing budget next year, we’ve put together a list of some of the most exciting marketing trends that we predict will pay off planning for.

Trend One: Live video content


2020 saw the rise of video calling software, live videos and webinar content, with in-person events cancelled and office doors locked shut. As such, we’ve all become Zoom experts, have mastered the ever-complex mute button, and let’s not even get started on our superb general knowledge quizzing abilities. And while things finally seem to be returning to normal – the glorious sound of the chitter-chatter of the office is back and travel is back on the cards – marketers should expect the popularity of live video to firmly stay put.

There’s a reason why live video content has been trending even years before the pandemic. It very rapidly proved to be a superbly effective marketing tool for brands – a quick and effective medium to deliver the messages they wish to communicate.  But don’t just take our word for it – in HubSpot’s State of Video Marketing report, it found that most marketers surveyed reported a positive ROI for video marketing. 

With the pandemic shining an even brighter light on the benefits of live video, in 2022 we should expect to see marketers take an even more innovative and creative approach to video marketing. From product introductions and tutorials to influencer takeovers and live Q&As, live video offers countless opportunities for all types of brands, and the exciting bit is that the full potential of live video is yet to be realised!

 

Trend Two: The rise of content communities 


The closure of in-person events and networking over the past 18-months has led many people to flock to online communities to get their much-needed socialisation fix. And smart brands have worked hard to use content marketing to create digital communities tailored to their audience’s needs and wants. These communities deliver hyper-personalised content to the target audience, allowing brands to drive engagement and tap into community conversations to gather feedback around new service offerings or product strategies. 

In 2022, building content communities will be paramount to keeping your audience engaged. We are already seeing both large corporations and small startups taking advantage of this content marketing strategy.

Netflix, for example, has created an alternative YouTube handle specifically to showcase its stand-up specials “@NetflixIsAJoke”. This content is then shared and syndicated across its corresponding social accounts to drive engagement.  Like many brands,  the video-streaming service has realised that in order to cater to its audience in 2021 and beyond, it’s no longer enough to take a one-size-fits-all approach. 

 

Trend Three: Providing a stellar content experience


We’ve all been there. Scrolling through our timelines, enticed by an intriguing headline, only to click through to a page drowning in annoying pop-ups, ads, and a painfully slow page speed. It’s at this point we abort the mission and head to the next link on Google.

Today’s consumers are overwhelmed with content, and a bad experience with your brand marketing will lead them to switch over to a competitor’s in a blink of an eye. It’s no good spending hours researching and writing a killer blog post for it to be lost amongst pop-ups and ads, spending a huge portion of your marketing budget on an all-singing, all-dancing brand video for you not to optimise it per platform. 

To get the best out of your content, marketers must prioritise focusing on the content experience. Find out exactly what your customers are looking for, and create content that serves this in a meaningful and engaging way. 

 

Trend Four: The rise of AI Content Marketing 


From detecting cancer to self-driving delivery solutions,  the use-cases of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across all kinds of industries are proving to be hugely powerful and beneficial. And the marketing industry is a prime example of an industry lapping up its benefits.

Advancements in AI technology is making things pretty exciting here in the marketing space… and it’s seriously changing the way brands are creating and distributing content. Let’s take a look at just a few examples:

  • Get AI-powered SEO recommendations and insights to guide your content marketing strategy with MarketMuse. This handy tool shows you exactly what terms to target in order to compete in certain topic categories.
  • Personalised, smart newsletters with automated production? Now we’ve got your attention! Rasa.oi is an AI platform that helps marketers deliver exactly this, increasing reader engagement and providing rich insights to brands.
  • AI and competitor research = a match made in heaven. Crayon leverages AI to give marketers competitive intelligence on what their competitors are doing online. This includes access to the information such as which pages of a competitor’s website changes over time, off the back of which reveals insights around their content strategy, targeting and messaging. A goldmine of inspiration!

 

Trend Five: Repurposing Content


All you marketers out there are likely to agree with the statement that there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done. Even when we’ve reached the end of our daily to-do list, there is always something niggling at the back of our minds that we know could do with some attention. And so, we’re pleased to present the next trend: repurposing content across channels.

This trend is all about maximising the impact of each piece of content you produce by repurposing it for various social channels. It’s essentially repackaging the content into a different format specifically for that channel’s audience. For instance:

  • Turning whitepaper content into a YouTube video
  • Transcribing podcast recordings into a blog post
  • Repurposing blog content into infographics 
  • Transforming video interviews into podcasts

This trend is a godsend for creating impactful, engaging content but with fewer resources. It saves costs while maximising what you already have. In a world where algorithms are making it harder and harder for content to be seen, repurposing content is a great way to increase visibility.

As well as keeping tabs on trends, it’s of course, so important to do your own research. Always take a look at how your content is performing, using the insights to inform your content marketing strategy.

Need help expanding your reach with an effective and profitable marketing strategy? Reach out today for a no-obligation chat.