Content marketing drives brand awareness, demand and revenue when it’s done right. So how can you do content right? Let’s take a look at some of the trends which will shift the way businesses tackle content marketing in 2022.
1. Interactive content
Having interactive content engages the customer and their experience with the content that you provide. Creating interactive content that is suitable for all the different phases along the customer’s journey is shaping up to be a big trend. Engaging with the customer throughout their journey allows you to keep the customer locked into your content for longer, by interacting with the various elements of the website.
What are a few examples of interactive content? You could add expandable sections or animations on the homepage where the customer can interact and engage with the content.
Interactive content has enormous potential for engaging your customers, gaining your customers’ attention, and keeping them onto your website longer. In the long term, more time on site and active engagement with your brand will increase your conversion rate for 2022.
2. Mobile content optimisation
Having content on your website is great, but if it isn’t optimised for mobile, you will be missing a massive percentage of your potential audience.
Research has shown that up to 60% of searches in 2021 were from mobile devices. With the rise of mobile, which continues to expand, it also creates the perfect opening for content tailored to voice search. As people continue to explore searching by using their voice through Siri or Google on their mobiles, it is important that the content for mobile is optimised for users to read. Otherwise, you will be missing out on a huge percentage of mobile users reading your content!
3. Podcasts continue to gain popularity
Podcasts have been growing in popularity in the last recent years. In the U.S. alone, there were over 60 million homes that listen to podcasts.
Podcasting remains an incredibly valuable option for content marketers in 2022. Podcasting as a channel for content marketing is still in its early stages, and early adopters are likely to get maximum benefits and returns from it before the market is oversaturated. Platforms such as Spotify are implementing new features and functionalities which are likely to contribute to the growth of podcasts in the next few years.
Do you listen to business podcasts, or have a favourite podcast? Think about what appeals to you and why, and how you might tailor those features to suit your own brand’s podcast.
4. Build relationships through personalisation
Building relationships between your brand and the consumer helps the consumer feel acknowledged, thus encouraging them to stick around. This also helps in getting higher CTRs (click-through rates) on your marketing campaigns and more user engagement. Ultimately, more personalisation leads to higher conversion rates.
By simply looking at the insights available on your previous posts (comments, likes, which were more popular, shares, time on page, etc), you can get an idea of who your market is and curate content based on that. If the content that you make addresses what the user is looking for or is simply interested in, it will be more interesting for the consumer, bringing your engagement and conversion rates up.
Amazon, as an example, uses personalisation by simply adding a section where they recommend products based on your previous searches and purchases.
This tailored experience helps build trust among consumers. It attracts and engages them, but most importantly, it helps increase your conversion rate.
5. Video content
According to a Hubspot survey, 59% of marketers that perform content marketing use video, and 76% of marketers who invest in video say it’s effective.
Video content creates a connection between the consumer and your product or service. It is also easy for companies to repurpose the video content into podcasts and then text-based content, which then leaves you with more content to use!
5 or 15 years ago, video content was limited due to the cost and resources involved, but today the technology we have around us has made it much more accessible, with a lower barrier to entry. It is much easier to get started with video content today.
There are multiple ways in which you can begin with video content. You can start with short-form videos: these videos are short and straight to the point.
Instead of a 20 minute product overview video, with in-depth review of features and analysis, you can try to sum it up in 5 main points about the product in a 5 minute video. By simply getting to the point, you respect the viewers’ time while also helping them make an informed decision.
In conclusion, content marketing continues to evolve in 2022 with content being made in a variety of ways. Since every brand is unique, your content marketing strategy should be founded on the understanding of your industry and your ideal customers. Creating content based on what your industry is looking for will massively help you reach out to those who are looking for your content.
