To foresee the future of content marketing, we first need to understand its past. But don’t worry, we won’t start from the first recording of content marketing, because that was a long time ago and not so relevant anymore. We only look back 10 years, when content marketing had already been digitalized and went through several big leaps.
In the last decade, there were 3 big changes that form how content marketing works today.
With nearly 90% of consumers engage in ZMOT before making their purchases, ZMOT sources such as site ranking on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) are considered of high influence.
SEO, social media and video content are three big turns for content marketing in the last decade and will continue to be main pillars of content marketing trends in 2021 and beyond, together with other new challenges.
A quick search on Google with keywords like “content marketing future” will drown you in a sea of predictions and future-telling. Many of them make sense and appear consistently in numerous sources, making us think “this must be true”. But don’t be swayed by the noises, let’s look at several reputable sources first to see what they have to say:
Of course these are just some digital content marketing trends among numerous predictions about the future and challenges of 2021. However, the same with the last decade, this decade’s content marketing will take on the trends of social, economic and technological moves.
There seems to be expectations for a “new” content marketing which is more impactful, personalized and immersive to adapt to the new normal where people digest content any time, at any place and on any device.
Let’s explore several important questions to pave the way through future content marketing challenges.
Depending on your industry, some digital content trends are more relevant than others. If you don’t know where to start, try addressing these content marketing challenges first, because businesses that can solve them will gain an edge in the competition of 2021:
According to Wyzowl’s report about The State of Video Marketing 2021, “the number of businesses using video as a marketing tool has increased by 41% since 2016”.
Also, video marketing does provide lucrative ROI for businesses, including a boost in the average time spent on a site, leads and traffic, users’ understanding of a brand’s products or services, and even a decline in the number of support calls.
In the success story of 2020, webinars claimed the throne as the most effective video content type for digital marketers.
The pandemic outbreak since the beginning of 2020 also contributed to an increase in video content consumption over the world. The resulting downside is more noise and competition.
Bonus: Don’t hastily remove long-form content from your basket of digital content, because despite the current trends of consuming short, funny, easy-to-digest content, audiences still prefer comprehensive and detailed content for an informed decision, especially for B2B purchases.
The short answer for this question may seem apparent to many: YouTube for video content; LinkedIn for B2B content; and Facebook for snack-able, social content. But it doesn’t mean you can’t post video on Facebook or LinkedIn. In fact, online users are really hooked by videos on social media.
Another traditional channel you shouldn’t ignore is email marketing. With advanced technology, customized and personalized emails are easier to produce. One great advantage of email marketing is low cost – even more of a plus in the ongoing pandemic-fighting landscape. Therefore, investment in email marketing is expected to increase in 2021.
In B2B sector, livestream content and podcasts are also on the rise. In 2020, B2B’s use of livestreaming content increased to 29% as opposed to 10% in 2019. According to Nielsen’s August 2020 Total Audiences Report, “53% of respondents listen to spoken-word audio content” either every day or every week, especially when people spend more time at home now.
Online businesses have long used content marketing as one of their main weapons to cut through the noises and boost organic traffic to their site, with the ultimate goal of increasing conversion and sales. Then the digital age comes with disruptions, making the real-virtual line blurrier and the online competition fiercer than ever.
It’s no longer the age of “just keep doing what we’re doing well” anymore. Businesses have to predict future content marketing trends to move before making moved, and to prepare for the upcoming challenges. With social, economic and technological changes, content marketing will adapt to evolve and bring more value to online users.
