Content marketing continues to evolve and plays an important role in online marketing. Whether it is SEO, email marketing, social media marketing, video content, or podcasts, content plays a key, central role.
But what is the future of content marketing?
In this article, we take a look at the future of content marketing and some trends that we believe will be important in 2022 and beyond.
1. Semantics, UX, and SEO
A large part of content marketing efforts is there to drive organic traffic. However, SEO has evolved significantly in the last few years. We expect this evolution to continue in 2022 and beyond.
Therefore, if one of your content marketing goals is to rank higher on the SERPs and drive organic traffic, you need your content marketing strategy to evolve as well.
For starters, keywords in content creation and SEO are not as important as they used to be a few years ago.
That is because search engines have become smarter. Search algorithms have evolved tremendously. There are over 200 search engine ranking factors that play a role, and AI technologies are involved as well.
Consequently, spamming keywords on a web page do not make it easier for you to rank on search engine results pages — because there are so many different search ranking factors involved.
So, your content should not revolve around keywords?
But, then, what should it revolve around.
The answer is semantics, topical authority, and, most of all, user experience.
As we just mentioned, search engines have become smarter and no longer rely on exact keyword matches to rank a piece of content. Even misspelled words or related words can help you rank on top — provided your content is of good quality.
Second, Google wants to send searchers to websites that are reliable and authoritative. That’s why you need to establish that by producing consistently high-quality content around a topic. Do not just publish a single piece of content on a topic and move on. Instead, build topical authority. Establish yourself as an expert on that topic.
Third, make sure your content and website offer an excellent user experience. Otherwise, no matter how good your content is, you will find it tough to rank higher in the SERPs, and your content marketing efforts will go to waste.
This includes basics like mobile-responsive websites and good website design to more complex items, such as Core Web Vitals, fast website speed, staying away from interstitial ads, etc.
2. Branching to different platforms and mediums
The internet keeps expanding — with the introduction of new platforms, mediums, and apps. It is important for content marketers to keep up with the latest trends and make sure that their content can be accessed on all such platforms that are relevant to their business and audiences.
Social media apps
For example, if your business’s primary target audience is Generation Z (which, by the way, reportedly accounts for 40 percent of total global consumers), you, your business, and your content should be available on the platforms and apps that Generation Z uses. This may include apps, such as Discord, Reddit, and TikTok.
Podcasts
According to Podcast Insights, there are now roughly two million podcasts and more than 48 million podcast episodes as of 2021. Podcast is a growing medium, and we expect this to take an even bigger center stage in 2022 and beyond.
Whether you are using Podcasts to share exclusive informative content or to supplement your existing blog content, there is ample room for everyone to experiment with. With podcasts, content marketers can share positive customer stories, promote products and services, highlight practical examples and use cases on how to best use their products and services, complement existing content, and more.
Voice search
Similarly, voice search is another medium that is growing at a very rapid pace. With the continuous rise of voice-enabled AI assistants in our lives via smartphones, smart home assistants, and even the wristwatches we wear, this trend is only going to grow in the next few years.
Content optimized for voice searches can not only cater to that group of people who uses voice-enabled AI assistant, but it can also help you rank your existing content on the SERPs. Voice-optimized content — especially in the form of search-engine friendly FAQs — has a high chance of ranking in featured snippets on Google’s first page.
3. Video Content
Approximately 85 percent of online marketing professionals use and rely on video content and marketing in one way or another. According to another study, 93 percent of online marketers believe that video is a crucial part of their content marketing strategy.
Do not be a part of that 7 percent group.
Otherwise, your competitors may overtake you because they are creating video content and using another content medium to reach their potential customers.
Videos not only help you rank higher for certain content topics — topics for which Google does not want to rank text blog posts, e.g., how to tie a tie.
In addition, including videos in your text content can also help you increase user engagement, which can consequently help you improve search engine rankings as well as conversion rates.
Making and editing videos keep getting easier with time. You do not need fancy equipment to shoot high-quality videos. People are making videos on their phones.
Because of ever-growing convenience and excellent marketing statistics, we expect video content to continue to play a big part in the coming years.
4. Original content
There is no shortage of content on the internet. However, there is still a dearth of high-quality, original content, because most content marketers continue rehashing content that is already published elsewhere.
We expect original content (case studies, data, reports, opinion pieces) will continue to gain traction and be important in the future.
If you have a database that you can tap into, include more original, exclusive, data-based content in your content marketing efforts.
5. Going mobile
Mobile has already become a key player in the content and online marketing space. However, we expect its importance to grow even more in the coming years.
It is estimated that more than 90 percent of the internet-connected world gets online using a mobile device.
If your content is not suitable for mobile devices or for a mobile reading experience, then you are likely missing out on the traction and engagement that would get you the results you want from your content marketing efforts.
As a content marketer, what does it mean for you, and what can you do about it?
It means creating a website that is mobile responsive and mobile-friendly. It also includes picking a website design that is suitable for smaller screens — no big pop-up ads, reasonably sized CTA buttons, intelligent use of color, font, font style, and font size, etc. Lastly, it also means that any interactive content you include on your web pages should be functional and easily viewable on smaller devices.
Conclusion
Like with most other aspects of the digital marketing world, content marketing continues to change and evolve. However, its importance will not get diminished.
Make sure to incorporate the advice and tips shared in this article when you are creating your content marketing strategy for next year.
If you have any questions, let us know.
