12 Content Marketing Trends for 2023

As the year ends, Got Writer's Block looks forward to fascinating content marketing trends for 2023! These range from major power players like TikTok to emerging contenders like personalized email segments, to increasing demand for B2B, thought leadership content.?

We’ve had the opportunity to interview experts in their fields for insights into why their medium or strategy will play a big role for brands next year.

Of course, we can’t ignore the “R” word, as budget cuts are happening across the board due to the recession. But that doesn’t mean that marketing will be halted–we’ve got recession-proof strategies for you below.?

Keep reading to find out what experts have to say about the top 12 content marketing trends you should keep an eye on for your company’s branding strategy in the new year and beyond!

1. Omnichannel Marketing

"Omnichannel marketers seek to engage users by publishing content across multiple channels. In 2022, we saw significant changes to user privacy protection from technology leaders like 苹果 .?

As user-focused privacy models like Europe's GDPR regulations gain adoption, it's even more important for consent and opt-in thinking to guide the logic behind omnichannel marketing catchment.?

No matter where and how users find the brands I'm working with, I want to ensure that their engagement with the content I'm building remains fun and respectful. Finding innovative ways to continue that work will be a fun challenge in 2023."

Follow Elizabeth M. , Fractional Marketing Executive

Visit: https://www.elizabethmonierwilliams.work/

Contact: https://www.elizabethmonierwilliams.work/contact/

2. Bold Branding

"If you are a brand looking for venture capital or to attract high-profile clients, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself. A way you can achieve this is by developing a distinguished, consistent, and memorable look, which is where branding comes into play.

One of the best ways to stand out is through consistent marketing efforts. Having a strong brand image shows investors and potential clients that you are credible, others trust you, and if they research your name and company (which they will), they will be pleasantly surprised with your connections, content, and expertise you share.

So, make it easy for investors to want to invest in your business by increasing your brand awareness and community with a cohesive and compelling brand story, messaging, and identity in 2023.

One thing that founders often forget is that branding is more than a logo, font, and colour choices. People buy your values, rather than what you do. Branding is how you embody your purpose, how you communicate with your clients and customers, and what people say when you're not in the room.

My best tip for your branding to stand out in 2023 is to be transparent, and integral, and not be afraid to share your values. It's time to build your bold legacy. Let's get this party started!"

Follow Christine Lieu and learn how to build your bold legacy.

Visit cldesigns.com for more information on bold branding services.

3. Personalized Email Segments?

"One of the biggest opportunities for many online businesses, especially DTC fashion and beauty brands, is converting occasional purchasers into loyal customers.

If you’ve been in my world a while, you’ll have heard me espousing the virtues of personalization and targeted email content.

One of the best ways to achieve this is through email segmentation by characteristics just like this: shopping behaviours.

By categorizing groups of customers like those mentioned above - however small a percentage of your overall email list they are - we can create multiple segments of shoppers, each with different habits, preferences, and untapped potential to explore in a targeted way: small, but mighty segments!

For example, for the group above, who’ve made one or two large purchases, you might design a campaign to tempt them back into making a second purchase soon after with a personalized recommendation and "Thank You" note.?

By making the customer feel valued, and reinforcing this new buying behaviour, you could be encouraging them to create a habit of purchasing more regularly from your online business."

Follow Samantha McGregor for tips on personalized email segments.

Visit the Rev Up Accelerator to learn more about how to set up your email campaigns for sales success.

4. TikTok

"TikTok has changed the game for ByStacy. For products like mine that require education,?the platform has allowed me to easily convey my message. Over the last year, I have created?a niche community of people who are engaged, ask questions,? and ultimately convert into customers.?It's a great way for customers to get to know and trust the brand.?

I get a lot of questions about posting frequency and I want to let you all know that I didn't start out posting daily. I worked up to it and took my time discovering the platform, and my voice, and learning ways to grow.?

Once you figure out what content your audience engages with the most, it's easier to create more. Some days, your videos will reach 600 people, and other days, you’ll hit 138k viewers. One type of post that I found that works well is answering FAQs.?

Keep experimenting, finding your voice, and engaging with the platform and your audience will grow."?

Follow Stacy Smolenski , founder of ByStacy

Follow: ByStacy on TikTok

5. Video

"In 2023, not all video will be good, but it will be big! The US market alone is expected to reach north of $130 billion.??

As attention continues to be commodified, video will be the most effective way to hook audiences to drive traffic to longer-form insights — more videos and deliciously written content.?

The key to effective videos: Know your audience. Produce with a purpose. Meet your audience where they are.

Ignore your audience and be ignored.

Learn more with 7 Steps to Video Success ."

Follow Richard Adkin , Founder & CEO of Flikli Animated Videos flikli.com .?

Let's talk video strategy .

6. AI Copywriting

"Whether you like it or not, robots are getting smarter at writing copy. Some companies may stop hiring copywriters and switch to AI copywriting tools in the new year like ChatGPT , the AI model that has been trained to respond to follow-ups and replies in a conversational way.?

However, many agencies, copywriters, and business owners still believe that you need a human essence and strategy to make copy have the emotional connection to your target audience that you are looking for.??

B2B outreach teams have been raving about Lavender, which writes high-impact emails that get more replies. We cannot ignore the powerful technology that is revolutionizing the way we communicate, but we can learn to integrate AI and human communication strategies into one."?

Follow Lavender on Linkedin

7. Recession-Proof Marketing

"The “B” word - budget - is being used everywhere. Marketing budget cuts are happening left, right, and centre, but that doesn’t mean that companies don’t need marketing. They are going to have to be strategic and find budget-friendly ways to get in touch with their target audience.

One low-cost, high-return investment strategy is email marketing. You have direct access to, and ownership of, your list, unlike social media where you are renting the space. You also have a direct line of communication with your audience, can target your lists by preferences, and can personalize segments. The best part is that for $1 spent on email marketing, you receive an average return on investment of $36. Recession or not, that sounds like an amazing ROI.?

The next recession-proof marketing strategy is to create evergreen content. Evergreen content is content that doesn’t expire or stop getting relevant after a certain date. For example, creating a video about a service that you offer that can be shown to different potential customers over and over is an evergreen piece of content. A case study is also an evergreen piece of content. However, a blog that discusses a certain opinion in a specific period of time is not (i.e. why consulting firms are budget cutting in Dec 2022)."?

Follow Jessica Bennett for more recession-proof marketing tips.

Follow Got Writer’s Block for a recession-proof marketing strategy.?

Visit gotwritersblock.ca for more information.

Claim your spot for 1 of 5 recession-proof content strategy sessions in January 2023.

8. Analytics Tracking, a Predictable Email Schedule, and Less Promo Emails

"Regarding content trends, I'm seeing email listings decrease drastically because of aggressive email campaigns pushing too many sales.

I think it links back to the trend we've seen for several years where consumers know what's going on. For example, they know you're having a sale for Black Friday, so they don't need an email about it every day for 4 days. I think switching things up with "random" sales would be more beneficial and create interest. Look at set launches or specific push campaigns in each quarter based on your business plan.

I've also seen a BIG shift toward (or back to?) direct mail–yes, in the actual mail! I think this is a doable option for very warm leads, sales calls that didn't convert, or companies with smaller lists. However, you have to be smart about what you're sending out so it leaves a good impression.

As far as business systems and organization (which is more my wheelhouse) are concerned, consumers are looking for familiarity, and that means becoming more predictable. They want to know they'll see you live every Tuesday, or that your email always comes on Wednesdays, or that your status updates have the same information and arrive every Friday at 8 am. With the return to "normal," people are looking for routines, which build up their trust and, in turn, create clients (and, of course, sales).

Lastly, business owners want to know where their leads are coming from and if they have money leaks, but they must understand how analytics reports work and what the user data means to gauge the success of their marketing strategy. To fill those gaps, they’re turning to the invaluable tool that is analytics tracking."?

Follow Jessica Pegg and learn how to stay organized in your business.

Visit jessicapegg.com for tips on how to easily run your business operations.

9. Snackable Video Content

"Think of snackable content as a 1-bite brownie–you can consume it quickly in one bite. The content only discusses one theme, contains simple ingredients, is highly engaging, and once you consume it, it’s over. There’s a growing demand for snackable content as audience attention spans are shrinking.?

For example, short videos are snackable content. Aside from TikTok, don’t sleep on the power of the YouTube Short. It’s a short video under 60 seconds that dives into one theme. The content usually educates you about the theme in an entertaining way.

The key to snackable content is to organize your content into mini soundbites. You don’t want to overwhelm your viewer, but you nonetheless want them to understand the topic by the end of the short video. It’s common to see a large topic divided into bite-sized chunks of content. The viewer has to watch or read all pieces of content to fully understand the topic or training.?

Keep your content relevant, purposeful, and experience-driven, and you’ll have given your audience quite the snack to chew on! Who knows–maybe they’ll start asking for whatever else you got."

See an example of engaging snackable content by Jessica Bennett .?

Claim your spot for 1 of 5 complimentary snackable content strategy sessions in January 2023.

10. Personal Branded Photography

"They want to buy from YOU.

There are probably a million other gyms, graphic designers, coaches, firms, etc. out there.

So why should someone make a purchase from lil’ old YOU? ??

People come to your business for more than the product or service you’re offering. They buy from you because it's YOU.

Putting time into your brand and marketing strategy allows your audience to get to know you.

It introduces them to your personality, values, and overall vibe,? all of which will separate you from the rest.

Be YOU.

Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT saying that your photos can't be polished, graphics can't be on point, or that your messaging has to be all over the place.

I'm saying that whatever you post should authentically represent you and/or your business.

Strengthening your brand = strengthening that bond ??"

Follow Monique (Dom) Hutson

Follow Dom Productions

Find more information to book discovery calls here .

11. Customer-Focused Twitter

"As of late, Twitter has been going through a bit of a crisis. With Elon Musk taking the helm, entire divisions have been laid off, and the ToS playbook is getting rewritten in real time. It is tough to say if Twitter will survive as what it was pre-Elon, but it's safe to say it is moving in a very different and, arguably, disastrous direction. However, if its demise is inevitable, it will be slow and not the quick pull of the band-aid that I secretly am hoping for.?

We're not saying goodbye just yet. The site is still here, and we've got a lot of ground to cover in 2023. Let's see what's coming next!

1. Anecdotally, I have noticed the brands currently paying for ads are, for lack of better words, bargain basement, as-seen-on-TV level products, and services. With numerous brands opting not to advertise on Twitter, there is less competition for the number of eyes brands can hit. If you have a brand that can benefit from the Twitter audience and has very little to do with politics/cultural issues, consider testing ads or increasing your spending.?
2. Twitter has always been a copy-forward medium. They have tried to push reels/stories (“Fleets”) and have shut down the feature due to a lack of adaptation. Where there is an opportunity for brands is “Spaces.” Consider cross-promoting a Space, sponsoring a Space, or even starting your own.?
3. Customer care. Customer care. Customer care. In all my years working in this space, this form of customer experience will always be valuable, and the trend will always tick upward. Twitter polls are a great way to source feedback, and thread replies and direct messaging are active ways to help customers.?

If you would like to chat more about your social strategy, hit me up on LinkedIn."

Follow Alykhan Walji for more Twitter and content tips.

12. B2B Thought Leadership

"Lately, many B2B companies have been asking for thought leadership materials, such as blogs, social media posts, and case studies. All of these materials help to build awareness for a company, establish thought leadership in its industry and generate leads. They also help position a company as an authority in its field, build relationships with potential customers, grow brand recognition and trust, and even increase lead conversion rates.?

That said, blogs are still the most popular form of thought leadership and a key element in content marketing strategies. Blogs are an important way to engage and educate customers and build relationships with potential customers. They can communicate a company’s mission, values, and offerings, and provide valuable content for readers.?

Further, blogs can serve as a platform for customer feedback, help create conversations, answer questions, and provide excellent social media content. Blogs help drive traffic to a company website and can also be used as part of an SEO strategy for search engine visibility."?

Follow Larisa Redins for more technology writing tips.

Visit larisaredins.com for content samples.

While all these trends are undoubtedly exciting, they can be a lot to wrap your head around, and you may not even know yet which ones will be suitable for your adapting business model.?

Our experts’ insights aren’t exhaustive–for example, we didn’t even dive into TikTok’s regulation and cybersecurity issues that could affect creators building their channels–so be sure to get in touch with them for more information on how to prepare for big changes in 2023.

Which content trend are you focusing on, or is there a trend we missed? Comment below for your chance to be featured with a quote in a future GWB newsletter or as a guest on LinkedIn Live!

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