Top 10 Content Marketing trends for 2022

COVID 19 put the transformation of Content Marketing on steroids, the effects of which we saw most in 2021. Key specialisms in Marketing were already on their path to becoming more customer centric and digitally enabled. The pandemic simply prompted a massive acceleration of this trend. Digitally powered, customer focussed content has been no different at making this pivot.

The onset of the pandemic made brands and businesses question how they could still stay connected and top of mind amid shifting priorities of their customers who had radically changed the way they were buying and consuming products and services.

Brands who read the tea leaves very early on when the virus was just starting to take a hold of the world realised that their pre-pandemic content strategies had to change. Successful companies made it less about their products and more about arming the customer with useful information that benefited their world in ways more than one. The biggest success stories that spring to mind are Peloton and Spotify. Both have created massive but loyal communities by optimizing customer data by hyper personalizing quality content to deliver exceptional product experience. Peloton deems content so important that they don't even lead with their core product, i.e., their bike! Spotify on the other hand uses customer data as their main content to personalize experiences.

Over the last 2 years we have all made shifts to our strategies to become more customer and data focussed. Although initially these pivots were reactive and off the cuff but as we embark on a new year, we have the advantage of hindsight to examine what worked, what didn’t and what we need to do more of in 2022. Here are my top picks!

1. Content marketers get more strategic

As opportunities within digital marketing grow and the areas of collaboration with content expand, marketers need to think strategically about how to power content ideation, creation and delivery through automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to be more client centric, agile and focus on amplifying messaging that builds long-term audience loyalty.

2.?Join the cookie party first-hand

If you haven’t already, it is time you start thinking about how to decrease your reliance on third-party cookies. With this type of audience data systematically disappearing, how can you use other data strategies to effectively target and engage with customers and prospects, specifically around delivering personalized content which is key to delivering a first-class content experience.

I think this starts with determining your historic reliance of customer interactions on third-party cookies and developing a clear picture of how you have been reaching and messaging customers across the digital sphere. Pivot your strategy to promote an approach that creates greater value through content and digital experiences in exchange for the customers’ data; look for strategic partnerships that can lend their first-party data to bolster your data expansion internally; rethink your analytics!!

3.?Ensure audience privacy and build trust

According to Mckinsey, as we gradually move away from third party data, marketers need to focus on a new data driven approach that promotes a ‘strong, trust-based relationship with customers’. I would add that this new approach should be wholly customer-first. That means reimagining approaches of audience measurement and reach, so they feel more in control and are able to manage the data they share.?In return, data teams may get a more complete picture of their audience while preserving user sanctity and privacy. Marketers needs to be transparent about how and when they collect personal information, using this to show content and tailoring ads that are valuable to customers.

4. Focus on user experience

Focus on content against the backdrop of user experience factors to improve engagement, conversion and organic search performance. You may have the world’s best content but if you present it badly and it doesn’t compel your audiences to engage, you’ve lost the race. Algorithms are getting even more sophisticated and are constantly sifting the good from the bad based on the content experience your site has to offer.

5. Personalise Personalise Personalise

We all crave a personalised experience. Adopt a ‘made for you’ approach to connect your audiences to new ideas. In 2022 and beyond, the information you take to market should only be about your audience and never about you! Always start by asking yourselves – what is it that your audience really wants to know, what are their desires and pain points and what knowledge can you give them that is better than anyone else in the form of information other than your products and services? It takes a lot of content to convert a visitor to a qualified lead. By presenting the right content you also build trustworthiness and credibility with your brand.

6.?Fewer, bigger, better

The proliferation of distribution channels means content teams are on over drive scrambling to churn content to cater to them all. This results in creating reactive content that takes great effort to produce but is ineffective and irrelevant in engaging the right customers.

Remember, you don't have to be everywhere! Spend more effort in developing fewer pieces of content but make sure they align to your documented content framework and strategy.

This approach holds true for your target customers as well. Focus on smaller groups of well-defined decision makers – be it businesses, companies, accounts and provide tailored content to them. Focus less on large ill-defined personas who might initially bring in large volumes of traffic but are difficult to retain and mostly irrelevant to your cause.

7.?The website will remain the core digital channel

Content Marketers get excited by new trends and want to always be at the leading edge of new tech and platforms. However, maximum engagement and conversions will still come from your core digital channels with the dot.com being the most foundational. Make the right investments to keep your websites optimised for SEO, speed, best in class site design, especially across mobile. Optimise your content to make it look good and organized to ultimately get better engaged prospects and higher conversion rates. According to Forrester, a well-designed website can give conversion rates of up to 400% higher than those that are not!

8.?Focus on audience nurturing as much as on acquisition

Relying on social media sites to drive traffic seems like the right thing to do for many businesses and for a majority of them this has worked very well. While social will continue to play a big role in how businesses amplify their stories, smart companies are investing in and thinking about ways that will create deep, direct and meaningful connections with their acquired audiences without being held to ransom by changing algorithms and prices of advertising platforms. Invest more in email marketing and your owned channels to deepen connections with your audience base.

9.?Marketers be more entrepreneurial!

If 2020-21 was all about test and learns, you have no reason to stop now. Keep those pilots going and you never know where an internal collaboration or a recombination project leads to a successful outcome which can be scaled up. I have had many this year and planning for more in 2022!

10. Educate, train, mentor

Content marketing may have been around for a while but your stakeholders and colleagues may still not understand the full gamut of opportunities that it can facilitate. Keep talking, sharing and showing measurable value that content can bring across every touchpoint of the customer’s journey.

I'd love to hear from you! If you have any questions, comments or advise please drop me a note!