Top 7 Content Marketing Trends
Statistics can fill us with hope or rattle our anxiety. For example, millennials engage with digital content for an average of 11 hours per day. Some estimates suggest that there’s 600 million blogs on the internet. In fact, this statistic is changing so much that it’s likely to be out of date within just a few weeks. We aren’t trying to scare you away from content marketing; we just want you to realize the importance of a proper strategy. To help you along the way, we’ve compiled seven content marketing trends you should pay attention to in 2020!
Be Unique
Over the years, we’ve grown accustomed to creating copycat articles and guides in an attempt to capture a percentage of an audience. If it ever worked, it doesn’t now. With so much content, your new article will be lost in a sea of similar ones — articles that have had more time to build SEO and get to the SERP.
How do you create unique content?
Here are two approaches:
1. Ubersuggest
With this first approach, we’re going to recommend a tool that has largely gone under the radar. With Ubersuggest, start by typing a keyword into the search box, allow the system to work its magic, and then navigate across to the ‘Content Ideas’ panel. Here, you’ll see ten content ideas based around the keyword or phrase you entered. Ubersuggest goes into detail with each idea at length. You’ll find a page title, backlinks, estimated visits, and Pinterest/Facebook engagement.
2. Buzzsomo
This tool starts with a keyword as well, but also displays popular posts relating to the word or phrase. Essentially, you’re seeing the type of content that performs best for a given keyword. We don’t advise copying one of the articles at the top of the list, because as we mentioned, copycat articles are losing value. Instead of rehashing what’s been done, offer your own perspective.
Consider the On-The-Go Audience
Let’s face it, we’re all busy. We struggle to stop and take a moment for themselves let alone someone’s content. We recommend considering the on-the-go audience in your content marketing strategy. While you may be tempted to exclusively produce short articles and videos, focus instead on creating content that is easily consumable.
Podcasts have thrived in recent years. They are longer than articles and videos because they can last anywhere from ten minutes to two hours. Listeners can tune in while multitasking, whether they’re shopping, working out, commuting or washing the dishes. The content isn’t shorter, it’s just easier to consume for those leading a busy lifestyle.
Follow Trends and React Quickly
As strange as it sounds, our second content marketing trend is just like it sounds: follow trends. With Google Trends, you can discover which topics are being talked about at any given moment, and adjust your search to see what people are talking about in your industry.
Not everybody has the resources to react with content on topics that people are discussing in real time. For this group, we recommend the ‘Daily Search Trends’ tab which shows the popular topics and number of searches across the whole day.
Many marketers operate in several markets. If you’re an eCommerce service that wants to get exposure around the world, there’s an option to see trends in specific countries. Just as we mentioned before, make sure you’re offering your own perspective with content — people don’t want to read old information.
Trust in Long-Form Content
We can’t forget about long-form content entirely. In a world full of short Twitter posts and Instagram clips, sometimes it’s a nice change to read an extensive guide.
Before investing your resources in longer content, get a feel for your audience and the type of content with which they would engage. You might not get results from a 4,000-word blog post, but you will likely get good results if it’s in eBook form.
We’ve recommended both short and long-form content, but we don’t want you to walk away confused. Ultimately, you need to decide what’s right for your audience and understand that there’s nothing wrong with a combination of both. We’re sure there are people in your audience who consume content on the go as well as others who like to sit down and dig into more detailed content. With a wide selection, you’ll appeal to both sides.
Ask Your Audience
Everywhere you look, there seems to be different advice regarding content marketing. The easiest way to understand what your audience wants is always to ask them directly. You’ll lose neither respect nor credibility. In fact, the opposite is true: they will appreciate you even more.
With platforms like SurveyMonkey, we can set up public surveys and gather opinions from those who follow our content and brand. Rather than asking ‘what content should we produce?’ make sure you communicate in such a way that the consumer feels valued.
Consider:
- What topics would you like to hear/read about?
- What in our industry confuses you?
- What topics have you struggled to find information about online?
- What problems can we help you resolve?
- What would you most like to learn?
By doing this, you’ll get to know your audience’s pain points and desires; you’ll prove that you value their needs while gaining content ideas at the same time.
ALWAYS Remember Your Audience
With content marketing, consumers have always held the most important focus. If you create content without considering your audience, your chances of success are low.
Whenever you create content, prioritize the audience rather than SEO or an algorithm. Regardless of any algorithm or technology, it will always be the people who engage and share content. Sometimes, you might go against SEO best practices to produce an article that your audience really wants, and there’s nothing wrong with that. We aren’t saying you should forget SEO completely, but the best content will always resonate with your audience first and foremost.
Read More: How to Find the Best Audiences on Facebook, Google, and Twitter
Outsource to Experts
Finally, we cannot recommend outsourcing enough. Especially for businesses and marketers who have limited time, you can find somebody who does exactly what you need for a living. You can be sure of ROI when you onboard a professional and reliable service while freeing your own time for more important tasks.
Outsourcing comes in all shapes and sizes. While some people work with a writer or video maker for their content, others will hire researchers to come up with original work and fresh insight for articles. You could get in touch with not only writers, video makers and researchers, but also content marketing professionals. Then, you’ll have their experience and expertise when creating a winning strategy and marketing plan.
Summary
In 2020, the content marketing world is changing; like anything in marketing, it will only continue to do so as time goes on. Today, we went beyond the normal content marketing advice and offered actionable tips. As long as you remember the following, there’s no reason why you can’t achieve your content marketing goals this year.
- Be unique
- Consider the on-the-go audience
- Follow trends and react quickly
- Trust in long-form content
- Ask your audience
- ALWAYS Remember the audience
- Outsource to experts
Whatever the size of your business, there’s no excuse for poor content marketing in 2020. Even with a small marketing budget you can take advantage of the tools and ideas we touched on today!
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