Content Marketing Trends (So Far) in 2023
Content marketing trends evolve constantly, so brands and marketers must remain aware of these changes when working to attract audiences. A robust content marketing strategy that considers the latest content trends will enhance the overall marketing performance by driving prospects toward a desired action (i.e., a subscription, purchase, or trial sign-up).
The following offers a breakdown of content marketing trends in 2023 to help brands stay competitive across the ever-changing digital landscape.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing remains an effective channel for online branding. This content marketing trend takes traditional celebrity endorsements to the next level by establishing strong and lasting collaborations between brands and influencers specialized in a niche industry. Influencers can prove highly effective in content marketing by building trust and support while encouraging audience engagement. In addition, successful influencers usually have an existing base of loyal supporters who value their perspectives through unique content.
Research shows that 33% of Gen Z-ers have bought a promoted product based on an influencer’s recommendation over the past three months. Influencer marketing could remain effective through 2023, improving customer engagement via a personalized approach that bridges the gap between brands and their target audience.
User Experiences
User experience (UX) shapes the response and activity of site visitors, so even the best content marketing strategies could only prove effective with a comprehensive UX strategy. While UX has remained an important marketing factor for generations, modern online users continue to raise their standards alongside technological advancement.
Personalized content marketing is a crucial ingredient for creating impactful UX, and companies need to tailor content that fits the preferences and requirements of their target crowd. Some practical ways of collecting data for fine-tuning marketing content include direct visitor interactions via quizzes, polls, and forms or from third-party data processors.
Refresh Outdated Content
To drive the most traction, companies should update their online content to ensure that presented information remains relevant and engaging. In addition, frequently refreshing marketed content helps maintain the latest SEO practices, eliminates broken links, and updates references for quality UX.
Also, sieving through old or archived high-performing content can help teams leverage a reliable structure as a guide for creating new content without building it from scratch. This time-saving process can help teams generate a steady supply of value-added content based on a proven formula without extra effort.
Instagram Content
Twenty-two percent of marketers believe that Instagram (IG) has the most growth potential in 2023 compared to other social platforms. The success of this social media platform could partially stem from its highly visual nature, which makes online content easily digestible and shareable while on the move.
The IG platform also provides diverse content creation capabilities, including ephemeral IG Stories (content that lasts for only 24 hours on a user profile) and short-video reels similar to TikToks. Using these varied categories, brands can cater their message to target crowds and marketing goals for the best engagement.
Interactive Websites
Static content remains a thing of the past. Today’s site visitors prefer interactive elements that enable them to connect directly with a brand. As a result, brands might consider implementing polls, quizzes, and competitions rather than overwhelming audiences with static data, which might lead to disengagement and disinterest.
Interactive elements can also provide brands with exclusive data for streamlining future content marketing. For instance, brands can gather information on specific product preferences and feedback to tweak and improve user experiences down the road. Plus, site interactions can help businesses provide a human touch that enhances the CX through deeper brand connections.
Funnel-Specific Content
Topping off content marketing trends in 2023 involves taking a closer look at the sales funnel. Brands need to maximize the impact of marketing content based on a target audience’s position within that funnel. Doing so ensures that content remains relevant and engaging throughout the buyer’s journey, which helps improve the UX and reduce churn.
For instance, top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) prospects may actively seek a fair amount of educational content before considering a brand or a purchase. Therefore, providing content that raises brand awareness, such as blog articles that address common customer pain points, is a strategic move. On the other hand, bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) prospects may require more in-depth content like case studies to drive a more convincing position to help them select a brand from among the competition.
Closing Thoughts
So far, in 2023, content marketing trends have shown how brands leverage influencer marketing to build trust and engage audiences, leading to increased customer engagement and conversions. User experience (UX) has become prominent, and investing in creating personalized content goes hand in hand with this trend. With recent search engine updates, refreshing outdated content is vital to maintain relevance, improve SEO, and save time updating successful content pieces. In the social media scene, Instagram has become a platform with significant growth potential with its interactive capabilities and ability to provide data for future content. Lastly, tailoring content to different sales funnel stages is vital to maintain engagement throughout the entire buyer’s journey.
