Content Marketing Trends 2021

Gone are the days when content marketing was more like a buzzword, and companies were incorporating it for marketing as an experiment.

Fast forward to 2021, content marketing has become an essential factor in a brand’s marketing strategy.

It has evolved to a proven marketing channel for improving ROI. Content marketing is an inbound online marketing strategy carried out by different content and channels to attract audiences, convert leads, enhance user journeys, and influence conversion.

From blogs, eBooks, info graphics, podcasts, and video marketing, content marketing is a vast field.

It is also important to understand that content marketing has been a dynamic field over the years. The introduction of more engaging forms of content like video marketing has changed the game, meaning that you can’t afford to rely on those text blogs and info-graphics.

Make sure to be well-informed of the latest trends in content marketing.

Keeping this in mind, we propose seven content marketing strategies for 2021.

1. Expertise, Authority, and Trust will Be Rewarded

Google is less likely to reward your content that is built around just keywords. Instead, it focuses on the context and value of your content.

It prefers in-depth expertise in your content over other factors such as keywords or link building.

Gone are the days when back-links were the eminent factors to build authority on the Internet. But now, Google is more concerned about the expertise of the content.

For proof that Google loves content, examine their EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) guidelines.

2. The Rise and Rise of Video and Live Streaming

Unarguably, video is now a top form of media in content marketing. Consider the following statistics:

• Over 2 billion videos are watched a day on Twitter
• Videos make up over 80% of consumer internet traffic.
• 8 billion videos are watched on Facebook a day.
• Social videos generate 1200% more shares than images and text combined. 
• Facebook Live posts deliver 170% higher than average engagement over regular posts.

How do you incorporate video into your content marketing strategy if you haven’t done it yet?

Well, you can start by making videos on the usage of your product, customer testimonials, tutorials, and demonstrations. They all benefit your target audience in some way. That’s the main thing.

And, you don’t need a high-end recording studio, either. All you need is a quality camera or Smartphone to get started.

While marketers prefer pre-recorded videos, the momentum is shifting towards live streaming. Users watch live videos three   times longer than those that are pre-produced on Facebook. According to LinkedIn, live videos earn 24 times more comments.

3. Personalized Content Continues to Rock

The concept of personalization has been in vogue for the past some years. And it will be on the rise in 2021 and beyond. Personalized content is vital to educate your audience, drive traffic and boost engagement, whether creating sales emails, social media posts, or running contests.

However, in 2021, personalization won’t be all about merely addressing the customers by their name in emails or chat bots. Artificial intelligence solutions such as Siri or Alexa simplify the data analysis, letting you make your content hyper-personalization.

AI technologies can propose ideal email templates for an individual, create content and copy that meet their exact requirements, and make informed content decisions for the future.

For example, AI solutions can help you create the optimized version of your app or website based on your customers’ browsing history and past activity. It will improve the user experience.

It will make all the difference and skyrocket the customer experience.

4. AI and Chatbots to Help with Content Creation

AI and chatbots will have to play a vital role in content creation and delivery. They are all set to change how we generate content, particularly how we interact with the global audience. They are going to be an integral part of the user experience.

What’s more, artificial intelligence will continue to get advanced and help build better-quality content. At least, it can boost the content-creation process by providing valuable insights, sourcing data and references, and delivering authority to everything marketers create.

It is also worth mentioning that Chabot sophistication is advancing. They can now provide data and support marketing campaigns more smoothly.

5. Augmented Reality to Play an Important Role

Augmented Reality or AR has come a long way from a marketing gimmick in its infancy to an efficient inbound marketing tool.

Content marketing and augmented reality can be integrated to guide people to your store, boost user engagement on your website, and maximize your eCommerce success now that augmented reality lets customers try on products virtually.

Moreover, augmented reality can provide some essential context to your content and brand messages, thereby improving the customer experience.

6. Voice Search will Echo in 2021

Another key content marketing trend that you need to consider is voice search. Sure, we know that voice search is on the rise since 2018, but in 2021 and beyond, it will become even more prominent. This is because over 30 percent of the global population is utilizing voice search on their smartphone.

People are supposed to start utilizing voice search predominantly, bringing text searches on the verge of becoming obsolete. However, it won’t happen overnight or in the next five years, but it is important to know that voice search will be a big thing.

With that in mind, one of the critical factors of your 2021 content strategy should be to optimize your content for voice search. Instead of incorporating phrases like “best chocolate cake recipe,” try to use more conversational phrases into your content, such as “how to make the best chocolate cake” or “what are the ingredients for chocolate cake.”

7. The Dominance of Influence Marketing

Here is a basic example to understand influencer marketing:

A buyer is likely to buy your kitchen brand that is being endorsed and recommended to them by someone who has 30K followers over Instagram.

This is because they are to rely on influences or experts more than any other factors. Influencer marketing has been a new form of marketing for brands.

According to one study, over 90% of buyers trust individual recommendations.

The Bottom Line

Content marketing is continuously evolving, and new techniques are being invented all the time.

Today, content marketing covers much more than writing catchy articles and creating attractive infographics.

If you want to take your business to next level in 2021 with content marketing, make sure to follow the trends above.

What do you think? Let us know by commenting below!