4 Key Content Marketing Trends

Content never goes out of style when it comes to attracting and converting customers. When it’s done right, content marketing is an effective and cost-efficient (or even free) way to target the audience you want with the information they need. 

Content marketing is evolving in new and wonderful ways. It’s not just about looking at the formats you should use or the emergence of new channels like Threads, but an acceleration of marketers using AI to increase productivity and combat the dreaded writer’s block - especially when you’re a busy content marketer writing a lot of copy.

Let’s look at some key content marketing trends to see what you should watch out for or experiment with to see if it boosts performance. 

• Short-form immersive video
• An explosion in the creator economy
• Artificial Intelligence and content creation
• Long-form and live video content

1. Short-form immersive video

For years, video has been hailed as the key content type for brands to gain traction across channels - especially on social media. More than half of marketers say video is the most valuable content type with 25 percent saying that live video is effective in reaching social media goals, as noted in the 2023 Content Benchmarks Report. 

As a result, all social platforms prioritize video content and their algorithms, including platforms that may be traditionally text-based like LinkedIn according to Alison Battisby, Social Media Consultant and Founder of Avocado Social. 

“You need to think vertical if you're creating video. We're going to see more experimentation from brands that will lean into this trend and experiment with this format not just organically but also in paid advertising.”

Battisby believes that savvy brands will test their creative organically first and then promote their best-performing content. This is a trend that works well on TikTok so if you’re noticing videos blowing up in terms of views and likes, why not think about boosting it?

Here are some key tips for creating great short-form content for mobile:

• Keep it punchy. Successful videos tend to be between 15 and 30 seconds long
• Include a surprise twist at the end of your video like a reveal or transformation
• Add interesting captions like ‘wait for what’s next’ to keep people watching
• Experiment with creating your own sounds or remixing tracks to increase the possibility of going viral (check out these tips from top TikTok creators)
• Browse what's trending on platforms such as hashtags, topics or music

According to TikTok, the top video of 2023 was from makeup artist Nyadollie doing a simple makeup routine to music. The video got over 504 million views, 35.7 million likes, and 1.8 million saves.

2. An explosion in the creator economy

The creator economy is continuing to grow and change. This explosion will create intense competition between brands to attract and retain the best creators across platforms.

The reason? Brands want to fill their content gaps and tie into the latest trends. But they do not always have the knowledge or capacity to act quickly enough or do it in a way that best drives engagement and conversions. 

“Contact reviews from content creators are trusted, and often engagement is higher on creator profiles than for brand profiles. So, really consider how you can utilize creators as part of your brand's marketing. Could you offer some products for review? Could you invite some to an event? Or could you work together to collaborate on a piece of content, like a trending sound?” says Battisby. 

Luckily social media networks are making it easier for brands to find quality and relevant creators. Instagram's creator marketplace enables creators to share their unique stories and position themselves for partnerships on their profiles. The platform has added new features that extend access to parts of its marketplace to make it easier for brands to work with creators on third-party platforms and give access to brand agencies. 

YouTube announced a 45 percent revenue split on YouTube shorts along with subscription revenue sharing, shopping and fan funding. So Battisby sees YouTube monetizing its new vertical video offering to attract creators to make unique shorts content.

3. Artificial Intelligence and content creation

Artificial intelligence (AI) and copywriting have been linked for many years. However, the accelerated adoption of AI tools such as ChatGPT and Jasper has seen the technology play a bigger role in content creation as the demand from consumers for personalization intensifies. 

"If you look at Midjourney and DALL·E, those platforms were fun, but a bit clunky six months ago. They weren't particularly useful for real content generation at scale, and certainly not programmatic content generation. But they've moved on massively," says Brian Corish, founder of AI-focused consultancy Elemental Intelligence and DMI Global Champion. 

This means that there's a huge scope for using AI in your content marketing to both generate and optimize content. The platforms are getting to a point where marketers will be able to create content at scale.

"The other thing that will change is how consumers expect to interface with us or how we expect to interface with the world. The last number of years saw people searching for information. (With AI) that will switch from searching for information to expecting answers," concludes Corish. 

Tip: Check out our walkthrough video on how to get started with ChatGPT so you can start experimenting and creating.  

4. Long-form and live video content

Many marketers rely on and prefer short-term content to attract and engage. But ignoring longer-form content would be a mistake. 

Not only is long-form content like blogs, ebooks, or webinars great for SEO, but it’s also effective in building backlinks - with posts over 3,000 words getting 77 percent more backlinks according to a Backlinko study.

But what about long-form videos? According to a senior Google executive, it's believed that 40 percent of young people now use TikTok and Instagram as a way to search for places to go out for lunch rather than using a Google Maps search. So, creating videos that showcase places can help to engage and drive people to your website or brand. 

Battisby also sees companies having huge success with long-form videos on LinkedIn. “We've seen LinkedIn Live over recent years and as a tool, it’s just getting better and better. It's becoming easier and more accessible to go live on LinkedIn and host professional webinars and conversations within the platform.”

There’s also audio content like podcasts. This format has seen a rise in popularity in recent years with Podnews reporting U.S. podcast ad revenue growing to $1.8 million in 2022 with 42 percent of monthly listeners in the U.S. followed by 41 percent in the U.K. 

The rise in voice search and ownership of smart devices like Alexa and Homey will only increase the number of people listening to audio content. Brands should tap into the trend to see if their content resonates on those channels. 

Content marketing trends round-up

Content is a medium that’s valuable to any business - big or small. The key is to understand your audience and use all the tools available to create content that’s relevant and useful to your audience. 

Use these key trends to generate content ideas, strategize and optimize your content marketing so you can reach the right people on the right channels. Experiment, be creative, and be brave to supercharge your content marketing.

Use content to attract and influence your audience

Content comes in many forms and it can be difficult to understand which ones suit your business. DMI’s short content marketing certification will help you to create personas and an effective SEO strategy along with looking at how to be creative and tell a story that engages. You will also learn about the variety of digital channels to share content and know how to measure performance. Get started today! 

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