Welcome to the world of content marketing in 2024, where staying ahead means embracing change in the fast-paced digital landscape. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or a business owner, you’ll need to know about crafting compelling campaigns and how to ensure your content makes an impact overall. As the digital world keeps evolving, so do the ways we connect with our audience. With consumers becoming more savvy, capturing attention and building relationships has never been more important.
To help you keep up with all the trends in content marketing you might see flying around in bits and pieces we’ve nailed them all down into this guide so that you have the latest trends, smart strategies, and essential insights all together in one place.
First and Foremost You Need To Know…Long Form Content Marketing Has Made a Comeback
In the world of online content, longer articles are making a comeback because readers like detailed and informative content that shows a brand or company knows its stuff. This kind of content is great for keeping existing customers happy and building trust with potential new ones at the same time.
According to a HubSpot study, articles with about 2,250 to 2,500 words get the most organic traffic and are shared more on social media. People on the internet are getting smarter and want specific answers to their questions. That’s why there are more and more long tail searches happening every day. (A long tail search is something like “car dealership that sells BMW” instead of “BMW Dealership”.) To keep up, your content strategy should match their smarts.
HOT TIP: In your business, you are the expert, don’t be afraid to show it. Write valuable, longer content that covers a specific topic really well. This not only helps your search rankings but also makes you an authority in your field, meeting the preferences of today’s internet users.
Short, Smart Videos Are Still Top Content
The popularity of short videos on platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok shows how effective they are at grabbing people’s attention. These quick and easy-to-watch videos, providing entertainment or education, are becoming a key part of content marketing plans that gradually lead to sales as you help your customers along in their buying journey.
We all know that mobile phones are driving this traffic as most young consumers watch videos on their smart devices. But does that really translate directly to a sale or conversion? According to HubSpot research, the answer is yes. Using short form video content can help you show off your product and drive sales by turning casual viewers into paying customers especially when a promotional offer is involved.
HOT TIP: If you already have a social media plan in place, you’re halfway to making the most of this format. Make videos that are interesting, informative, and easy to share. They should match your brand style and get your message across effectively – but don’t be afraid to add some lighthearted comments.
Making It Personal With AI Captures Customers
In content marketing, using AI-powered technology, especially with machine learning, is a big deal. It helps you look at a lot of information and then provide personalized and relevant content to people.
A lot of customers say that when a brand talks to them personally, it affects how they decide to buy things. Many of them not only want to recommend the brand to others but also like to buy from the same brand again.
HOT TIP: People don’t just like personalization; they expect it. Loyalty to stores and products is harder to keep these days, so getting personalization right is important. Because of COVID, how people buy things has changed a lot in the last few years, so having a strong online presence is really important now, and reaching the right audience, with the help of AI, is easier than ever.
SOMETHING TO WATCH OUT FOR: Google knows what is AI content and what is not so although using AI as a content generator tool is helpful try to still give yourself an original angle and don’t solely rely on your AI friends to do all the heavy lifting for you. Content on your website should be as original as possible to impact your SEO but, content like social media posts can be more AI generated. However, humans know when the bot is talking so customization is key.
Elevate Your Voice Search With Key Phrases
With voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri becoming increasingly popular, using voice search is a must for your content strategy. When you make your content voice-friendly, you can connect with people who prefer hands-free searching.
When people search by texting, they keep their queries to short terms but, using voice search, they tend to ask their questions in sentence form. This is why long tail keywords, or phrases, are an important part of your marketing strategy. Think about it, do you talk to Alexa or Siri like a person or a robot?
HOT TIP: When you’re setting up your keywords add common questions people might ask into your content. Think about the questions that your customers often ask and add the FAQs from your website into the mix.
Expand Your Content To More Marketing Channels
Because people use different platforms every day, it’s important for brands to use many channels to connect with them. This means being on social media, using podcasts, blogs, and email marketing – wherever your audience hangs out.
HOT TIP: Don’t limit your brand to a one-channel marketing strategy UNLESS THAT IS ALL YOU CAN HANDLE. Create content that can be multi-purposed across a variety of digital platforms to enhance visibility and increase engagement and chop it up to give you more shelf life out of the content you have invested your time into. Savvy consumers will research your brand thoroughly before placing their trust in you so make sure that your brand is everywhere they explore online.
Now, Go Update Your Content Marketing Strategy For 2024
As potential customers reach out to your business, it’s important to recognize that they’ve probably invested considerable time researching you online before even picking up the phone or booking a consultation online. Updating your marketing strategy to include these new trends in content marketing will help you reach them and inform them about why they should buy from you or work with you easily and effectively.
HOT TIP: An integrated marketing strategy that unifies your message and your strategic plan ensures that your business and brand remain at the forefront throughout their entire buying journey, starting from their initial discovery to the ultimate purchase decision.
Do you need help fine tuning or creating a content strategy that does what you want it to? Give us a call at 647-250-1494 or click here to book a free consultation now and together we will craft a plan that gives you the growth you’ve been looking for.
