Content Marketing has evolved in the marketing mix to become one of the most important components to drive online customer engagement and convert customers – but are you doing the same old thing? A lot has changed in the marketing landscape since COVID-19. More of your customers are online and have the time to read, learn, listen, watch and discover what your brand has to offer. Below we will share 5 content marketing trends for a post-COVID 19 world.
4 Commandments of Content Marketing:
- Content must Inform – Share relevant information
- Content must Educate – Teach a skill
- Content must Facilitate – Help improve work or life efficiency
- Content must Entertain – Don’t bore your audience
“You cannot bore people into buying your product; you can only interest them in buying it.”
~ David Ogilvy
Trend 1 – Podcasting
Podcasting is an exploding content marketing category that has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic. With more people at home and wanting to learn new things and new skills with their downtime, podcasts have become a frequent form of content audiences have embraced. What content are you currently creating that can become a podcast series? Like a blog, a podcast needs to be sustained and posted with a regular cadence. Like Mr. Ogilvy said, you can’t bore your target audience, you must keep their interest. Your podcast has to be interesting and should include all of the 4 commandments of content marketing. We provide our advice for podcasting here.
Trend 2 – Video
Video has been around forever but not every company is wielding it appropriately. Video continues to be a trend because it continues to grow in performance and views. Are you more likely to read an eBook or watch a video? People like videos – if they are good, our video marketing cheat sheet is here. Like all marketing, you must develop a content strategy and a specific video marketing strategy. Are you going to create ‘How to’ videos, share customer testimonials, share specific insights to and points-of-view to guide your customers? These are all important factors to consider when developing an organized video content program.
Trend 3 – Voice Search Content
First, voice search is now 2nd to conventional search at 45.3% with smartphones and voice assistants like Google Home and Alexa. Anvil has been offering voice search as a service for years, we even have a free eBook about it here. Is your content optimized for voice search? For now, a majority of voice search is focused on local search which is important for the brick-and-mortar locations. If you do not have a brick-and-mortar location, how do you solve your customers problems? Creating a FAQ for your brand, products and services and then creating a podcast or video that answer the FAQs is a great way for potential customers to discover your brand.
Trend 4 – Visual Search Content
Is your content searchable visually? It will need to be in the near future. Currently, 32.9% of online searches were using image recognition tools – visual search. The next phase of SEO and optimization will be the race for image recognition rankings and it will be important to prepare your content for visual search as the landscape of SEO continues to evolve.
What is visual search? Visual search uses artificial intelligence (AI) to understand the context and content of images searched and related results are listed. Right now, Google and Amazon are the main visual search engines but Microsoft and other retailers are quickly adapting. Pinterest has created Pinterest Lens as is an early industry leader in the category of visual search.
Trend 5 – TikTok
TikTok is a trend that companies are starting to wield as an effective content marketing tool. TikTok allows brands to connect with consumers to build a community and blend into the culture of their lives. If Gen Z is your target audience, your customers will expect to engage your brand on TikTok.
To engage our content marketing team email us, mike@anvilmedia.com