What Content Marketing Trends Have You Embraced Recently?

What Content Marketing Trends Have You Embraced Recently?

To help you stay ahead in content marketing, we asked CEOs and CMOs for their experiences. From comparing time-to-value with everyday activities to creating in-depth, value-driven content, here are nine ways these leaders are incorporating trends into their strategies.

• Compare Time-to-Value with Everyday Activities
• Emphasize Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness
• Leverage AI for Content Optimization
• Feature Target Accounts in Content
• Focus on Emotionally Engaging Visuals
• Integrate Interactive Content for Engagement
• Utilize Virtual Tours for Property Showcases
• Adopt a Video-First Content Strategy
• Create In-Depth, Value-Driven Content

Compare Time-to-Value with Everyday Activities

Something that I've liked doing lately is comparing the time taken to do something with one of our products or site offerings to an everyday activity. We've got a fairly successful campaign going now where we compare our product demo to making a bag of popcorn in the microwave—both things take 3 minutes. I find that this adds a good sense of time-to-value derived from that time, and it helps to put something familiar against the backdrop of something more complicated like our hybrid workforce management solutions.

Emphasize Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness

Lately, I've gone all-in on E-E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). It's not just a buzzword; it's the backbone of my content strategy now.

Why? Because it resonates with both search engines and my audience. By crafting content that showcases expertise, establishes authority, and builds trust, I'm not just ranking higher in search results; I'm attracting a loyal following who values my insights and recommendations.

It's like building a reputation as the go-to expert in your field. When people trust you, they're more likely to listen to what you have to say, engage with your content, and, ultimately, become loyal customers or clients.

Leverage AI for Content Optimization

One content marketing trend I've embraced recently is the use of AI-powered tools for content creation and optimization. This trend has significantly impacted my strategy by enhancing both efficiency and effectiveness in delivering high-quality content. Incorporating AI allows me to generate data-driven insights quickly, which helps in creating content that resonates more deeply with my target audience.

For example, by leveraging AI tools, I've been able to analyze large volumes of data to identify trending topics and keywords, leading to more relevant and engaging content. This shift not only saves time but also ensures that the content is optimized for search engines from the get-go. A specific instance was when I used an AI tool to revamp a client's blog strategy. We saw a 30% increase in organic traffic within three months, simply by aligning content with AI-suggested topics and keywords. This approach has proven to be a game-changer, enabling a more streamlined and impactful content marketing strategy.

Feature Target Accounts in Content

At Apicbase, we recently started covering target accounts in the content that we publish. We either ask them to be featured on a podcast episode, or we do an interview which we will then cover in one or more blog posts.

It's a perfect way to get exposure inside the company that you're trying to sell to, and the interview itself gives you a way to qualify the account and discover if there are actually needs that can be solved with your solution, all without being salesy at all.

It allows you to get people at target accounts to talk about your brand because these articles and podcasts are usually shared internally.

Pro tip: To make sure they're getting shared internally, also get in touch with the HR, Marketing, and PR people working at that company. They love to spread the word about the coverage the company or that person that was interviewed is getting.

Focus on Emotionally Engaging Visuals

One of the biggest challenges in content marketing is having a clear understanding of how people connect emotionally with a product based on its visual presentation online. Nowadays, it’s less about the product itself and more about what feelings are evoked that inspire a purchase, trial of a service, or desire to learn more.

Instead of focusing on videos that decrease viewership past the ten-second mark, we’ve focused on motion graphics that engage and look like existing content that people are willing to click on and engage with. By shifting our strategy to short, easily-digestible content, we’ve successfully created better connections with our target audiences and guided them through the customer journey.

Integrate Interactive Content for Engagement

One content marketing trend I've embraced recently at Rail-Trip Strategies is the integration of interactive content into our strategy. This trend includes quizzes, polls, interactive infographics, and other engaging formats that require active participation from the audience. The shift from passive to interactive content has significantly impacted our strategy by enhancing user engagement and providing deeper insights into our audience's preferences and behaviors.

Interactive content stands out in a crowded digital landscape because it offers a personalized and engaging experience. For instance, we developed a series of quizzes related to our clients' industries, such as 'Which Digital Marketing Strategy Suits Your Business Best?' These quizzes not only attracted high participation rates but also kept users on our site longer, reducing bounce rates and increasing overall engagement.

The immediate benefit we observed was a substantial increase in user interaction. Our interactive content pieces consistently outperformed traditional blog posts in terms of engagement metrics. Users spent more time on our site, and we saw higher social media shares and comments. This boost in engagement helped us build a stronger connection with our audience and encouraged more repeat visits.

Another significant impact of embracing interactive content was the quality of data we gathered. Each interaction provided us with valuable insights into our audience's interests, preferences, and pain points. For example, the responses from our quizzes highlighted specific areas where our audience needed more information or support. This data allowed us to tailor our future content more precisely, addressing the exact needs and questions of our audience.

Moreover, interactive content has proven to be a powerful lead-generation tool. By gating certain interactive elements, such as detailed results or additional resources, we were able to capture leads more effectively. Users were willing to provide their contact information in exchange for personalized insights or valuable resources, leading to an increase in our email list and potential customer base.

Incorporating interactive content has also positively influenced our SEO strategy. The increased user engagement signals to search engines that our site provides valuable and relevant content, which has helped improve our search rankings.

Utilize Virtual Tours for Property Showcases

Virtual tours are 360-degree interactive videos that allow potential buyers to virtually view a property from the comfort of their own home. This has greatly impacted my strategy as it allows me to reach a wider audience and showcase properties in a more engaging way. Rather than just posting static images or descriptions of properties, I can now provide a full-immersive experience for potential buyers.

Virtual tours also save time and resources as they eliminate the need for physical open houses and multiple property visits. This not only makes the process more convenient for buyers but also helps me as an agent to be more efficient with my time.

Furthermore, virtual tours also add a level of transparency to the buying process. Buyers can see every aspect of a property and get a more accurate representation, which helps to build trust between myself and potential clients. Overall, incorporating virtual tours into my content marketing strategy has been a game-changer. It has allowed me to stand out in a competitive market, reach a larger audience, save time and resources, and build trust with potential buyers.

Adopt a Video-First Content Strategy

One content marketing trend we've fully embraced recently is the video-first approach. We start by creating video content, which we then repurpose into various formats such as blog posts, social media snippets, and even podcasts. This approach not only caters to the growing demand for video content but also maximizes our content's reach and engagement across different platforms. Starting with video allows us to create almost any type of content from there.

Additionally, we are strategically leveraging different AI tools. Emphasis on strategically. AI enables us to efficiently transcribe and edit videos, ensuring we consistently produce high-quality, versatile content. By strategically combining video with specific AI tools, our team can produce content faster while maintaining a consistent brand voice. This efficiency allows us to focus on adding the critical human touch and strategic context that AI can't replicate.

By offering this approach to clients, we reduce the time spent on approvals. Even when the videos are not always shared publicly, this method allows us to capture their brand more accurately and authentically.

Create In-Depth, Value-Driven Content

One content marketing trend we've embraced recently is the shift towards creating more long-form, in-depth content that focuses on providing real value rather than just surface-level information. This approach aligns with the growing demand for high-quality, authoritative content that not only answers users' queries but also positions our clients as thought leaders in their respective industries.

By investing in comprehensive guides, detailed case studies, and well-researched articles, we've been able to significantly enhance our content strategy. This shift has impacted our strategy by allowing us to target more competitive keywords, improve our search engine rankings, and drive more qualified traffic to our clients' websites.

The key to making this trend work has been a focus on depth and relevance. Instead of simply increasing word count, we ensure that every piece of content we produce is rich in actionable insights, backed by data, and addresses the specific pain points of our target audience. This not only helps in capturing the attention of search engines but also resonates more strongly with readers, leading to longer session durations and higher engagement rates.

Additionally, this trend has allowed us to create evergreen content that continues to generate traffic and leads over time, rather than content that quickly becomes outdated. The impact has been clear—our clients have seen sustained growth in organic traffic, better rankings for competitive keywords, and a higher return on investment from their content marketing efforts.

In embracing this trend, we've also incorporated multimedia elements like infographics, videos, and interactive content to enhance the user experience and make the content more engaging. This holistic approach to content marketing has strengthened our overall strategy, allowing us to deliver more value to our clients and achieve measurable results in terms of both traffic and conversions.