The saying that “Content is King,” is undeniably still true in 2021. In fact, it may be truer than ever. Thanks to both the pandemic and the advancement of technology, content has become a more vital part of the ‘buyer journey.’ And so, it’s valuable to look at your content marketing strategies, to see if they match up with new trends, this year.

 

1. Video Marketing is Shifting towards Live.

 

 

Video content is still, without a doubt, a staple of content marketing. But thanks to social isolation and increased dependence on live-streaming technologies, the buying public’s interest is shifting towards video content that is streamed live, in which they can interact. And, with nearly a full year of lock-downs and digital dependance, it’s likely that these new habits will persist, long after the virus has moved on. Video marketing activities like webinars will likely increase in popularity, but you’ll have to find new and creative approaches to compete for attention in a growing field of competition.

 

2. Quality of Content Experience is Growing in Importance.

 

 

Having great content is important. But how you deliver that content to your audience can be a real game changer. Formats like blogs and podcasts are still useful. But if you’re looking for better engagement and conversion rates, you need to go interactive. Interactive content is also good for collecting more data, and increasing brand loyalty. Some examples of simple interactive content are quizzes and surveys. But, depending on your industry, there’s a wide variety of interactive options out there.

 

3. Content Marketing Will Be More Product and Service Centric.

 

 

In 2021, businesses and their marketing departments are on a tighter funding leash, thanks to the financial hardships of 2020. With less money, you can expect content marketing to be more zeroed-in on the specific product or service that is being sold, rather than previous trends of baiting closer to the top of the funnel. While the whole buyer journey is still important, less resources simply means a tighter focus on the end game.

 

4. Stay the Course with SEO.

 

 

SEO has long been a central theme in content marketing. Making sure that your potential customers find you first in a long list of search engine results is a very important step in closing sales. But you already knew that. What may be an eye opener is the gradual shift towards long-tailed keywords in your SEO. Long-tailed keywords are longer (and consequently much more specific) phrases than customers usually use for a general search. And there are a couple of reasons for this shift. First, human speech patterns tend to use longer and more specific phrases. And, with the growth in popularity of home AI devices and google voice searches, these sorts of keywords are on the rise. Secondly, as a potential customer nears the end of his buyer journey, he tends to already know what he’s looking for. That means he’s more likely to use longer and more precise language in his searches. So, don’t forget to add long-tailed keywords for your SEO.

 

5. Recycling Content for Multi-Channel Marketing

 

 

Stretching the value of your content has always been a good idea. But now, with businesses everywhere in a tight financial position, getting the biggest bang for your buck is paramount. So, if you have a webinar or other online event, get as much as you can for it. Use that content as a foundation for blog posts, a podcast, infographics, email outreach and more. You’ll be surprised how much you can get out of one big event.

So, in 2021, you can expect more and more of your content marketing to shift toward interactive and live events. And it’s definitely going to be about a quality experience. And, if you’re like most other businesses with a tight budget this year, you can expect to be focused more on the specific product and closing the sale, than on the upper part of the funnel.

 

 

Best Regards,
Chau Lim
Email: chau@virtualdonewell.com
Phone: +61 413 981 888