Secrets for Staying Ahead of Emerging Content Marketing Trends

Whether you’re new to the world of marketing or have been around to witness the volatility for yourself, you’ll know all too well just how hard it is to keep up with the trends. The digital marketing landscape is always changing, constantly evolving and throwing a spanner in the works. It’s up to marketers to find innovative ways to stay relevant and up-to-date with current and emerging trends. It really is sink or swim!

Luckily, we’ve conducted a bit of research to help you make sure your content is always relevant, engaging and trending. It’s all about giving the viewers what they want, where they want it, and in a way that they’ll appreciate.

Sounds easy enough, right?

No?

That’s what we thought.

That’s why we’ve written this blog on the best kept secrets on how to stay ahead of those ever-changing content marketing trends. Let’s jump straight in!

9 secrets to help you stay ahead of content marketing trends

Follow industry and thought leaders

When it comes to marketing, a popular piece of advice is to learn from the best. These industry experts have a huge role to play in shaping the digital marketing landscape. We highly recommend seeing what these experts have to say through their blogs, podcasts and emails.

Make sure that these individuals have an established reputation, and that they specialize in digital marketing. If you sign up for their newsletters, it’s a great way to receive regular updates on insights, and current and emerging trends. Some great examples of industry leaders in the marketing world are HubSpot, ContentBot and Neil Patel’s blog.

Stay informed and up-to-date

One of the best ways to stay on top of trends is to keep an eye on industry publications. These are often related articles, reports and PDFs to communicate the latest trends and research from data and various studies.

It’s important to know that the best marketers tend to make use of lifelong learning in order to become experts in their fields. For this reason, it’s important to take part in online courses to further your knowledge base and skill set. Take advantage of webinars and workshops to make sure you are always developing expertise in your field. Sites like eMarketer, Digital Marketing Institute, and Content Marketing Institute provide regular updates on marketing-related topics.

Attend industry conferences and events

Networking is a valuable asset for every marketer. It’s important to make connections with industry professionals. These events pave the way for quality education, while serving as a source of inspiration. They often include workshops provided by industry experts who wish to share the latest trends and insights.

Industry events offer a great opportunity to make a name for yourself and your brand, and to establish connections within your industry. Organizations that are known for hosting popular events are HubSpot and Content Marketing World.

Join online communities

One of the best and easiest ways to make connections with other marketers is through online communities. Make use of group chats, Twitter trends and chat rooms to keep up with current trends and opinions periods. Try to take it a step further than merely being a member of these groups. Try to engage with other members as much as possible by sharing posts and opinions and asking questions where possible.

These communities offer great insight and even motivation. They’re also a great opportunity to share your knowledge and work while gaining inspiration from others. Popular online communities for marketers include Quora and LinkedIn.

Use social media

These days, social media has become a part of our everyday routines. Rather than using your profile to follow the hottest celebrities and latest fad diets, why not use it to further your career and as a source of knowledge?

Make sure to take advantage of the different social media channels to get the best out of this secret. Think of social media as a constant source of updates, tips and marketing trends. However, this is only if you follow thought leaders, industry experts and reputable agencies. Once you’ve hit follow, make sure to engage with their content on a regular basis.

Monitor changing algorithms

Search engines like Google and social media platforms like Facebook are regularly updating their algorithms to improve their results. If you want to continue ranking on these platforms, you’ll need to keep up to date with the seemingly ever-changing algorithms. This way, you’ll be able to update your strategies according to the new factors and requirements. You’ll also be able to adjust your SEO strategy accordingly, making sure you never fall behind. Great sources for keeping up with these ever-changing algorithms are the Moz blog and Search Engine Journal.

Keep an eye on competitors

If you’re not too sure what to do, then why not take a look at what the competition is doing? It could be a huge advantage to get an understanding of their strategies and marketing tactics. Try to find out more about their promotions, campaigns and methods. If anything, it will be a source of inspiration and help you stay ahead of the game.

You can also use analytics to help you dive deeper into their marketing. You’ll have access to figures such as their performance benchmarks and target keywords. This gives you an idea of how they plan on targeting the market, and what gaps they may have left for you to take advantage of.

Try and test strategies

As with most other industries, in marketing there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The best way to find which marketing strategy suits you is to try and test them for yourself.

For example, AI is becoming ever popular in the field of marketing. Companies are using it to create custom workflows, revolutionize the content creation process, and monitor and analyze marketing efforts. This way, marketing tactics achieve further reach and greater impact, while requiring less time and effort. This is drastically saving agencies time and resources, while giving them a competitive advantage to get their name on the map.

When testing various AI content automation tools, you’ll be able to adapt your strategy to incorporate this new technology

Use analytics

Analytics is one of the best ways to monitor current industry trends, while predicting those of the future. It gives you valuable insight into how your content is performing, showing you where to tweak your content and how.

Things like keyword research can now be performed in a fraction of the time thanks to AI analytics. These tools offer insight into search volume, keyword difficulty and even keyword gaps to show you where to focus your attention. You’ll be able to see which pages perform best, providing an opportunity to allocate resources in a way that ensures maximum ROI. If there was ever a prerequisite for becoming an industry leader, it would be tracking your marketing Analytics.

Here are 10 content marketing trends for 2023

(And the statistics to prove it)

Video content

91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool in 2023.
95% of marketers say video marketing helped increase brand awareness.
90% of marketers say video marketing helped in generating leads.
91% of people say they want to see more online videos from brands in 2023.

To read the full study, click here.

User-generated content

79% of people say user-generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions.
75% of people say that UGC makes content more authentic.
92% of consumers trust the reviews and recommendations shared by existing customers.

Upscaling personalization

80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences.
92% of marketers say consumers expect a personalized experience (13% more than 2019).
66% of consumers expect brands to understand their individual needs.

Voice searches

50% of US consumers use voice searches daily.
71% of consumers prefer voice searches over typing.
72% of US consumers engage with voice search through digital assistants (Siri, Alexa, etc)

Helpful, purposeful content

77% of consumers say they have stronger emotional bonds to Purpose-driven companies.
66% of consumers are willing to switch from a known brand to an unknown Purpose-driven brand.
64% of global consumers find brands that actively communicate their purpose more attractive.

Updating older content for SEO

Updating old blog posts can increase traffic to old posts by 106%.
94% of marketers repurpose their content.
42% of marketers say updating and repurposing existing content leads to successful campaigns.

Interactive marketing elements

90% of all information transmitted to the brain is visual.
70% of marketers agree that interactive content helps engage viewers.
88% of marketers say that interactive content helps differentiate their brand.

For more stats that will help you embrace interactive content, click here.

Influencers and social media

1 in 4 marketers are currently using influencer marketing in their strategies.
72% of Gen Z and Millennials follow influencers on social media.
50% of millennials trust product recommendations from influencers.

UX has never been more important

88% of consumers are less likely to return to a site with poor UX.
Businesses lose 35% of sales due to bad UX.
73% of U.S. consumers indicate customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions.

AI writers form part of every marketing team

52% of business leaders use AI content generation tools to assist their content marketing efforts.
AI usage is projected to grow 166% in three years for the marketing industry.
84% of marketers believe that AI is more important than any other technology.

Key points to remember…

The digital marketing landscape is never stagnant. It is always evolving, sometimes at a rate that feels impossible to keep up with. There are ways to stay relevant in this fast-paced world.

Your content needs to be engaging and relevant for the current trends if you want viewers to take you seriously, and if you want to compete with the vast amounts of content that’s posted every day. Try to repurpose older content to make sure it’s always up-to-date, and try to use interactive elements where possible.

Remember, there is no one-size-fits all strategy when it comes to content marketing. While some strategies sound enticing and worthwhile, there’s no way to tell which one will work for you and your brand until you test them for yourself. Only then will you find out which strategy will help you take your marketing strategy to the next.

Above all else, one thing is abundantly clear – AI content automation is here to stay. It’s being used to completely redefine the content creation process of agencies, and plays a huge role across all marketing channels. If you want to give your competitors a run for their money and show you’re ready to embrace the technology, then it’s time to incorporate AI into your everyday operations.

Have you tried using AI to elevate your content marketing? If so, let us know about your experiences in the comments section!

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Lauren Meyer

Lauren is a Content Marketer who values research and providing value for her readers. When she's not working on a blog post or marketing campaign, you'll find her outside with her dogs or curled up with a good book.