Content marketing is one of the most effective strategic marketing approaches.

It requires an understanding of different content types and how best to utilise them to develop meaningful interactions with your audience by sharing content that captivates and retains their interest.

When we think of content marketing, social media posts, videos, and blogs are some of the online material that comes to mind.

While creating content is important; the context that the content will be used in should always be front of mind.

It is not enough to create videos, blogs or social media posts for the sake of having content; a strategy and actionable goals must support the creative process.

Content marketing has changed significantly over the past few years and will continue to do so in the years ahead.

This means that marketers must pay attention to content marketing trends to stay connected to their audience and drive even more engagement.

We’ve enlisted the help of our Senior Market Development Specialist – Digital, Joel Nomdarkham, in sharing some of the content marketing trends that he believes businesses should pay attention to for 2021.

Webinars and video conferencing will continue to boom.

In 2020, we witnessed an explosion in webinars, live videos and video conferences. Popular video conferencing software platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting and Skype for Business, allow businesses to connect with their audience for small or large meetings. Each platform has its own set of features, so companies can choose one best suited for their goals.

Joel’s comment on this trend and why it’s effective: “The massive growth in virtual meeting spaces was not surprising. What was fascinating was how quickly it happened. This will continue to grow and be welcomed as the new alternative for meetings, conferences, webinars and life events (weddings, graduations, funerals, etc.).

As things ease back into ‘normalcy’, I believe there will continue to be a virtual arm of events in the coming years. There may even be the rise of new products and services to fit this – I am certain that as a result of using these platforms, product sales for ring lights and other mobile peripherals went up.”

More businesses will include personalised content in their content strategy.

The consumer journey is evolving, as such creativity, timing, context and looking at ways to remarket content are important. With many businesses transferring their sales activities online, the competition is still strong.

However, by providing personalised content, you can stay ahead of the competition. Personalised content allows you to give your audience additional value that is related to their interests.

Since personalisation involves using (customer’s) data, you can create campaigns that target their spending habits, priorities, interests, and concerns, and it will help you to know what content is relevant to them.

Joel on how it can help businesses: “More personalised content will be essential. With the emergence of a more digital society, online users have also grown into digital fatigue – as such, if a piece of content is not relevant to them it may be immediately discarded.  People also want to feel valued and every piece of promotion should be intentional and targeted.”

Businesses may try a multi-marketing approach.

Technology is constantly changing, and with it, the creation of a myriad of platforms that can help with engagement, audience retention, targeting and sales. Some of the popular platforms currently used include websites (more recently, e-commerce), email and social media channels.

These platforms have been utilised in a multi-marketing approach that includes targeted campaigns that underscore the goals of an overarching content strategy. By using cross-marketing tools, you can publish on several platforms and monitor outcomes.

This approach can help with identifying and analysing multiple buyer journeys. Since you are assessing data across multiple channels, it helps you to become better organised as well. Another positive is that you can collect more customer data that you can use to adjust or improve your content strategy.

Joel’s comment: “Getting prospects through the funnel will remain a very critical part of the marketing and sales ecosystem. Taking it a step further stresses on the importance of understanding your target audience and where to find them.

Potential clients consume content in many ways and across various platforms. A multi-market approach provides an opportunity to not miss out on any potential lead, by showing up across social and digital via display/social media ads and other means.  Finding the power in the different lead generation tools will be key in 2021.”

More companies will encourage staff engagement.

A lot of the people that are in your audience crave interaction with your brand. If your content is filled with products and services, without any real engagement, you could lose some of them. Your audience wants to feel like they are interacting with people, so show them your brand personality.

Companies that show off their work-culture on social media have a stronger following and more engagement because the content is relatable and relevant. Allow your staff to add their voice to what makes your business unique. From writing blogs about hobbies to developing thought leadership among some of your star employees, you will be surprised at how much it connects you to your audience.

Joel on why this trend works: “Employee engagement has always been a pivotal part of a brand’s social media presence. 2020 showed how important building and highlighting the work community is and this trend will continue into 2021.

Adding that human aspect of the brand can be supported with how employees are highlighted and celebrated. It’s also a magnet to attract new talents, as they get to see what the work culture is like and the benefits. Potential clients are also interested to know the people behind the business and an active employee branding strategy can help to drive this degree of attraction.”

User-Generated Content still has clout.

Celebrities, experts, and influencers are some of the people that can generate content for your brand with positive results. With user-generated content, you can also make some of your customers into advocates of your brand. Two key things to keep in mind – an understanding of how you can collaborate to accomplish your brand’s goals and the platform that is right for using that content.

User-generated content allows you to build community, engage with your audience more intimately, and it can attract new people to your business if the engagement is positive. Companies with big budgets will continue to tap into user-generated content because its value to their brand’s visibility. This doesn’t mean that smaller budgets will suffer. Get to know your audience. There are experts among them and talented content creators, who love your brand and want to share their ideas with you. Engage them.

Joel on why this is still important: “UGC is a cornerstone of online engagement. It facilitates the creation of original and authentic content, which continues to prove super valuable. Not everything needs to be polished and well-edited, as there is magic in when your own community generate content for your brand. This allows for your brand advocates to share elements of your organisation with their network and community – a lot of which can be gained PR value.  The only way to facilitate an effective UCG strategy is through continuous engagement and incentivising of your community.”

There are many other content marketing trends that will emerge over the next few months. We hope that you will use some of the ideas shared here to plan a successful content marketing strategy.

If you enjoyed this article, check out our other business stories for tips, information on Yello products and services and more!

Sources: Wordstream, Convince and Convert, Marketing Insider Group, Joel Nomdarkham and Sprout Social.