Do you want to create content that converts and build your brand in 2020? Then get your hands on the big content marketing trends.
In this article, we will discuss the top content marketing trends that will be evolving in 2020 and the years to come. Check out which ones are right for you-
The 8 vital trends are:
- Content Marketing Plan/Strategy
- Authentic Content Creation
- Voice Control and Voice-navigated Search
- Being Concise
- Interactive Content
- Automated Content Analysis
- Content Marketing Strategy Powered by AI
- Being Daring
1. A Solid Content Marketing Plan/Strategy
Did you know that
more than 60% of businesses don’t have a content marketing plan/strategy?
That means that the majority of businesses are creating content without a clear strategy in mind. If you are one of those businesses, you’re in dangerous territory, because you run the risk of creating content that does not align with your business goals and brand values.
As content creation is becoming a key component of marketing efforts, creating a solid plan/strategy is more than a trend but rather a necessity.
2. Authentic Content Creation
Authentic content is here to stay.
Clickbait tactics are on the way out. The content that you create must be relevant, original, and useful. No more copying content and “tweaking” after copying/pasting.
Consumers and key decision-makers are becoming more adept at recognizing and avoiding clickbait. Thus, those tricky approaches are not sustainable, but just a cheap way to get ahead for a short period of time.
By creating authentic content, you will look better in your audience’s eyes by showing your respect for their time, attention, and problems.
3. Voice Control and Voice-navigated Search
Google’s CEO Sunda Pichai announced that voice searches make up
20% of all mobile queries? That was a few years ago. Now, that number has even been estimated to be close to 50%. The times they are a-changing.
What does this mean for content marketers? Well, eventually, the content will shift to resemble how we speak and adapt to natural language searches.
Google has recently introduced a major search engine update called BERT, which builds on the technology that allows for finding better search results for natural questions. We use the same technology at NEURO FLASH btw. and it is very powerful.
Image from: https://www.blog.google/products/search/search-language-understanding-bert/
Overtime, content marketing will begin to resemble speech rather than formal writing. Also, content will be optimized to answer the questions that readers are searching for.
Furthermore, a Q&A format which is done in Google via “cards” will also become even more popular. This is integrated into the website’s backend via a
schema mark-up with the following outcome:
Also check out this video for optimizing your content for voice search:
4. Be Concise
Remember that authenticity is one of the top goals of content marketing. In order to do that, you have to be concise. Don’t take forever to say what you have to say. Respect the audience’s time and be direct with what you have to get across. Fortunately, writing concisely is easy.
After all, you will benefit from it. How? First, attention is short, so if you get your point across quickly, chances are you will make an impact on the audience. Second, in the digital world, there is a lot of competition and distractions, so getting your message out efficiently is key.
5. Interactive Content
How can you get more engagement with your content? Make it interactive. One way to think about the possibilities is by seeing how other popular brands treat interactive marketing.
Interactive content isn’t just virtual reality, it is gamification, quizzes, user-generated content. The advantages of interactive, digital campaigns include positive brand experience, personalization, higher social engagement, and higher conversion. So, why not give it a try?
6. Automated Content Analysis
According to
Forbes, artificial intelligence is going to be one of the biggest game-changers of content marketing. Why? AI provides a lot of data about the audience, including their preferences, interests, and perceptions. Ultimately this allows you to build more powerful content.
AI can also be used to perform automated content analysis. Sourcing billions of data points in the open-source web, AI can analyze your content based on your brand goals. Since the data points come from real people, this is, in essence, a shortcut for performing market research.
An Example of How to Optimize Content Using AI
For example, take a look at the title for this blog post “Content Marketing Trends Evolving in 2020” and consider the verb evolve. Why did we use evolving and not use emerging in the title, instead? We used evolving because, according to our AI-based
Claim Tester, evolve is a word that’s more in line with our brand values (creative, efficient, positive).
We can use AI to quantify which words are best, this ultimately improves your content. Automated AI analysis isn’t just for single words but also for longer bodies of text.
Want to try optimizing your content using AI? We’re offering a free 3-Day trial to our FLASH AI.
7. Content Marketing Strategy Powered by AI
Did you know that machine learning and artificial intelligence are used by Google’s Knowledge Graph for determining rankings? This means that AI and machine learning are being used in order to be able to deliver search results that match web users’ needs and intentions.
Thus, content marketers should ensure that readers can easily and quickly find the content that they are looking for. This means that user experience is another key element of success. All the details matter. Including the meta description, keywords, layout, and call to action buttons.
AI is also getting better at identifying plagiarized content and can deduce whether you have authority in your domain. For example, it can punish your ranking when you write about medicine without being an authority in the field.
8. Be Daring
Lastly, 2020 is all about starting something new. It is after all the start of a new decade. So, don’t be scared of trying and exploring new content forms. Be daring. Expand into more content formats, you’ll ultimately end up reaching a much wider audience.
If you are predominantly creating long-form content, venture into the land of social media and try shorter formats.
If you are mostly into writing content, why not try to create videos or podcasts, instead?
If you have a lot of manual content creation and a lot of manual answering of questions, consider using a chatbot.
If you are mostly into Twitter and Facebook, why not venture out into the world of YouTube?
5 billion videos are viewed on Youtube daily, when you use the right keywords, you’ll be seen as well.
Remember, one of the keys to a successful content marketing strategy is the willingness to try new things and see how it goes. This couldn’t be more of a trend in 2020 as many different forms of content creation are becoming popular.
Conclusion: Identify Content Marketing Trends to Work on
These trends are bound to define 2020 and the coming years. One of the things about being a content marketer is trying out new things and seeing if they work. With this list of 2020 trends, you can identify areas that you are strong in and areas that you can explore.
How much these trends will stick around, only time will tell. Some trends will probably become a necessity like setting up a content marketing strategy/plan. So all the best for this year.
