Content marketing is an ever-changing practice with new methods and trends coming into and out of favor all the time. If you’re using content marketing to market your printable, digital, or POD products, then it’s a must to stay on top of what’s trending because in many cases, that will also be what’s most effective and impactful.
As we close in on the end of the year, here are some of the most popular trends plus some predictions about where we think content marketing is headed—and tips for how you can capitalize on the latest trends.
Trend: The Continued Rise of Generative AI
Let’s start with the trend that everybody seems to be talking about: the rise of generative AI. ChatGPT has been dominating headlines in 2023, and that trend is something that will continue for the foreseeable future.
People are using generative AI to create and edit images, brainstorm ideas, and write product descriptions and other content. There’s still a need for the human element. For example, some of the content generated by AI may not be up to date and accurate, and some images may be a little weird, for lack of a better word. That said, we expect more people to be using generative AI in their marketing going forward.
Trend: Visual Marketing Content is Key
The trend toward visual marketing is undeniable. While there will always be a need for in-depth written content, in the world of digital marketing there’s a preference for visual content that includes both short and in-depth videos, infographics, and images.
Videos continue to be the most popular form of visual marketing content, so it makes sense to add product videos to your Etsy listings and be active on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to capitalize on the demand for videos.
Trend: Fun Content
The demand for fun content has risen in recent years and online sellers and brands are scrambling to create the type of marketing content that will please their target audience. Some examples of fun content include memes, short videos, animations, games, and jokes.
If you create and sell digital content and printables, there are lots of ways to incorporate fun into your content marketing. You could create memes using your digital products, make short videos showing funny ways to use them, and so on.
Trend: Social Commerce
One of the biggest and most impactful trends in content marketing is the rise in social commerce, something that allows online sellers to reach their customers on social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Opening a store on any of these sites can make it easy for your followers to buy your products as soon as they see your ad or post. Your customers won’t need to navigate away—they can simply click to buy. That makes social commerce a terrific way to increase your sales without putting in a lot of extra work.
Prediction: The Need to Rise Above AI
We’ve talked about AI, but there’s a flip side to the rapid increase in the use of generative AI. While AI can create solid content, it’s going to raise the bar for content marketing. By that, we mean that since everyone can access it, there’s likely to be an increase in quality that will make it increasingly difficult to differentiate one brand from another.
The key is going to be rising above the level of most AI-generated content to offer something that’s excellent and unique. For example, you’ll need fresh ideas, original voices, excellent resources, and authoritative takes on subjects related to your brand. Why? Because if your content isn’t any better than what AI can create, it’s going to fade into the woodwork.
Prediction: SEO Will Be Challenged by AI
Another way that AI will impact content marketing is that it may take a bite out of search engine optimization (SEO) as more web users turn to AI for answers instead of doing a Google search to find what they need.
It’s going to be increasingly important to be smart about SEO, answering user questions and optimizing content to make sure that those who do use Google and other search engines can still find your content and products. Keyword research is necessary because you’ll need to be sure that your product listings are tailored to your audience and that your audience can find your online store.
Prediction: Shrinking Attention Spans
The attention span and the demand for long-form content have both been shrinking. If you’re like most people, you spend a lot of time watching short-form videos and scrolling Instagram and you may not have the time or patience to watch a five or 10-minute video.
It’s essential to be able to grab people’s attention quickly and give them what they want before they lose interest. We think that short videos, infographics, and memes are going to be more popular than ever and not using them would be a mistake.
Tips for Content Marketing
Here are some tips to help you navigate the content marketing trends we’ve listed here and prepare for the predictions we’ve made.
1. Think of AI as a tool. One of the most important things you can do is to think of AI as a tool to help you create content, not as a content creator in and of itself. There’s still a need for human creativity and contributions. In fact, those things are what will help you stand out from your competitors.
2. Keep your audience in mind. You’ll need to stay on top of what your target audience needs and be sure that your content marketing is giving it to them. In other words, you’ll need to be agile to avoid falling behind.
3. Embrace new technologies and trends. You may wish that things would stay the same, but there are few things changing more rapidly than the digital marketing landscape. You’ll get the best results if you stay open to new ideas and willing to embrace modern tools and technologies.
The bottom line is that content marketing is always changing and being aware of trends (and able to make predictions) will minimize the chances that you’ll get outpaced by your competitors.
Do you need help creating content for your marketing campaigns? Check out Content Profit Hacks, your guide to creating winning content with tons of tips, tricks, and over-the-shoulder videos to help you become a content creation master.
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