Five content marketing trends to watch out for in 2022

Content marketing strategies depend on various factors such as industry, product type or service and business goals. By focusing on these five content marketing trends, marketers should be able to rise above these changes:

1. Move toward more empathetic content marketing

Recent world events have forced marketers to take a different approach and put customers at the center of their marketing strategies and work outward from there. Empathy on a personal level requires life from another perspective, and empathetic marketing takes it one step further still.

Marketers must first conceptualize the world through their customers’ eyes, then use their findings to create an appropriate content strategy that meets their needs. Speak to your target audience as humans and not just potential buyers. You may want to answer the following questions when building out your strategy:

• Who are our customers?

• What challenges and pain points do they have?

• What motivates them to take action?

These answers will help with tailoring content that evokes relatable emotions to their struggles, which in turn builds trust, creates better customer experience (CX) and develops more authentic relationships.

2. Focus on a better content experience

CX is the driving force behind successful digital marketing strategies today. And it’s no secret that consumer preferences change – whether through search content type or presentation format of that content.

Stay up to date with customer needs and wants to create a greater all-around experience. Create a unique narrative and use it across the board to provide engaging, consistent messaging.

In 2022, content marketing trends are moving toward more cohesive structures in writing and format – tying each part with the overall overarching purpose. But access to this data means marketing departments must spend more time during the research, planning and implementation phases to ensure an effective strategy. But what does this mean for businesses?

Being part of your customers’ world through content requires more interactions or visits, and boosting your brand’s overall image and customer loyalty. It’s about taking the time to dig into their pain points and providing the right solution for their needs.

3. Optimize your visual content

Blog posts continue to attract target audiences, but text content alone no longer suffices. Combining various content types across marketing channels will optimize CX further.

Well-designed visual content can increase customer interaction and move prospective consumers further along the buyer journey more quickly. One form we see being used more often is infographics.

Graphic representations of valuable data and information are a great way to introduce digestible content for customers who don’t want to spend time reading a full blog – which is especially true for target audiences that learn visually.

4. Create targeted video short-form content

Why does video resonate so much with consumers? When done correctly, video creates a deeper connection by capturing a customer’s attention more readily. There is more accessibility to the relevant tools than ever, and video production is becoming less intimidating and easier to incorporate into content marketing strategies.

As people develop shorter attention spans with less time on their hands, getting to the point as quickly and efficiently as possible wins as a strategy. Short-form video content allows information to be passed in an easily understandable way as consumers can make decisions in less time.

This demand has given rise to more specialized video scriptwriters becoming available as content writers, as they have realized the need and have adapted.

5. Personalization and hyper-personalization approaches

In email marketing, we see the customization of messages and information to generate leads and improve engagement. As customers experience this standard personalization, brands are increasingly seeking out the best ways to demonstrate their understanding of an individual’s buying journey.

But what is hyper-personalization?

It goes deeper than just calling a customer by name, but taps into individual preferences, wants and needs. It is a data-driven marketing approach that utilizes data, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to create unique interactions with customers. Marketers can consider the persona of each of their buyers and cater content toward certain products, marketing channels and language.

A great example of this is Netflix’s movie/show recommendations based on your recent viewing history. Or maybe Spotify’s yearly review of the genres, artists and songs you listened to the most – which they then share with users, and also provide specifically curated playlists for the individual.

Content marketing trends at Digital Ethos

New and increasingly unique content marketing trends continue to gain traction in 2022, which is why staying alert to their potential can make a huge difference in how you research your current or potential customers. We’re the UK’s fastest-growing digital marketing agency and we can help you convert through content.

Contact us for strategic creativity to deliver you a tailored marketing strategy to help your business thrive in an ever-changing digital world.