What are the best content marketing strategies?
1. The rise of conversational marketing.
Conversational marketing has garnered a lot of attention in recent months. It is already intruding into content plans and sales strategies across industries. But what is conversational marketing?
In a nutshell, these are real-time conversations that move a potential customer forward through a sales funnel. Think of your two-week email trip condensed into a single chat.
The power of the robot
So how does conversational marketing relate to content marketing? A bot is a tool that you can use to include conversational marketing in your content strategy.
Accenture found that 57% of businesses recognize that chatbots can offer a significant return on investment with minimal effort.
Think of your robot as a more advanced search bar. Un chatbot software has numerous advantages, including the ability to identify keywords and direct users to the content they need. It's your index on the site and a fantastic tool for content distribution.
Mongodb.com does it perfectly with its chatbot. They offer a selection of content from the first contact and if you have not found what you are looking for, you can search for it in the chatbot.
Be fun with your robot
Chances are, your website visitors know they're talking to a chatbot. Don't let that discourage them.
Play with the language you use and the robot's answers. Play on the fact that they are talking to a machine and let your spirit shine. It's a great way to show off the personality of your brand. Even if a person has not spoken directly to a sales representative, they can have a pleasant experience interacting with a member of your “team.”
2. Design and visual data.
How do you turn your content into an experience? With visual data. Writing facts is great, but when you visualize them, they can have an even greater impact.
This year, we predict that brands will become more knowledgeable with their data and how they display it. Spotify made a fantastic example of this., concluding 2019 with shareable Instagram stories. In 2020, we'll start to see brands using infographic templates to display content in a more innovative and visual way, or create their own designs.
3. Implementation of interactive content.
Echoing points 1 and 2, the interactive content highlights the need for overconsumption of experiences. We no longer expect to see a one-way B2C street. If you want to build relationships, you need to have conversations, not just talk and hope to be listened to.
In 2020, we expect brands to incorporate innovative ways to connect with people. Brands are creating their own quizzes with online survey tools, will create fun landing pages and gamify the consumer journey.
Additionally, LeadQuizzes offers a multitude of free quiz templates that allow you to quickly create professional quizzes for your audience.
4. A digital detox cure with Social.
The year 2019 saw giants like Apple and microsoft Give us a much needed opportunity to limit our screen time.
As ironic as it may be, we use technology to limit our use of technology, it's the perfect example of demand always staying in the hands of the consumer. If Apple hadn't done it, someone else would have done it. What does that mean for your social media marketing plan?
Thoughtful content.
The year 2020 will see a push towards thoughtful content. We can't rely on sunsets and cats to sell our products anymore; even though cats, to a certain extent, will still do quite well. Brands will now need to be more attentive to people's time, even if it's a two-second scroll on an Instagram feed. We'll see a push for educational content, thoughtful messages, and reminders to avoid screens.
Say goodbye to the vanity metric.
The future will bring with it theeradication of vanity measures, on numerous social platforms. We'll start to see social media giants like Instagram and Twitter focus less on “likes” and “followers” and push more on authentic engagements.
Let these milestones influence the content you post on your own social media channels. More importantly, consider changing your goals for social media platforms. You'll need to start looking for goals that show you're actually engaging with people rather than winning a double-tap.
5. Brand avatar integration.
We played with it a lot in 2019, we had the Lil Miquela boom with 1.8 million Instagram followers and even an appearance in a Calvin Klein ad with Bella Hadid.
We've also seen Wendy's dominate Fortnite with its “Keeping Fortnite Fresh” campaign, which saw a 119% increase in mentions of the brand name on social media.
However, all of this is only the tip of the iceberg. We expect to see brands incorporate brand avatars into their content marketing strategies throughout 2020.
While the characters don't have to be as complex as Lil Miquela's, they can certainly be a notch above the Microsoft trombone.
6. CSR initiatives under green pressure.
There is one thing that almost all of us have agreed on in recent years. We need to do something for this planet. It's not only the consumer's problem, but it's also up to brands to lead by example. Sustainability is at the top of most companies' operational initiatives for 2020.
You will also need to incorporate an ecological initiative into your content strategies. Whether it's educational content or tracking your business efforts, expect to be met with consumer wrath if you don't highlight your efforts.
In fact, around 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions (OneCowork). If you're not actively taking care of the planet, expect to be questioned.
7. Metamorphic design and educational content.
Increasingly aware of their impact on the environment, people are making more thoughtful purchasing decisions. This leads them to not always want to switch to a new product, but to improve the current product they have. We'll see this trend extend to SaaS businesses as well. Look at what you have now, listen to consumers' needs, and update what's already in their hands.
Educational content.
You will need to integrate content from discovery of functionalities in your 2020 content plans. Imagine a user manual, divided into small pieces and distributed throughout the customer lifecycle.
Like game loading screens, adopt innovative, non-invasive ways to present your product at times that don't interrupt a person's day but benefit them.
8. Real online communities.
Community is a powerful and often overused word. A community is not a collection of people if they do nothing but use the product. A community is autonomous and comes together around the mutual love of something. If that something is your product, then you are already out on a winner.
What you need to do is find original and authentic ways to unite your community. Whether you're doing it through co-constructed content, supply and demand content, or niche content specific to a certain cohort in your community, you'll need to do it thoughtfully and authentically.
Make your community as responsible for the success of your brand as you are.
Create authentic communities.
In a recent interview First Round had with Bailey Richardson, former Community manager from Instagram, he said: “The missing ingredient in many emerging communities is dedication.
We organize one-off events or annual fundraisers, but we don't give potential community members the opportunity to keep showing up or to raise their hands to take responsibility (FirstRound).”
In your content marketing strategy for 2020, seek to truly develop your community and connections with others, give them platforms to connect to and content to connect to.
Even more, devote regular effort to them, allow them to build something to support your brand, and let them hold each other accountable for their presence.
9. The growth of influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing is expected to strengthen in 2020. We'll see more authentic relationships between brands and influencers. How? That depends on you. Travel and fashion influencer Emily (@Empirestyleofmind) recently collaborated with Fair Seas Supply Co to create a new product with them (a beach towel named: The Boca Grande).
For your own content marketing plan, think about unique and authentic ways for your brand to partner with an influencer. Don't just try to tap into their audience, but also their passion, and they'll be all the more motivated to make your product a success.
Micro-influencers are here to stay.
Micro-influencers established themselves in 2019 and will continue to do so in 2020. When it comes to micro-influencers, turn to people who have between 5 and 20,000 followers, those who are less likely to get paid work but who still create quality content.
Studies show that 72% of respondents prefer micro-influencers on social networks, with 68% saying that they made a purchase based on a post from an influencer without celebrities (Global Newswire). It is these micro-influencers who inspire trust, and sometimes even more so than influencers with a large number of followers.
So, if you're looking to get started in a specific market, consider approaching 10 to 15 micro-influencers within that market rather than just one giant.
10. Voice search is the new search.
Voice aids like Alexa and Siri are going to be used more and more in 2020 as people look for other ways to search for information, without referring to a screen.
It is expected that 50% of ALL searches will be done by voice in 2020 (WordStream). This is essential for your SEO content marketing strategy, it has never been more important to rank and get those important snippets of text that voice assistants can read.
11. Podcasts are worth listening to.
There are currently 700,000 active podcasts in the world and the episodes represent over 29 million! Don't let these numbers discourage you, but let them convince you that this is the right place.
The average listener listens to seven different programs per week and has, on average, a completion rate of 80%, which is one of the best completion rates of any consumer media.
According to forecasts, the audience for podcasts will only increase in 2020 and there is plenty of space in the market for new brands to arrive and find ways to connect with an untapped audience.
First of all, you need to know How to start a podcast before you can decide if you have the ability to incorporate one into your own content marketing strategy.
However, if you do, your listeners are statistically more likely to follow your brand on social media and to discover your product in a home environment, which means they have time to do their research.
Podcasts go against the grain, they're not there to disrupt someone's day. We don't send people into an unintended YouTube media spiral via a social media message. Nor are we fighting to get their attention from their inbox.
On the contrary, listeners have taken the time to listen to your content, they are engaged and ready to listen. Find your niche, talk about it in an interesting way, and reach a multitude of new people organically.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these 2020 content marketing trends will help you influence your own content marketing strategies.
The year promises to be an important one for content, as we seek to gamify customer data and journeys, create authentic connections, and perhaps rebuild old ones. This will help us eradicate the vanity measures that so many people have been pursuing for too long.
It's time to enter the new year with an omnichannel, progressive, and planned content marketing strategy well in advance.
Recommended reading: If you want to take the next step in your content strategy, check out my guides on creating a blog And on the best blog platforms to be used this year.
