Can you believe how fast 2021 came and went? Neither can we!
We’ve been so busy as Australia has begun to reopen that we didn’t even notice these past few months flying by.
Yet, with the holiday season just around the corner, there’s still so much left for us to do! We’ve got to finish up our projects, send cards to our clients, buy gifts for our teams, arrange Christmas parties, set business goals for 2022 – the list goes on.
But if there’s one thing you can’t afford to let slide before finishing up this year, it’s planning your content marketing strategy for the next 12 months.
Here are the top content marketing trends for 2022 you need to know.
Prefer to listen, rather than read? Here's the Podcast summary!
Preparing your content market for 2022
It’s no secret that the marketing world is extremely fast-paced and ever-evolving.
Between:
the growing competition amongst brands
the changing expectations of customers and
the continual development of new innovations in the field
It can be difficult to try and keep up.
For your business to not only survive but thrive, you must ensure that you’re consistently adapting and adjusting your strategy to accommodate these changes in the market.
Now is the perfect time to identify the latest and upcoming trends that will shape your content marketing in 2022. By understanding what the marketing landscape will look like next year, you can plan to create more engaging content that will attract a greater audience and land more conversions for your organisation.
So, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 content marketing trends for 2022 that we believe will have the greatest impact, ensuring that your brand will not only stay relevant but stay well ahead of the game as well.
The top 10 content marketing trends of 2022
Check out our curated list of trends that will guide you in planning your content marketing, implementing new marketing initiatives and accomplishing more goals in 2022.
1. Content is (and always will be) king
You can’t have content marketing without content, right?
In 2022, content will continue to reign supreme. This comes as no surprise, as customers continue to search for information, entertainment and solutions to make their lives better.
Just remember, when creating content, the goal is not only to elicit a positive reaction from your audience, but to also offer them value and encourage them to engage with your brand.
HubSpot’s “Flywheel” model is a great tool to help you achieve this. Powered by the inbound content marketing methodology, the “Flywheel” model enables you to provide unique content and excellent service at each stage of the buying journey.
With this, you can convert more strangers into prospects, and more prospects into paying customers and loyal brand ambassadors.
Content will still be king. Why? Because your customers are demanding it every minute of every day.
2. Voice searches will surge
Did you know that approximately 7 out of 10 (71%) people prefer to use voice searches to conduct a query, rather than using the traditional method of typing? This change in the way people search for information online means that, as marketers, we have to adapt as well.
When using voice search, people tend to be much more detailed in their queries and speak with a natural flow. So, take advantage of long-tail keywords and well-constructed sentences when optimising your content for voice search.
For more on this, check out: What Is Voice Search Copywriting?
Voice search’s popularity has been stunted over the last two years, but now, it’s definitely on the rise.
3. Audio content will continue to gain momentum
According to HubSpot, around 43% of B2C and B2B marketers plan to increase their investment in podcasts in 2022.
Podcasts and other audio content are becoming increasingly popular nowadays. They offer great opportunities to share expertise and increase brand awareness. Audio content is also the perfect avenue to reach a wider market and connect with an audience that is seemingly always on the move.
At Melotti Media, we strategically utilise our Message Marketing Pod to get our brand message out there and deliver valuable, easy-to-consume insights for listeners everywhere.
Audio content will probably end up in the top content spot soon. Why? Because people love convenience and audio content can be listened to on the go!
4. Short-form videos will rule the digital space
HubSpot reports that 31% of global marketers invest in short-form video content and that 89% of them plan to continue investing in it in 2022.
With TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts dominating our social media use every day, it’s easy to see why. Short-form videos are quicker to create and edit, yet they can easily capture the limited attention span of our audiences.
Short-form videos are also preferred by Millennials and Gen Z, which make up a majority of our customers today. As a bonus, short-form videos also allow you to express your creative side without taking too much time away from more pressing tasks.
For more on this, check out: Radio and Video Script Writing
With attention spans decreasing and instant gratification on the rise, people are demanding shorter videos, faster.
5. SEO will remain crucial in strengthening a brand’s online presence
Search engine optimisation (SEO) will continue to be an effective way to make your content more discoverable in the online space in 2022. In fact, 70% of marketers believe that SEO is more effective than pay-per-click (PPC) advertising because of the amount of traffic it brings to your website.
To establish SEO authority, it’s important to:
add new content and new website pages
take advantage of link-building
refresh your old content
perform some “historical optimisation” – that is, repurposing old content into a new podcast, social media post or blog to make it more relevant to the current needs of your audience.
SEO will continue to be crucial in marketing going forward as brands that are found are the ones that are chosen!
6. More companies will practise CSR
People now consider Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as part of their criteria for trusting a brand. They prefer to associate with businesses that share the values that are most important to them.
As such, it’s essential for organisations like yours to be transparent with your CSR initiatives. Through your marketing, you can share the causes you support and empower more people in the community to take part. This will also help to enhance your brand’s image and capture a wider audience.
Remember, customers prefer to buy from brands they trust and relate to.
For more on this, check out: Corporate Social Responsibility Copywriting
Corporate Social Responsibility programs are becoming the norm in marketing today. Why? Again, because customers are expecting it and businesses are becoming more socially
aware of their impact.
7. Everyday customers are becoming the new influencers
Influencer marketing has always been an effective tool, and recent research found that 61% of B2C marketers will continue to invest in this type of marketing next year.
With their huge following, popular celebrities and personalities are often brand favourites when it comes to advertising – which means they work effectively in promotional campaigns.
However, 2022 will see more businesses begin to enlist the help of micro-influencers, or those with less than 100k followers. These micro-influencers are often average customers who use a brand’s products or services for organic reasons, such as fashion enthusiasts, fitness coaches, local painters and community food bloggers.
They are considered effective brand ambassadors because their audience sees their reviews as more genuine, relatable and trustworthy. As they represent the interests of ordinary customers, more people are beginning to look to them, rather than popular personalities that they struggle to relate to.
Influencers, or more specifically, micro-influencers, will become more prominent in advertising campaigns as it’s built on people’s need for reassurance and leadership when it comes
to brand choice.
8. Blogging will remain a top priority
Right?! The good old blog is here to stay!
While various types of content continue to emerge, blogging still remains the superior form of content marketing. In fact, HubSpot reported that most people still read blogs multiple times a week and many have actually purchased something from a brand after reading their blog.
Blogs are a terrific way to bring traffic to your site. Utilising blogs throughout each phase of the buyer’s journey enables you to educate, engage and land conversions. Providing value-adding and relevant insights can also help to establish yourself as a Key Opinion Leader (KOL).
At Melotti Media, blogging is a staple part of our content marketing strategy, as it allows us to rank higher on search engines, boosts our credibility and connects us with audiences like you!
Blogging still works incredibly well because, despite the popularity of shorter content, the majority of people will still invest time going into more detail when they find the right topics! Like this blog, of course!
9. Case studies will drive lead gathering strategies
HubSpot reports that 64% of marketers found case studies to be effective in earning excellent results, with 15% of them claiming that case studies brought about the biggest returns amongst all of their content.
Case studies provide customers with a complete overview of how your specific product or service can help them to solve their pain points, allowing you to capture their trust and address their objections. Positioning a case study as gated content can also help to gain more leads and potential conversions.
In 2022, more businesses are expected to utilise case studies as they help to establish credibility and distinguish their brand from the competition.
10. It’ll be a cookie-less world after all
Next year, we’ll all have to deal with the impact that comes with banning cookie trackers from web browsers.
There will be a scarcity of audience information, retarget marketing will be harder to implement and a shift from demographic to contextual marketing will also likely take place.
This doesn’t mean that your content marketing is doomed, though. To help you navigate the cookie-less future of marketing, we’ve prepared a list of tips that will help you succeed without third-party data.
The cookie-less future is upon us, and we need to be prepared now as marketers or be caught off-guard next year.
What 2022 Content Marketing Trends are you going to embrace?
Although we are aware of the marketing trends that are likely to have the biggest impact in 2022, we still cannot predict the future. However, these trends can still support you in making better decisions to solidify your marketing plans going forward.
They can also give you a good indication as to what to expect from your customers’ behaviours and external environment, making it easier to set the direction of your business.
So, are you ready to take your content marketing to the next level?
There’s no need to worry or stress as you try to plan for all these marketing trends on your own.
To help set you up for success, there are copywriting and marketing experts like our team at Melotti Media, who can guide you in applying the right content marketing strategies for your business.
How can Melotti Media help you?
We understand that you want to be fully equipped and prepared for marketing in 2022, and you want to achieve better results through quality content.
However, we also realise that you may find yourself time-poor and spread thin, or you still have a lot of unanswered questions.
That’s where we come in!
At Melotti Media, we can assist with all your message marketing and copywriting needs, while you focus on what matters most to you – growing your business!
Let’s start earning the results your business deserves!
To speak to your trusted message marketing copywriters, email us at enquire@melottimedia.com.au
We can sharpen your words to achieve your goals today!
