It’s a thought that crosses everyone’s mind now and again: “is content marketing dead?” It’s not hard to see why that’s the general consensus for businesses and marketers. Influencers have swiftly taken over the landscape. What does content marketing mean anyway? If you don’t see any results, it must not be working, right?
A few nuggets of truth lie within these questions. Influencers have picked up steam, and it’s certainly more fashionable to work with them in some cases. If you don’t see any benefits from your content marketing, something’s gotta give. However, no results don’t mean it’s not working. It just means it’s time to make some changes to your content marketing system.
What is Content Marketing?
The main point of content marketing is to strategically create valuable content and share it across many platforms to retain customers.
A big reason why content marketing appears lifeless is that no one really knows what it is anymore. It’s often used as an umbrella term without any serious direction or know-how. Another large issue is that people haven’t adapted their marketing efforts to keep up with the changing industry.
Is Content Marketing Dead?
Quite the contrary. It’s still alive and well. Okay, maybe not “well,” but it’s certainly alive. The old ways of doing content marketing are dead, but not the practice itself.
It’s not enough to simply toss your content up on a blog and wait for followers. You need to make yourself known with a killer marketing strategy. You also need to adapt your business model to the whims of the industry. This means working with influencers, optimizing your content for the customer, and trying to land conversions.
On the whole, content marketing is changing, but it’s not dead. We’re not the only ones who think so, either. Wordstream published key statistics on why content marketing works and how many businesses implement it. Here are some highlights:
62 % – How much businesses save with content marketing over traditional methods
78% – The number of customers who relied on white papers before purchasing in the last year
38% – How much blog traffic comes in from compounded blog posts
What to Keep in Mind
When approaching your content marketing strategy, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
- Clickbait is out. No one ever really liked clickbait to begin with. That’s even truer now that social media platforms and Google have cracked down on fake news and overtly clickbait-y material. Customers appreciate value. Give them consistently good work and they’ll respect your company a lot more.
- Competition is heavy. It’s not news that there’s a lot of competition out there. It doesn’t help that an influx of content congests the market. That’s part of the reason content marketing is so hard. Your stuff needs to be top-notch, unique, and stand out.
- Content on its own isn’t enough. As we mentioned, what may have worked back in the day doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s not enough to publish a great piece and hope people flock to your site. You need to get out there and market your brand. Content is merely the first piece of the puzzle.
How to Upgrade Your Content Marketing
A telltale sign of poor marketing is a lack of results. Content marketing should drive site views and purchases. If it’s not doing either, you need to reevaluate. Below are a few steps to improve your efforts and stay on track with the rest of your competition.
If you’re looking for a way to update old content, but you don’t have time for that – book a call now and we will help you.
Focus on What Works for Your Brand
Thousands of advice blogs out there point you in different directions. It’s hard to sift through the noise and figure out what works for you.
But the most important thing to remember is that you don’t need to try something simply because an “expert” said you should. It’s all about what works for you and your brand, not what someone said should work.
Create Valuable Content
It’s reassuring to convince ourselves that our content is high-quality. But it doesn’t matter what we think. It matters what our clients think. If site visitors don’t spend more than a few seconds on your website, it’s not doing what it should.
Your content needs to surpass the competition. It’s a tall order. Don’t let the mission intimidate you; do your research and build content ten times better than the other guys.
While you’re building content, keep customers in mind. Structure your content around them. What do they want to see? What are their pain points?
Additionally, you can work your content around different platforms. For example, when someone clicks on your site from Google, they want an in-depth revelation into who you are and what you do.
However, keep things light and quick when you post on social media. People on social media don’t want to digest paragraphs of information.
Consider Strategic Partnerships
It’s true what people say nowadays: influencers have a dog in the marketing fight. If you partner with one of them to promote your brand, you could experience an influx of viewership and buyers.
Plus, influencers have a significant audience of their own. So, their viewers are more inclined to believe them over random advertisements/marketing from you.
Naturally, this isn’t the only partnership you can arrange. Plenty of hungry businesses look for similar opportunities, so it’s a good idea to look at your options there. Business partnerships can yield more website traffic, a higher volume of customers, and better domain authority.
Content Marketing Trends 2023
Despite what some people may say, content marketing is not dead – it’s just evolving. To stay ahead of the curve, you need to know what changes to expect in the coming year so that you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Here are four changes that you can expect to see in content marketing in 2022:
- More personalization: As technology advances, so does our ability to target and personalize content. In 2022, we can expect to see even more personalized content, particularly when it comes to video and email marketing.
- Greater use of AI: AI is already used in content marketing to help with target audience research and content creation. In 2022, we can expect to see even more AI-created content and more use of AI to help with things like distribution and promotion.
- More interactive content: Static content is becoming less and less popular as people are looking for more ways to interact with the brands they love. In 2022, we can expect more interactive content, such as quizzes, polls, and surveys.
- Increased focus on ROI: As the focus on ROI grows, so does the need for content that actually delivers results. In 2022, we can expect to see a greater focus on creating content that is measurable, and that drives conversions.
Content marketing is evolving, and to stay ahead of the curve, you need to be aware of the coming changes. In 2023, we can expect to see more personalization, greater use of AI, more interactive content, and increased focus on ROI. If you want your content marketing strategy to remain effective in the coming years, make sure that you consider these changes.
There is no One-size-fits-all Strategy in Content Marketing
To be successful in content marketing, you need to tailor your strategy to fit your audience and your goals. What works for one company might not work for another, and what works today may not work in five years.
The key to success is constantly evaluating and adapting your strategy as needed. Keep track of what’s working and what’s not, and make changes accordingly. And most importantly, always keep your audience in mind and create content they will find useful and interesting.
Neil Patel is a digital marketing expert and co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar, and Kissmetrics. He has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, and Entrepreneur Magazine, and he is widely considered to be one of the top experts in the field of online marketing. Here is what Neil says about the content marketing future:
“Content marketing isn’t going anywhere. It’s only going to become more important in the years to come. The key is constantly adapting your strategy and keeping up with the latest trends.” – Neil Patel.
Chris Walker is the CEO and Co-founder of Refine Labs, a company that helps businesses create and measure the impact of their content. Chris has been involved in content marketing for over ten years, and he has a lot of great insights to share on the subject.
Chris is a big believer in the power of content marketing, and he believes that it will continue to grow in importance over the next few years. He has over 110k followers on LinkedIn and a popular podcast. Many clients want to work with Chris because of his amazing podcast that proves his experience and expertise.
More personal approach to advertising
To create a more personal approach in advertising, it is important to understand your target audience. Who are they, and what do they want? Once you have a good understanding of your target audience, you can start creating content that is tailored specifically for them.
You also need to be genuine in your advertising. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be yourself, and let your personality shine through. People will respond better to genuine ads than to fake or forced ones.
Finally, make sure that your ads are relevant to your audience. Don’t bombard them with content that doesn’t interest them or apply to them. Keep things relevant, and you will see better results.
Conclusion
Before you ask yourself, “is content marketing dead?”, ask if your content marketing could use a facelift. There are plenty of things you can do to improve your marketing efforts. It all boils down to what works for you and your audience.
Of course, you could always turn to professionals. Not everyone has the time to juggle content marketing with a jam-packed schedule. Our team of dedicated content marketers can help you build a tailored ecosystem that works best for your company. Content marketing is still around, albeit in a different way. We can bring your strategy back to life.
David is the Founder and Director of article-writing.co, the fastest-growing content creation agency in North America. He has transformed companies by offering high-quality content that has impacted their SEO ranking, revitalized websites with engaging and industry-relevant blogs and website copy, and championed successful email campaign copy.
