State of Content Marketing In 2021
Did Content Marketing flourish in 2021? Yes, and it continues to flourish for one simple reason- it is what people want. In 2021, people tended to steer clear of irrelevant content and products, no intrusive ads, banners, and popups, no clogging of inbox with spam. They wanted genuine, high-quality, and engaging content for products and services that are important and useful to them.
You might say, “Has that not been the trend always?” Yes, but hey! Never before has digital been such a competitive platform.
Today, brands cannot get away with deceptive content. Thanks to Google’s latest algorithm updates, the content has to be more original and authentic.
Let’s Recapitulate: What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing focuses on creating and publishing valuable content to attract the target audience and build sustainable brand communication. It is a great form of marketing through which the target audience is educated, their buying journey is made smoother, and finally, leads are generated to increase the customer base or generate sales.
The objective of content marketing is to educate and engage customers by providing them valuable information and building brand loyalty that influences their purchase decision.
When everything has become digital, and people tend to follow trends, read reviews and conduct detailed analysis before making any purchase, content marketing should be on the priority list of any business’s marketing strategy. Digital marketers have to know their competition and market trends really well. Also, they must be aware of what kind of content people are interested in and spending time on. Strategies that might have worked last year would not work today, so the content must be updated accordingly. Hiring a professional digital marketing or content marketing agency is the best idea to take care of your content marketing needs.
Marketing Stats that prove content marketing has evolved:
- Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing but generates three times more leads.
- Video and voice search has taken charge in 2021, overtaking blogs and infographics.
- Products that use content marketing have six times higher conversion rates than those that do not.
- About 70% of consumers tend to learn about a product by reading it rather than going by an ad.
- 51% of shoppers use Google to research a product.
- Content marketing has been extremely important by 60% of marketers.
- Analytics tools, email marketing software, and social media publishing are the leading technologies applied by B2B companies to supplement content marketing.
- 91% of the most successful business bloggers publish new content once per week, whereas 38% of marketers publish at least weekly.
Content Marketing trends in 2021
In earlier days, content meant posting 500 words, keyword-stuffed posts for generating traffic; however, in 2021, this does not work anymore. Now, content marketing is more about watching the trends than creating and sharing content. A simple 250-word post with required details and facts would do the trick that a heavily stuffed post won’t.
Does that mean that long posts don’t work anymore? Of course, they do! There’s nothing like one-stop articles that serve you everything you need on a platter.
Social Media:
Undoubtedly, social media still remains the most crucial platform for content distribution. Brands need to strategise their social media marketing well and deep-dive into analytics data to unearth actionable insights. Monitoring your content is essential for maintaining your marketing budget and ensuring the success of your campaign. Remember, the success of a post does not depend on the number of clicks and likes but engagement and conversion rates. The thumb rule remains unchanged.
Video and Live Streaming:
Video and voice streaming is one of the popular forms of content marketing. YouTube and Facebook videos are must-haves in this digital content marketing era. Going Live has become a crucial method to connect with your consumers.
According to a study by the Search Engine Journal, their Facebook Live posts delivered 178% higher than average engagement over regular posts. They increased referral traffic by 213% over the two months.
- Over 2 billion videos are watched a day on Twitter
- On average, there are 8 billion daily video views on Facebook.
- In 2021 Video accounts for an estimated 82% of consumer internet traffic.
- In comparison to texts and images, social videos generate 1200% more shares.
Both recorded and live streaming video is a primary marketing strategy in B2B and B2C setup. Without a doubt, the netizens love to watch these videos and connect with what you are selling.
The constant change in consumer behaviour is not only redefining the importance of content marketing but also proving the fact that ‘content still remains the king.’ It has evolved gradually and plays a key role in the marketing strategy of any successful business. One can rightly say that content has taken centre stage in 2021 and will continue to lead in the years to come.
