Year In Review: 4 Big Content Trends from 2023— and What They Mean for your Digital Marketing Strategy in 2024
Content marketing tactics are as ever-changing as consumer preferences.
Think back 30 years: effective marketing meant eye-catching billboards and prominent full-page newspaper ads. Today, those forms of marketing hardly make a dent in the consciousness of modern consumers. Instead, content marketing pivots towards a reader-focused approach, altering the way businesses engage with their audience.
The secret to captivating audiences and increasing conversions sounds deceptively simple: create content that genuinely resonates. It's about understanding the truths behind the sayings, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it,” and “people don’t want to be sold to, they want to buy.” This shift from traditional, hard-sell tactics to a strategy rooted in authenticity and connection is a game changer.
Keeping up with what constitutes 'good' content and how to effectively integrate it into marketing strategies can be challenging. This article is designed to demystify the process, shedding light on the most the relevant content marketing trends of 2023 and how they’ll inform an effective content marketing strategy for your brand in the coming year.
Know What Marketing Trends To Follow
Maybe you’ve seen Instagram posts that you don’t need to follow every marketing trend. That’s true, but how do you know what marketing trends to follow? This is an important decision that will save you time in your content creation process. So, I want to take a moment to briefly explain the difference between hopping on a fleeting trend and market trends.
Take, for instance, the Barbie-themed memes that went viral in summer 2023. These are typical internet trends: spontaneous, viral, but short-lived, thriving on immediate social media buzz and public interest in current pop culture.
In contrast, market trends are shaped by in-depth SEO analysis and customer behavior studies. They're like navigational tools guiding businesses through the complex consumer preference landscape. These trends emerge from thorough research and provide valuable insights into what consumers are searching for, their changing preferences, and how they engage with online content. This strategic approach helps businesses create long-term, effective marketing strategies that resonate with their audience.
While jumping on internet trends like Barbie memes can grab quick attention, they're transient — and you don’t need to hop on every one. Market trends, however, are the ones you need to pay attention to — even if you don’t act on it right way. Market research is about lasting impact, informing strategies that adapt to and anticipate evolving consumer needs for sustainable success.
2023 was the year that gave us Barbie memes…
And Girl Math…
But these type of internet trends aren’t carrying in 2024. Below are four market trends based on content marketing changes from 2023—and what they’ll mean for your 2024 content.
AI Content Marketing Is Here To Stay
What Happened: 2023 will be remembered as the year AI changed the internet. Since chat bot generators arrived on the scene early this year the conversation has shifted from, “AI is gonna take my job” to “How can AI help me get better at my job?”
How To Use It In 2024: Personalization. AI gives unprecedented insights into consumer behavior. For example, platforms like Amazon and Netflix are not shy about using AI to analyze user habits and provide personalized recommendations. Personalized, custom content based on a user's behavior is a new level of targeted marketing that small businesses can leverage too.
What It Means For You: No matter where you fall in the AI debate, one thing is for sure: AI can’t replace people in the writing process. Your input ultimately has the most influence on the output. 94.12% of the time, human-written content out performs AI-generated content. If anything, AI is a call to level up our ability to concisely communicate what we desire to say to our audience. Moreover, Google hates AI content and will penalize you for publishing spam if you don’t customize AI outputs. AI Prompts To Create Great Content.
#2. Instagram As A Search Engine
What Happened: Small accounts have more opportunity than ever to get visible on Instagram with SEO keywords. Keywords on Instagram have always been relevant (Hashtags have been a thing since 2010, and they still work). But the effort spent on keyword research is going further than before.
The 2023 Change: Previously post reach was primarily determined by the amount of engagement (likes, shares, saves, etc,) in the first hour it was shared. Now posts can get reach even after it’s been several days since you published, all thanks to a tactic once used to only rank content on Google.
What Does It Matter To You? When people interact with your content, instagram recommends your previous posts that they missed on their home feed. Why? Because of the right keywords.
How Does This Work In Your Real Life Marketing? When a user engages with a post that includes keywords mirroring those in previous posts from the same account, the algorithm is more likely to display it. This is because such interaction indicates the content is likely to be relevant and interesting to the user. How To Incorporate Instagram SEO in 2024.
#3. Insight, Not Information
What Happened: Information is cheap. With Google, AI, and no lack of posts to scroll, generic information is everywhere. The kicker: No one cares.
The 2023 Change: Previously, you could share straightforward facts and your audience would be grateful for the help Today, that same type of information is a dime a dozen. In fact, Google recently said it’s deprioritizing “How To” content in search rankings.
What Does It Matter To You? Your expert insight needs to shine through to stand out. Your view point, practical application, and the way of presenting information matter more for engagement than ever.
How Does This Work In Your Real Life Marketing? Ask yourself, how is the information applicable to my audience? How do I apply the info I’m sharing about? It’s not enough to say “berries are good for your health.” Instead, readers will crave real-world implementation, like “add a handful of berries to your yogurt to help stave off a winter cold.” Infuse Personality In Your Content.
#4. TikTokification
What Happened: TikTok has forever changed the way people consume content. And it’s not just about incorporating short form videos into your marketing plan.
The 2023 Change: Get to the point. It used to be that 2300-word blogs were the ones ranking at the top of Google. Then it became 1447-word articles. Now, it’s less than 1,000 words for most industries. Behavior trends tell us that shorter attention spans will demand more concise messaging.
How Does This Work In Your Real Life Marketing? Put the focus on snappy copywriting that is short while still painting a clear picture. That goes for blogs, posts, sales pages, emails and pretty much everything written world related. 10 Rules For Copywriting That Converts.
Content Marketing Updates for 2024
Email Marketing.
Clean up your email list and get a custom domain to avoid being marked as spam. Major email marketing compliance changes you can’t ignore: Steps to take before February 2024.
Instagram Lives.
Real time streaming has become an unexpected way to sell more. In 2023, the global live streaming market grew to $1.49 billion, up 20% from 2022. Viewers are joining lives to get to know their favorite accounts better, and to shop.
Podcasts.
Everyone and their mom seems to have a podcast, but listeners aren’t sad about it. While it might feel like an oversaturated market, more and more people are turning to podcasts to get the insights they want. In 2024, more companies are expected to podcast than to blog.
As we close out 2023, it's clear that it's been a year full of lessons in content marketing. We've seen firsthand how quickly consumer interests can shift and evolve. Moving into 2024, let's take these insights with us. Our goal? To craft a year where we're not just reacting to changes, but also planning ahead, making smart, informed choices that truly connect with our audience.
Here's to embracing 2024 with a strategy that's both thoughtful and forward-thinking. May it be a year where our marketing efforts are not only successful but also genuinely resonate with the people we're trying to reach. Cheers to a year of making meaningful connections through your content.
