5 Data-driven Content Strategy Predictions for 2023
More than half of 2023 is gone. Mad.
Yet, you still have enough time to develop your content strategy to fit 2023 needs. We are all aware that trends change fast. Nevertheless, some key moments will guide you in the coming year.
For instance, 67% of companies plan to increase their content marketing budgets in 2023. This way, they will be able to create a more thought-out strategy. Anyway, don’t get scared if you can’t afford to invest more in your marketing strategy.
In this article, we’ve gathered the top approaches that will dominate in content strategy in 2023. They are easy to implement and don’t require millions of dollars to get launched.
Contents
- 1. Re-think the content types you are using
- 2. Find your “why” behind the content strategy
- 3. Consider your tone of voice and message
- 4. Value customers’ time
- 5. Pay attention to search engine optimization
- Conclusion
1. Re-think the content types you are using
In one of our articles, we’ve broken down popular content types marketers use. Though trends change, the relevance of some types stays the same.
We’ve decided to take data from multiple sources to consider what content forms you should use in 2023.
Let’s start with the numbers presented by Statista.
According to a survey the company published in May 2022, 50% of respondents stated they produced educational content as part of their content marketing efforts.
At the same time, professionals agree that case studies are the most trusted sources for readers (60%). Also, highly-valued types are infographics (34%).
Besides, 95% of e-commerce respondents claim to use social media posts as a part of their content strategy (including UGC).
Springboard offers the following information about the content types used:
- 60% of professionals expect to see more podcasts,
- 48% of professionals expect to see more webinars,
- 49% of professionals expect to see fewer whitepapers.
Some changes may need your B2B content marketing strategy. According to Content Marketing Institute, here will be the most in-demand content types (the ones that showed the best results):
- 48% - research reports,
- 48% - short articles (less than 3,000 words),
- 47% - ebooks/white papers,
- 39% - case studies,
- 32% - long-form articles (over 3,000 words).
Of course, there are more content forms on this graph. For now, we decided to concentrate on written content.
Well, the situation with articles (or blog posts) is pretty clear. It has stayed one of the most popular content types B2B and B2C marketers use for years. As a result, they may cover almost any demand modern users can have.
Undoubtedly, you need to remember to provide only the highest quality articles to rank on SERP and hook readers. Here you can learn how to write top-class posts, and here you can order them to grow your blog.
The case of white papers might be a little bit more contradictory. As you can see, some sources report this type to be less popular, while others predict it to stay strong.
Our advice is to consider your operation model (B2B or B2C) and industry. If you work in the data-driven niche, white papers will continue to be in demand and effective.
All in all, when choosing any content time, remember about your audience, niche, and goals. These statistics and data may serve as guides. The core of your website content strategy should be based on your previous analytics and what works better for you.
Yet, if you have enough marketing budget for 2023, it’s never a bad idea to experiment and try new types like highly-popular podcasts or online courses.
2. Find your “why” behind the content strategy
With content marketing for companies, it’s usually not about what you like; it’s about what your customers enjoy. That said, with your content strategy, you need to cover all the “whys” your audience might have.
According to multiple professional sources, you should put educational and useful content first. Grow customers’ loyalty and brand awareness through content that gives value. Selling should become the last step of your interaction.
In 2023, asking yourself, “Why do we need to create this content?” becomes even more essential. That’s because users drown in the information.
Content Marketing Institute shares that for most B2B companies, three main “whys” are:
- creating content that appeals to different stages of the buyer’s journey,
- being specific about how what we do adds value.,
- providing educational & useful content.
The overall success map looks the following way.
Not surprisingly, content helps to achieve the same goals for B2C firms. So, according to Statista:
- 84% of marketers use content marketing to create brand awareness,
- 60% of marketers claimed to build loyalty as a result of content marketing efforts.
On top of that, 25% of companies used branded content to grow customers’ loyalty.
Understanding why you create content in the first place will help you achieve better results. There are various content forms you can use to reach your goal. Yet, we believe storytelling will gain momentum.
It will help you to “humanize” your brand, show its values, people who stand behind it, or what causes it supports. We’ve already covered what brand storytelling is. So, you are welcome to check the article to learn why your company should use it.
3. Consider your tone of voice and message
When building a content strategy plan, think of what you say. Once again, people are overwhelmed with the number of content that exists in the digital world.
Your goal is to stand out and offer customers exactly what they want.
Each year, it becomes harder to communicate your brand to the audience. Yet, the key is to segment your audience correctly and make use of upcoming trends.
First of all, remember that a pandemic has changed our lives. Its impact will be palpable in the next few years, that’s for sure. What has it taught us? Well, to be more empathetic.
Industry professionals report having better response and engagement rates when their content has shown more compassion and support to consumers. So, shift focus to customers’ struggles, achievements, or aspirations.
Also, remember that you are dealing with different generations. And the way they perceive content from age group to age group. Thus, different reasons stand behind why people shop or find content.
Check WordStream’s report on what makes each generation unique.
At the same time, there is Gen Z that drastically changes from other generations. They are super-aware of socially important matters, care about the environment and climate change, and are 100% digital generation.
Anyway, even if you know all the generations’ peculiarities well, don’t go too hard on them. For example, do not overstuff your texts with slang. It’s amazing that you know how youngsters communicate. Yet, too many trendy words may scare off customers rather than attract them.
So, when building a site or blog content strategy in 2023, remember that you are appealing to real people.
Take into account what influence the pandemic had on us, and consider what is important for every generation’s representatives.
4. Value customers’ time
57% of those working in e-commerce report using personalized content. This way, you show that you value your clients’ time and know what’s vital for them.
As we all know, the attention span is getting shorter. Now it’s eight seconds only. That’s, on average, all you have to do is engage people.
So, get to the point straight away. Ensure your title exactly represents what’s inside the article. This way, if you promised to tell about how to pick the right educational toys for kids, do exactly what you stated.
That refers to any other blog or site and content you publish there. Yet, another vital thing that influences the effectiveness of your interaction is a consideration span.
The point is that we still watch episode after episode on our favorite streaming services. And it may take hours. In this case, the attention span lasts pretty long. So, why should content differ?
Your goal is to hook the reader from the very first sentence to fit in the consideration span. Thus, you need to get creative with your introduction to engage people and make them continue reading.
Once again, the previous points will help you form your content strategy, pick content types and tone of voice to fit your audience’s needs. That will allow you to deliver exactly the type of content readers want to see.
5. Pay attention to search engine optimization
Your content creation strategy in 2023 must have an SEO touch. The thing is, no matter how good your texts are, they won’t rank high without SEO. And ranking is essential nowadays.
Why is it so?
Well, according to one study, 95% of the traffic stays on the first search engine result page. But that’s not all. Search Engine Journal provides further information on CTR on that page. In fact, the first result gets 28.5% more clicks!
So, it’s pretty clear that your goal is to rank as high as possible. Here are some options that can help you do this. And a worthy SEO content strategy is one of them.
Rank high on Google thanks to quality backlinks. Order now!
With this in mind, apply the best SEO copywriting practices. That means you have to create content with both readers and search engines in mind. To do this, you need to:
- Optimize keywords
- Get creative with a title tag
- Work on meta descriptions
- Don’t forget about the headers
- Concentrate on content quality
- Use visual content
- Employ internal links
Thanks to this, you can create content that Google will assume top-class and relatable one.
Conclusion
Years change, bringing new trends and challenges. And 2023 won’t be any different.
Marketers still have lots of things to consider. It might be pandemic influence causing a 17.5% increase in engagement with reports compared to 9.5% in pre-pandemic times. Or it might be the fact that Gen Z has grown up and now is a part of the capable of paying population.
That said, this content marketing strategy guide comes in handy when you think of how to arrange your content for 2023.
Think wisely of what content to use to better communicate with your audience. Remember that now you have to provide not only quality and unique content. It also should be clear, empathetic, “human,” helpful, and problem-solving.
What expectations do you have? How 2023 is going to turn out, in your opinion? Share your comments down below!
