“Mobile First” – As a constant companion, smartphones have become an integral part of everyday life. The 5 content marketing trends 2020 show the relevance of mobile communication channels for a more personal customer journey and faster interaction.
Digitization is on everyone’s lips and will continue to play a major role in the future. It will also find its way into the content marketing trends of 2021 and decisively influence the customer journey. Content marketing is primarily geared towards the smartphone.
The focus is on mobile-optimized content that defines the positioning of the brand and the interaction with users. Because what is increasingly important is the speed with which individualized and emotionally appealing content can be conveyed. Those who follow the content marketing trends of 2021 can continue to enjoy success in the industry.
Messenger Marketing: Faster, Easier & More Personal Content
Artificial intelligence in content marketing will also be at the forefront in 2021. Because they can not only analyze user behavior with ease. The cognitive computer system Watson from IBM recognizes language patterns and shows a deeper understanding of language. This enables natural and individual voice output. Thus, Watson is superior to other conventional AIs.
It’s not just artificial intelligence that is in the fast lane.
Data-driven marketing will become more and more relevant in the future. Through social media or messenger services, vast amounts of data are available that can and should be used strategically in content marketing by entrepreneurs. This enables the collection and analysis of user information, which allows conclusions to be drawn about the communication and can be used in a targeted manner.
What no company should do without is direct contact with users through messenger marketing. Up to 97% of users use WhatsApp for direct communication with relatives or friends, making other social media channels such as Facebook Messenger obsolete. A bribable reason to interact easily and directly with users. Where better to reach the target group with sophisticated content than in the places where they spend most of their free time? Messenger services are therefore ideal for understanding user behavior, wishes, and needs and offering individual content.
What makes messenger marketing particularly effective:
- Ideal for a “basic communication”
- The high degree of individualization and intimacy
- Creative & extraordinary call-to-action buttons, GIFs, pictures, and emojis
- Automated and fast interaction with chatbots possible
- Also picks up young target groups
This makes digital communication channels one of the leading strategies in content marketing 2021.
Facebook? Less Relevant For Young Target Groups In The Content Marketing Trends
Speaking of Facebook Messenger: Facebook will become less and less relevant for content marketing in 2021 to reach young target groups. Most companies still use Facebook as a communication platform and do not dare to outreach to other platforms. However, courage is required at this point.
Even if the user numbers say otherwise, Facebook is not number 1 among the young target group, at least in Germany. WhatsApp and Instagram are becoming more and more important; the number of active users increases. Therefore, the implementation of content marketing strategies should immediately be focused on these communication channels. But LinkedIn and Xing are also establishing themselves as direct bridges to young customers – and the trend is rising.
But that doesn’t mean that Facebook has to turn its back entirely. The communication platform is still suitable for reaching and addressing older groups of people with relevant content.
Voice Apps: Give Your Content A Voice
In the future, content marketing will not only take place on a written level. Voice assistants from Amazon or Google are more and more common in everyday life. The primary means of communication here is spoken language. To be able to position themselves and the brand for voice control as well, entrepreneurs should not do without voice content marketing.
Voice apps with which dialogues and functions can be integrated with the voice assistant are becoming increasingly popular. Here, text-to-speech technologies are used to convert text with natural sounding voices. Voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Assistant offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to come into direct contact with users under their brand names and to be present in the customer journey.
To offer quality and added value via voice apps, manufacturers should pay attention to the following steps:
- Search intentions of the target group identify: needs and desires of the users need to be understood, to be able to deliver customized content and meet the expectations.
- Define a few, but relevant, keywords: More words are generated verbally per minute than in writing. The use of filler words differentiates oral from written language, which is why companies should optimize their content to natural word combinations.
- Create language content or adapt existing content linguistically: content should always meet customer needs. If this is already guaranteed in the existing content formats, companies should check whether these are suitable for text-to-speech conversion. The content should not exceed two to three sentences or a maximum of 30 words.
- Implementing content technically: Depending on the frequency with which voice assistants are used by the target group, the available resources should be determined. Companies with limited capacities should deal with the speakable markup. If a lot of resources can be invested, companies should think about creating their voice apps.
Micro-Moments – Decision Moments
Reach the right person at the right time with the right statement – with every contact.
Do you know if you’re looking for an answer but just can’t find it? Then you grab your smartphone, your constant companion, and quickly google what you want to know.
The Micro-Moment is precisely in this decision-making process. The moment when companies and brands can get closer to the user. To fully exploit this potential for content marketing, the marketer needs to know the 4 types of Google Moments:
- I-want-to-know moments: a quick search for information on specific issues
- I-want-to-go moments: Find nearby places
- I-want-to-do moments: Finding short, simple solutions and help for a specific problem
- I-want-to-buy moments: the basis for making a purchase decision
The linear marketing funnel is turned upside down. The micro-moments are not about building trust with potential customers. The customer wants something – and he wants it right away. For marketers, this means that they have to prepare for a shorter journey with fewer touchpoints. It’s about fast, easy, and high-quality content. Entrepreneurs need to ask themselves: what can I do to get the best out of it? Am I present throughout the entire customer journey? Is my content optimized for these special moments?
Micro Influencer – Promising Content Marketing Trend Influencer
Marketing has been one of the most widely used marketing strategies for a larger reach for a few years. However, studies show that influencers with countless followers lose credibility – and are associated with high costs.
Since Instagram and YouTube remain relevant platforms in content marketing, the best way to reach users is still through influencers. The “ micro-influencers ” have far fewer subscribers. This has the advantage that they appear more authentic and credible because their reach is built up organically by family members, friends, or acquaintances. The existing relationship of trust is ideal for marketing experts in the future to position themselves through recommendations from the influencer.
- Micro-influencers have around 1,000 to 10,000 followers. Thus, they offer a denser target group for a specific topic. This enables companies to be addressed directly in a targeted manner.
- The lower the number of subscribers, the higher the engagement rate. This allows influencers to interact with users more often and more intensively. The prompt and friendly communication is ideal for a positive ” digital branding “.
- Micro-influencers convince with an authentic exchange on the brand if their content matches it.
Tip:
Marketers should make sure in advance that the brand is appealing to the influencer to implement the most natural-looking cooperation possible. If the influencer separates too much from the company’s goals, the inauthentic demeanor “scares” potential customers.
Conclusion: Mobile Optimization And Direct Communication As Clear Content Marketing Trends For 2021
The content marketing trends in 2021 indicate that marketing strategies should be adapted to the mobile use of potential customers and that developments should be constantly monitored. The sales funnel has become faster-paced which marketers need to prepare for. Because not only the customer journey is increasing in speed. Competing companies are also gaining speed. The presence on communication platforms will therefore be decisive to interact immediately and directly with users. Relevant, authentic content that emotionally takes the user away will continue to play a role.