The difference between Content and Content Marketing is the destination
According to Josh Steimle, Entrepreneur, digital marketing firm MWI, content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – to drive profitable customer action.
Content marketing strategies can be the use of infographics, videos, books and podcasts. These strategies in collaboration with content marketing services help to reach the target audience and help the business to make informed decisions. As everything shifted online in 2020 due to COVID, according to a survey conducted by a global survey of over 25,000 people by Kantar (a global insights and data consultancy), it was demonstrated that people did not mind being marketed to during this time, but what they want is for you to ‘talk about how your brand is helpful in the new everyday life’ (77%). While the critical concepts of content marketing were applied, they became more pertinent now as the virus changed the way we internet. More than ever, the content produced is required to be valuable, relevant and fill a gap while providing a human connection.
According to HubSpot academy, 70% of the marketers, in 2021, were willing to invest in a content marketing team and according to a B2B content marketing report, there was only 2% of shrinkage in content marketing teams due to the pandemic. Such is the impact created by content marketing and is set to grow multifold.
In 2021, content marketing services has help in building strategies like content-driven personalization, streaming of video content, and maintaining multi-channel marketing for better returns. Whilst entering 2022, this strategy will be key in understanding and analyzing the target audience.
But with the gradual entry in 2022, content marketing strategies will play a vital role in understanding and analyzing the market, which will pave the way for the new year’s content marketing plan of an organization.
Which Content Marketing Trends Need To Be Keenly Followed In 2022?
1. Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing is a customer-centric and dialogue-driven approach to marketing. It has become the go-to strategy for driving customer engagement, improving customer experience, and growing revenue.
For instance, companies under health care should look at the earliest investment in conversational marketing. Understanding and clarifying increasing fear and doubt with a two-way conversation will help bridge the gap between the brand and their customers. The way of conversational marketing enables the customers to get immediate redressal and is proven to be the fastest and most efficient way to market in today’s world.
Over the last year, content marketing services have enabled 67% of global consumers to have an interaction with a chatbot. Of which, 76% of consumers expressed their desire to purchase by messaging with the business. Thus, content marketing strategy became a driving factor for the brands to invest in AI. This helped in a better customer experience as 80% of the customers didn’t want to wait for a response. This method enables a simple, streamlined, and convenient sales method to both the customer and the business.
2. Live stream shopping
In the recent past, strategies like the live stream concept were purely used by influencers and content creators on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc. However, now even live stream shopping is an upcoming trend that incorporates content marketing services to generate sales. This is a common practice in China today.
It might be relatively new in some countries like India today, but 1/3rd of China’s population uses live stream shopping to showcase food, beauty products, fashion, and apparel, to name a few on the list.
3. Voice searching
Voice search is the future of content marketing as it is the medium through which 55% of teenagers are surfing the internet today. For instance, Google assistance is alerted when you use the phrase ‘OK Google’.
In 2022, voice searching is expected to grow up to $40 billion. A contactless way of surfing the internet, voice search has become a very popular and safer way of finding information. Businesses who want to benefit from local optimized SEO should enquire with their content marketing services agency and take complete charge of voice searching as it will be a blockbuster trend in 2022 to boost local business.
4. Push notifications
Have you ever entered a website and have seen a drop-down that reads – “Allow this site to send you notifications?” That is one of the many types of push notifications.
The push notification is a content marketing strategy that enables the business to drive potential sales by displaying attractive and personalized offers and deals available on the website.
There are a few ways in which a push notification can be used to optimize sales in 2022. A valuable method to promote sales is to overlay the notification on the main screen, delay the notification for the customers to read the website’s content before they are presented with the notification and personalize it to hit the bull’s eye. This is the most common way in which this strategy is used by content marketing services to help businesses. According to singlegrain.com, 54% of users convert from a segmented push notification to only 15% for broadcast messages (a 3x improvement).
5. Creating Interactive Content
Interactive content enables businesses to provide value to the end customers. Creative interactive content provides several strategies to interact with the audience and give them content to consume.
Interactive content can be curated with the help of webinars, surveys and polls, assessments, interactive emails, quizzes interactive and more. This leads to social perspective sharing, knowing of the buyer’s persona and qualifying the personas. The interactive and fun content in any form is likely to get more shares when compared to others, and it can even convert your audience into customers. When you get the correct type of engagement, you’ll be able to achieve your business goals with ease. Such strategies are provided and implemented to the businesses with the help of content marketing services providers like Vajra Global Consulting Services LLP.
“Content marketing is the gap between what brands produce and what consumers actually want.”
Case study 1: CarDekho
Among the many big names like Le15 patisserie, Swiggy and Zomato, who have been evolving their business models and content marketing strategies to sustain the business during the ups and downs of Covid – 19, CarDekho has used its strategies to cater to the needs of the new normal with the help of technology while having a robust strategy to overcome the hurdles of the pandemic (especially the second wave).
Gaurav Mehta, Chief Marketing Officer, CarDekho, Mehta said, “It’s a story of two phases. April-Sep 2020 was more intensive and entailed longer hours as the challenges were new, complex and WFH was a new phenomenon. The 2nd phase (last 6 months) has seen the more focused deployment of time with shorter meetings that are agenda-led. Preparation was also better with a mental toolkit for problem-solving that took more time during the 1st lockdown.”
When the cases started rising again, Mehta knew it was time to take a step back, recalibrate the situation and be there for its consumers by shifting its marketing gears. So, CarDekho launched a campaign in April that aimed to create a safe driving environment for senior citizens as they go out to get their vaccines.
Mehta used advertising tools to help out India in times of need by running TV campaigns, ‘the everyday hero’ showing how a vehicle keeps a frontline worker safe as he answers a call on duty while providing peace to his family members. CarDekho also came up with the ‘E for elderly’ initiative, (similar to L for learners) on their cars to denote that the elderly are driving. The campaign was targeted at all eligible drivers, urging extra caution while driving close to a car with an ‘E’ symbol on it which has been embraced broadly. They have also digitized a number of physical touchpoints (Car inspection from home) to make sure that our users don’t have to venture out of their homes.
By stepping in at the right time, and running TV campaigns along with other initiatives while adhering to the current situation in the outer world, CarDekho was seen to strategize and use the advertisement resources smartly which not only helped with the marketing of the brand but also helped the nation as a whole.
Case study 2: TEDx
TEDx is a platform for global conferences where authors, experts and other leaders deliver a talk about various kinds of thought-provoking ideas. On their YouTube page, they have over 20 million subscribers. The reason that TEDx does so well is that they have committed to creating “ideas worth spreading” which serves as their content marketing strategy.
So how did the TEDx videos trend? Firstly, they have been bringing speakers with truly engaging ideas. TEDx was initially an invitation-only conference. As against, focusing on strategies like SEO or market research, they focused on finding and creating world-class content they thought people would love. Hence, their 15 – minute video of someone talking their hearts out on a stage became such a global sensation.
Finding world-class thinkers to help contribute to TEDx’s content was the strategy that worked the best for them. In addition, TED realized the importance of free content and how it could positively impact its brand. They started by releasing just six talks in June of 2006 and by September, they reached one million views: After noticing how valuable free content was, they began simulcasting (broadcasting simultaneously) the spring conference. By 2009, it had over 100 million views. In the fall of 2012, TED Talks celebrated its one billionth video view – with an average of 17 new page views per second worldwide. Like TED, any company can use the help of strategies to reach higher growth rates with the returns on investments and end sales the tool provides if used smartly!
“Market like the year you are in.”
Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO and Cofounder of VaynerMedia
Conclusion
The upcoming year of 2022 will bring with it some unique challenges for marketers. Amidst all the trends coming up in 2022, some will persist! Keeping in mind all the trends, businesses need to strategize optimally for some robust results in 2022. These trendsetters mentioned through the blog, will help the business scale up and make smarter, calculated moves in the upcoming year. Connect with us for some out-of-the-box thinking. Beat competition with smart content and sensitive messaging.
