Top 10 Content Marketing Trends for 2023

Like everything else in the business world, content marketing constantly evolves. As trends come and go or transform into best practices, you need to stay up to speed with what’s popular to stand out from the competition, especially in today’s digital landscape. In this guide, we’ll be breaking down which major trends to look for in 2023, so you can stay ahead of the curve. 

1. Video and Interactive Content 

Video is here to stay! TikTok dominated the scene in 2020, driving the world into well-curated algorithmic bliss (plus a few unexpected dance trends). In July 2021, Instagram’s answer to its mighty competitor was incentivizing its creators with bonuses for published video content instead of still images. This has changed consumer behavior, with audiences now primed to watch their favorite brands and creators publish catchy video content. 

Interactive content is a staple in a good marketing strategy. Everything from Instagram polls to giveaways to newsletter subscribers can help increase your engagement and build a loyal following. What this means for your static content is that you should find ways to infuse it with elements of interactivity, like video embedding or calls to action. 

2. Democratization of Design 

With the widespread success of user-friendly creation tools like Canva, graphic design is more accessible and easier to use than ever before. Even those who don’t consider themselves designers can create stunning designs from pre-made templates. Issuu empowers users to take their content even further once created. In addition to seamless integrations with Canva and InDesign, built-in features like Articles and Social Posts offer ways to generate complementary assets without having to do any extra work. 2023 is your year if you want to create aesthetically pleasing content for every platform. 

3. AI and Automation

Our reliance on automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is ever-increasing and projected to keep growing. From editing tools like Grammarly to chatbots like ChatFuel, companies of all sizes and industries are embracing AI marketing tools. Automation is increasing with AMP builders and autocomplete features in tools like Google Docs, and this trend will only keep growing from here. This kind of smart technology helps companies automate their decisions, saving valuable time for strategy, team-building, and innovative growth-hacking sessions.

4. Reliance on Data

Since the shift towards short-form content like videos and the trend towards automation, content marketing is evolving like never before towards data and innovation. Being able to read your data will help you improve content quarter-over-quarter by learning from the ways your content performs across platforms. Since there’s so much content and continuously-optimizing algorithms to compete with, this will be an important year for tools to help content marketers understand their performance and make data-driven decisions.  

5. eCommerce Continues to Evolve

A report by Morgan Stanley estimates that eCommerce could be responsible for 31% of all retail sales in the U.S. by 2026. This trend doesn’t only speak to eCommerce websites; social media commerce like Instagram Shopping, as well as live events like Posh Shows on Poshmark and The Drop on Amazon, have helped prime audiences to shop across multiple platforms. Time-limited releases and restricted-access promotions create a sense of urgency with consumers to drive sales to greater heights. If you’re a brand that sells a product or service and hasn’t yet built out your eCommerce strategy, there’s never been a better time to get started and expand your digital sales or publish shoppable catalogs. 

6. Blogging and Long-Form Content

Blogs and long-form content will be significant in 2023. As a content marketing tool, longer content is invaluable as a passive way to drive more traffic through SEO optimization and high-quality research. Reports, whitepapers, and long-form articles have the biggest impact. Researching and writing will take more time, but the results speak for themselves. In a 2021 report from Content Marketing Institute, 48% of respondents said that research reports delivered the best results in their marketing efforts. Creators should aim to build a library of evergreen content in these formats. The investment is small compared to the potential return through curious traffic landing on your content and diving into your products and services. 

7. Humanization of Brands

The last decade has shifted from glossy advertisements and formal language in marketing materials to a warmer, more conversational tone. Each year, marketing moves further away from the one-way communication style content has had in the past and aims to invite its consumers to a conversation. Simply put: brands are becoming more human.

Somewhere between optimizing AI and getting lost in the metaverse, we expect an element of humanity from our content marketing. For years, we’ve seen this on Twitter, with brands like Wendy’s getting sassy with their followers in replies or Burger King hopping on board with memes and viral trends. Target frequently uses its social media accounts to match customers to products the same way a friend might rattle off suggestions in a group chat. With that, there’s the expectation of a more tailored experience. Ensure your content adopts the same tone and style – one that fits your brand and resonates with your audience.

8. Virtual Reality and The Metaverse

Since Meta’s abrupt name change from Facebook at the end of 2021 and their subsequent elaborate campaigns with everything from tv commercials to influencer partnerships across social media, it’s felt like everyone is focused on virtual reality. We’ve all seen the push to hop in on virtual reality, or the metaverse, as some would like to call it. You might even have a VR headset tucked away in the closet right now, ready to make its debut to an eager audience this Christmas. There’s no denying folks have bought into the idea of a fun-filled virtual world. 

Some theorized this would emerge after a couple of years of global lockdowns and isolation. The momentum of people jumping into the metaverse has been palpable. Some analysts predict the metaverse market will reach $800B by 2024. Surely, this buzz has plenty of backing to become a new hybrid reality for us all. 

However, many also speculate this won’t be our bridge into futuristic living. While there is plenty of money to be made in this push to VR, this might also be a costly sink with minimal returns in the long run. Many will remember that this is far from the first time tech has gotten behind the idea of virtual reality.

9. Digital Fatigue Continues

Digital fatigue, sometimes called content or format fatigue, might not sound like a positive content marketing trend, but it’s an important one nonetheless. The best content marketing is conscious of where its intended audience is and how that audience will respond. Another result of the last few years is that most people have been spending a great deal of time focusing on screens and consuming content of every kind. In a 2022 report by Twillio, 40% of global consumers say they have experienced digital fatigue within the last 30 days. 

The good news is that the answer isn’t to stop creating content. It’s to be more intentional about the type of content you’re making and how you’re using it. Remember that your audience might be less interested in tuning in for long webinars or sifting through daily marketing emails. To keep your audience happy, it’s never been more important to keep content quick, engaging, and full of substance. 

10. Focus on Improving UX and UI

User experience has always mattered, but consumers have more expectations about what that looks like than ever before. This is true for the functionality of apps and websites, but your UX doesn’t stop there; it’s just as important to consider the quality of the reading experience from end to end. How do they discover your content? How effortlessly can they access it? And how well can it be viewed on any device? Good content makes it easy for your audience to navigate your site or app successfully, and platforms offering a poor reader experience won’t perform well. 

Want to make your content stand out in 2023?