How has content marketing changed in the last decade?

“Content marketing comes down to commitment. There’s no halfway. You’re either in or you’re
out.” - Joe Pulizzi

Over the years, the definition of content marketing has changed tremendously. Earlier, content
marketing was simply a fancy term for blogging. Today, content writing has a much broader
definition. Everyone is on the internet nowadays. All of them have social media accounts; they
can visit your website or read your email anytime. In order to reach out to your audiences, you
must be aware of the current content marketing trends.

Along with the platform for posting content, the type of content that is posted has also
changed. Articles and blog posts are still relevant, but the way people engage with them is
different now. These days, audiences want a more diverse set of contents to hold their
attention, such as webinars and podcasts. According to database company Statista, 45% of
internet users worldwide between the ages of 25 and 34 listen to podcasts. Any individual
looking to market their content has to understand the transformation that content marketing
underwent in the last decade.

The Evolution

Content marketing started off as a trend. Many brands were trying their hand at content
marketing because everyone around them was doing it. Now in 2020, we can see just how
effective content marketing can be. After many years of experimentation, we know the dos and
don’ts of content marketing. Its success can now be measured and proved. In a survey, 50% of
the subjects said that they want to measure how much attention their content receives.

Businesses are changing the way they used to view content marketing. They now see the
potential of content marketing to help businesses grow and to deliver a steady revenue. From a
simple marketing tactic, content writing has evolved into a business model. Content marketers
are now reassessing the purpose of the work they do, and their role within their respective
companies.

Simply the sheer number of brands that have started doing content marketing since the last
decade can be considered a big change. Businesses know now that content marketing is
something that works. Nowadays, 60% of marketers build daily content. A study conducted in
2014 showed that 57% of marketers made custom content their top priority in marketing. It
was also revealed that most consumers, 78% in fact, tend to trust a brand that creates
customized content.
These days, many brands use content marketing as a tool to tell their story. Hence, competition
has increased in the world of content marketing. Some brands are going for a niche and then
making it their own. Others are leveraging paid advertising media such as marketing through
social media influencers. Earlier, content used to be all about quantity. Bloggers had to
constantly keep their blogs updated, in order to stay relevant.

Today’s content marketing is more about quality. As such, prioritization plays an important role
in it. Content marketers, apart from doing their main job, now have to keep the organization
alert on their toes. Also, the entire marketing industry, along with the content marketing
industry has come to realize that creativity is more important than processes and tools. Content
marketing is still growing in terms of creativity. It was revealed in a study that 39% of the
budget allotted to marketing is spent on content marketing by great business to business
marketers.

Google has recently done some changes to its algorithm that places more emphasis on good
content. This has changed the content marketing industry. Content marketers are now
concentrating on creating great content to thrive in the world of search marketing, as well as
for lead conversion. Although content marketing and journalism once only had a few
similarities, they are now inseparably linked.

The tools of content marketing and journalism are now shared. Content marketers are
becoming more eager to learn about journalism, and in turn, journalists are putting aside their
ego and getting to know things about content marketing. Many Business to Business brands are
opting for account marketing, where content is created in a personalized manner for
customers. The need is more than ever to provide tailored content that caters to the tastes of
individual customers.

With the rising trend in account-based marketing, sales and marketing departments are getting
closer. The two teams are often collaborating to create content that is tailored for certain
segments of the population. At the same time, people tend to learn through videos these days;
hence content marketing teams are considering adding video to their websites and on
YouTube. A survey conducted by TopRankBlog revealed that 73% of business to business
marketers distribute their content via YouTube.

A few years ago, paying someone for promoting your content was frowned upon. People simply
assumed that you were doing it because your content was of bad quality and that you didn't
have the slightest idea about what you were doing. However, this perception has changed over
the years. Creating quality content is not enough. You must promote your content using a
channel that allows it to reach many people.
Social media users have a limited attention span. This limited attention span and the growing
number of content have turned social media platforms into media outlets. These media outlets
are used to target audiences based on their preferences. Although paid promotion was
considered a taboo before, now it has become indispensable for promoting content.

Earlier, content marketing was all about the channel. Content marketers were still trying to
understand how to make proper use of each channel, particularly social media. Now this
challenge has been overcome. Content marketers are prioritizing the quality of the content
rather than the channel. Content marketers are more concerned about the consistency and
quality of the content.

Strategies for the Future of Content Marketing

It is hard to predict in which direction content marketing is heading. Audience preference plays
a huge role in deciding the direction for content marketing, and the direction is different for
each organization and its target audience. In today’s competitive world of business, you need to
remember the following things, if you are content marketer:

Create Content that the Customer can view while on the go

People have busy lives these days. They desire content they can easily view while going about
their daily lives. Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular. In a study conducted on various
families, it was revealed that half of them listen to at least one podcast, and 22% of them
consider themselves fans of the podcast. Podcasts are great because one can listen to them
while working out, getting ready for work, or while commuting. So your content does not suffer
from their lack of free time.

Don’t neglect long-form content

Although the average attention span of social media and internet users has dropped, long
pieces of content still interest some people. In fact, in recent times, we can see marketers going
for lengthier content. The average word count of a blog post has increased from 808 words to
1054 words between 2014 and 2016. Before creating your content and sharing it, you should
think of the context in which it is being shared. Post contents of varying lengths to keep your
audiences engaged.

Create content for the audience

Many marketers only have Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind while creating content. It
is not a good idea to create your content keeping in mind only the Google algorithm, because
bad content results in your audience losing their trust in you. Focus on creating content that
will keep your audience engaged. Sometimes you might have to sacrifice SEO to create more
comprehensive content. If your target audience likes your content, they will spread the word
about it, and this will lead to more conversions.

Conclusion

Content is king because content is the solution for both consumer engagement and customer
acquisition, each of which is vital to your business growth. While marketing your content, you
need to keep your customer’s problems in mind. High standards are now expected to be
followed while creating content and you should take this as a challenge to create quality
content that can hold the attention of your audience. You also need to keep an eye on the
current market trends to employ new methods for content marketing.