The content marketing world is always evolving, and if you want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and the demands of your audience, you need to evolve with it. If you start adopting new changes only after all your competitors adopt them, you’re going to fall behind quickly. The better approach is to anticipate changes in the near future and make changes proactively.
None of us has a crystal ball that we can consult to accurately predict the future, but we can guess what the future of content marketing looks like based on current trends.
What is the future of content marketing and how can you prepare for it?
Table of Contents
1. SEO and Stricter Algorithms
Content is at the heart of search engine optimization (SEO), a strategy designed to help web pages rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Google is acutely aware that many people use content almost exclusively to support their SEO strategies, and it fights back by introducing more sophisticated algorithms and spam detection systems.
Stricter algorithms are largely a good thing for the web, cleaning up trashy, thin content while promoting relevant, quality content. But they also have the nasty side effect of interfering with some content-based SEO strategies. One of the best ways to manage this is to hire a professional Albuquerque SEO firm, or an SEO professional in your city.
Working with true SEO experts can help you better understand new algorithm updates as they roll out and future-proof your content strategy in an SEO context.
2. AI and Automated Content Generation
By now, we’ve all heard about ChatGPT and similar AI tools based on large language models (LLMs). Using these tools, even total amateurs can quickly generate paragraphs of text on almost any topic. These tools use predictive models – so there’s no advanced intelligence behind the words – but even so, they’re fairly impressive.
In the coming years, we’ll likely see these tools improve and expand, fundamentally changing the landscape of online content. Many people will attempt to use these tools as exclusive content generators, while others will use them for brainstorming, outlining, and other preliminary tasks. Right now, AI isn’t advanced enough to rival skilled human writers, but that may change in a few years.
3. Competition and Overcrowding
Every day, there are 6 million new blog posts published, which amounts to more than 2.5 billion new posts annually. That’s a lot of competition, even if many of these posts aren’t relevant to your niche. As the web continues to grow and as more people develop content for their target audiences, overcrowding is only going to get worse.
4. New Mediums and Channels
In the past few years, written content has become less popular in favor of video content. And long form video content has fallen in popularity as more people flock to punchier, shorter videos on social media platforms like TikTok. It’s inevitable that we’ll see the rise of new mediums and new channels that redefine online content from the ground up. Older mediums may never truly die, but to stay relevant and achieve higher popularity, it’s practically essential to incorporate newer mediums.
5. How to Prepare for the Future of Content
So what strategies can you use to prepare for the future of content marketing?
- Hire the right professionals. Unless you plan on doing everything yourself, hire skilled, experienced professionals to assist you with your content generation needs. Prioritize forward thinkers capable of future proofing your content strategy.
- Get specific and, if possible, personal. You can minimize the threat of competition by making your content as specific and personal as possible. Personalizing your content and targeting a specific niche can instantly narrow the scope of your potential competitors.
- Use AI – but don’t rely on it. AI is an interesting and valuable tool, but it’s not good enough to produce content entirely on its own. Use it to assist and complement your existing content efforts, but don’t replace yourself just yet.
- Stay up to date. Content trends move quickly. Do your best to stay up to date with the latest developments.
- Become a first mover in new mediums and channels. The earliest adopters of new content mediums and channels have a first-mover advantage. Take a risk and dive into any new mediums and channels that are appealing to you.
- Above all, remain adaptable. If you’re flexible enough, you’ll always have the potential to be a successful content creator.
Nobody knows exactly what content marketing is going to look like a decade from now, or even in the next few years. But we can see the ongoing development of trends that are reshaping how content is produced and consumed. If you want to stay competitive and continue reaping the benefits of content marketing, it’s on you to stay current.
