A majority of the copywriting projects that I work on these days are related to generating digital content and content marketing; think sales or product landing pages, websites, blogs, opt-in materials for lead generation, and email nurture campaigns.
I couldn’t tell you the last time I wrote for a print ad or crafted word work for an in-person event. Even most of the newsletters and brochures I have written are used electronically.
Things Continue to Change
The pandemic era is now years ago, but we all find ourselves continually navigating initially caused all but essential workers to move online for grocery ordering, telehealth appointments, and for Zooms and Google Meet Ups. We are still doing those same things and more over the internet nearly three years later.
As a result of those numerous collective pivots, our purchasing, professional, and personal habits have been significantly altered. It has become a necessity for businesses across vast spectrums to focus a large part of their marketing muscle on their online presence and outreach.
Even niche markets like agriculture, manufacturing, distribution, and engineering companies are feeling the pain of a steep learning curve after COVID forced the hands of many organizations to rethink and reconfigure their business models over the past 36 months, including how and where they marketed themselves.
It used to be enough to post an occasional blog on a website to show thought leadership or a brand’s point of view. However, a fundamental paradigm change across the board because of the pandemic, the quickened pace of technology innovation, and the proliferation of social media platforms popping up, it is no doubt a challenge to keep up with what sandbox everyone is playing in. Twitter, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and the other 100+ ones I didn’t even know existed until I Googled while researching to write this piece.
Choosing Where to Focus
I get asked often by my clients, where they should be pushing out content. My answer varies depending on what widget they are touting or the pain point they are solving but for sure, every brand needs to know where their audience is hanging out.
Businesses must engage in some deep due diligence in order to land on what platforms make the most sense for them to focus on. I typically suggest a trio, as that is manageable unless they have a dedicated team member that can execute on more than that.
Doing a competitive analysis to see how other brands of similar markets are educating, informing, or entertaining their demographics is a must. Consumers increasingly have shorter and shorter attention spans, so in a skim-and-scan world, you have to be very intentional with what digital content you are putting out there. If you aren’t engaging and consistently so, people move on looking for the next shiny penny.
What Is On the Horizon for Marketing Content in 2023?
Many revelations about what is important or valuable to us have happened over the past 2.5 years and those have spurred many of my clients to reimagine their action plans.
What I have been seeing and expect to see more of for me as a copywriter are the following marketing trends:
Authentic Engagement
People have always craved authenticity from the brands they follow. However, current engagement requires a different level of brand awareness. This has meant my clients have had to strategize and leave their comfort zone.
Consumers have very high expectations and if they follow you on social media, they will notice if you go absent. Sporadic posts or worse hurried posts with typos, bad links, or those that seem random and without benefit to your readers will mean a quick delete from their feed.
Being deliberate in mapping out a month or more at a time for your social media and marketing efforts is advised. Creating a theme for each week or month creates a cohesiveness that your demographic will be attracted to.
There is numerous software that can help you schedule posts. I personally use Canva as their templates are user-friendly and you can size posts appropriately since each platform requires different dimensions. If you follow me on The Word Muse Instagram or FB pages you are seeing Canva-inspired designs. As well, I have mapped out 3 posts a week with some consistency wrapped into my strategy.
Repurposing Content
I get many queries asking if I can rewrite, expand on or repurpose content from the past. The answer is normally “yes”. Depending on the scope and topic, I can rework almost any piece. You want to do this if the general information is still relevant and simply in need of just tweaking or updates. Blogs that are normally 500-750 words can also be repurposed into a longer form email series or LinkedIn article.
Another way to repurpose older content is to create new content and add an appropriate hyperlink to older content within it. This also ups your SEO optimization. Internal and external (reputable) links are favorable to Google algorithms; they are commonly termed backlinks.
Interactive Elements
Consider creating interactive polls with animations or take interesting “did you know” types of statistics about your brand and create a compelling infographic. As a bonus, these types of interactive elements give you some quick and easy information and insights into your consumers.
It’s no secret that videos are more engaging than static images or posts. Try some new formats that are readily available and take advantage of their popularity in your content marketing mix. Many platforms offer free trials so you can test the waters without a commitment. If you find something you like, you can upgrade to get all the bells and whistles. Instagram Stories and Reels and Facebook Live (I just learned TikTok Lives are a real thing too) are always good choices and don’t cost a thing. You can find tutorials on just about anything on YouTube.
Agile and Adaptable
As 2023 begins, being agile and adaptable will continue to be a requirement with your content marketing. The level of uncertainty and the unexpected impacts still looms heavy on businesses and brands as we head into this new year and does still require purposeful wiggle room.
It is the new normal to not get used to anything the way it currently is. That said, brands need to plan the best they can and be sure that their marketing efforts are firing on all cylinders. For anything your brand pushes out, the mantra to follow is to be personable, relatable, and memorable.
Here is to a calmer and more steady 2023. Let me know if I can help you or your biz massage the written word to get you noticed.