What are content marketers thinking about right now to improve outcomes for their clients? Let’s find out what ideas are hot.

1. The idea that content marketing has evolved from simply selling a brand.

When content marketing first came onto the scene, marketers focused lots of their messaging on breaking through all of the advertising noise to get a brand noticed, then waiting for it to sell. Now, content marketers are more intent on reaching out and connecting with their prospects first. It’s all about using great storytelling to create a compelling experience for an audience that meets their needs. Then, content marketers are measuring the results so they can learn from them and apply the favorable info to get even better outcomes for their audience. Which translates into better results for their clients.

2. The idea that inbound content marketing really works, when it’s used as intended.

Especially over the last few years, marketers have tapped into the true power of content marketing with satisfying success. They’ve stopped trying to sell products in favor of highlighting brand features that can make life easier for the ideal prospect. They’re getting to know their prospects better through highly personalized customer experiences. They’re also learning more about what motivates them, which helps build richer relationships with more opportunities to satisfy their needs.

The concept of great content marketing is here to stay:

• It has become an important mainstay of effective digital strategy.
• It’s proven to help clients connect and engage with their customers.
• It’s a great helper for building trust with an audience.
• It can grow a brand’s credibility over time.

Important note: All of these advantages don’t apply to bad content. Bad content usually includes suspect research, sketchy information, too much product pushing, no solutions, typos, unusable links, you get the picture.

Be the storyteller that can present your brand as a great solution, a destination, a community that your ideal prospects will want to engage with at every level. Do content marketing good.

3. The idea that it’s time to write visually.

If you only need one content marketing idea for 2022, this is it. Producing content marketing that piques more than one of our senses has a better chance at capturing attention, sometimes in a dramatic way.

Case in point: the use of video in content marketing and its success in reaching a larger audience. According to one Entrepreneur contributor, YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any U.S. cable network. Video posts on Facebook get six times more engagement from people than posts that contain photos or links. Twitter has seen more than a 160% increase in video views recently.

It’s important to acknowledge that the written word is often at the heart of all other forms of expression. So writing visually means not only how you choose the words but how you present them. For instance, people-focused content often includes authentic storytelling that builds a sense of community or is written with empathy. Do you use headings, bullet points, numbered lists, short sentences, long sentences, bold text, italicized text?

When you’re writing content visually, you expand the bevy of storytelling tools you have at your disposal and choose the ones that offer the best advantage in getting your points across. Think, how can this part of the story best be told? You can think about the topic in terms of video, sure. But what about audio, words and pictures, format and media? With a video clip? Picture? Sound on tape? Graphics? Music? A quote? The list is limited only by imagination … and budget, sometimes. When you start with asking, “What does the story look like?”, it can help you produce content that appeals to an audience in different ways.

4. The idea that social media content is an adaptive marketing tool.

Social media content that offers audiences interesting stories with high-quality images and videos can be shared by people who just see it on their feeds, let alone those who are members of your target audience. The same goes for user-generated content.

The thing with social media content is it’s being consumed along with all sorts of other conversations people are having at any time. You can tailor social media content quickly to prospects’ immediate needs, changing preferences, new opinions, and the stage of the customer journey they’re on and tap into the topicality of it all. With social media content, you’re right on top of it.

5. The idea that metrics and the message are a powerful twosome.

To learn more about emerging trends in content marketing, the Content Marketing Institute asked folks who are currently engaged in content marketing their thoughts. The result is a list of more than 100 predictions that could affect how your audiences find and engage with the content you create. Many are data-focused.

Analytics is what gives content marketers the details about customer behavior that help them make informed decisions about their content strategy. Since demand is increasing and budgets are getting smaller, it’s more important than ever to know what to expect from your content marketing. Content marketers leverage this powerful connection between metrics and messaging by setting measurable goals for their content campaigns to show a return on investment (ROI).

6. The idea that the marketing mindset is evolving.

Marketers have matured and that’s a good thing. Especially for consumers.

Their first goal is no longer to make the sale—although that’s still part of the equation. Content marketers have realized that their role has been elevated to that of a teacher. And their new goals are to inform, to educate, to instruct, to prepare, to answer, to guide, to cultivate, and to enlighten.

These are no lofty goals. Today’s consumers are demanding them. People want to know the why, not just the what.

11outof11 Knows Content Marketing

If you’re looking for great content marketing ideas to help you crush your marketing goals for 2022, connect with 11outof11. Request a complimentary call with an 11outof11 expert. Contact us to learn more.