13 trends for content marketing in 2022

It’s that time again. The year is drawing to a close. A turbulent year. A year with lows. And highlights. A year in which a lot has happened in online marketing. Time to look ahead to what we can expect next year.

In content marketing, trends are especially important. Why? Because it’s all about aligning content with the needs of customers. That’s where it’s more than helpful to have an idea of what customers’ needs will be next year. Only if you stay one step ahead of the trends, you will be on time with your content.

Here’s our unordered collection of developments that will matter in 2022:

1. Video will become increasingly important
Not only in Youtube and TikTok. Also and especially on business websites videos will become more and more important. Very important in addition to professional creation: check how you can best measure the success of your videos. Only with the right tools can you measure performance on an ongoing basis. And feel free to consider the next step: webinars and entire video series will make your company the first port of call in your industry.

2. Podcasts continue to grow
Audio and video podcasts are taking an important share on the major streaming platforms. Still, many major brands aren’t even represented in this segment. These gaps allow resourceful marketers to stand out from the crowd.

3. Live video for personal contact
And while we’re all at home most of the time: We’re starved for face-to-face connections. Live video is an exquisite way for your customers to get in personal contact with your business. The opportunities for this are sure to increase in 2022. Not just 1:1, but live streaming of new products, events of all kinds, and more continues to grow.

4. Creativity to the point is more in demand than ever before
TikTok is booming. Memes attract high attention. With 3 minute image videos, you won’t get any Millenial off the couch anymore. The trend is towards 3 seconds, in which it is decided whether your video will be viewed or wiped further. Speed is visibly winning out over thoroughness.

5. People want personal stories
We are all Corona, distance, and home office disturbed. Right now we need personal stories, see the current Penny and Aldi commercials. This is true for any company. We want to see the stories behind the products and their very personal use.

6. Content marketing on the intranet is becoming increasingly important
It’s no coincidence that purpose has become a huge topic. Not only customers are interested in the overall purpose of your company. Above all, your employees want to know what your company stands for. This requires storytelling in your internal communication.

7. Artificial intelligence only works with good data
2022 is the year to get your data assets up to speed as soon as possible. AI is becoming increasingly easy to use and is revolutionizing many industries. Now is high time to make sure your data is pooled, simplified and valued. Consider what stories can be gleaned from your data.

8. Diversity, equality and inclusion become more natural
It is becoming more normal to write from users* and produce for audiences. In content marketing, addressing all audiences equally in the form of text, images and video is essential for more and more brands.

9. Fewer channels are more
The requirements of each digital channel differ. Facebook posts are very different from those on Instagram. And TikTok first. Do two channels right rather than five so half. Your users will honor it.

10. Build communities around your brand or company
Communities are nothing new. But there are quite a few new tools that make it easy for you to interact with your customers. Substack, Medium and Flipboard help you gather new fans. Slack and Discord can complement your existing social channels.

11. Valuable backlinks remain important
In addition to onsite optimization, backlinks from high-quality sites remain a key ranking criterion from Google. Online PR will therefore become even more important in order to use the best possible contacts to journalists for valuable backlinks.

12. Voice search will continue to increase
The constant presence of our smartphones, even when driving, for example, increases the trend toward searching by voice input. This results in new search combinations, especially in the form of questions. The answers to these questions must be prepared for every search engine optimizer on their own website.

13. Quality is indispensable
Internet users are becoming increasingly impatient. Dwell times on websites are shorter. The layout is becoming more and more comparable. And the competition is getting bigger. Only top content can convince your customers. And only extremely good content has the potential to be passed on by your customers.

And how do you see it? Do you have any additions or comments on the individual points?
I look forward to your feedback at mbauer@coco-content-marketing.de.