Change is the one constant in content marketing. We’re living in a world where information flows freely, creativity knows no bounds, and content provides the anchor for businesses to be discovered online. For years, content marketing has been the epicenter of storytelling, customer connections, and “going viral.” But with the industry consistently in flux, content marketing is like a moving target—marketers must constantly track its direction or risk losing their edge altogether.

That’s why we’ve explored the state of content marketing for 2023 to learn the key trends, top channels, and best practices driving digital content forward. We’re also using these insights to prepare for 2024 so you can get a jump start on a new year filled with opportunities. Let’s dive in!

Why Marketers Depend on Content as a Cornerstone Strategy

We’re long past the days when a Google search would drum up just four pages of search results and all you had to do to rank on Page 1 was include the exact keyword in the title. The stakes for SEO are creeping ever higher, and content marketing continues to provide the foundation for brands to rank. 

Research shows content usage climbed 207% during the first two years of the pandemic, thanks largely to changes in how users consume content. With more people spending more time online, businesses saw valuable opportunities to create and use content in their marketing and take advantage of these larger captive audiences. As with any type of marketing, the key is to meet your audience wherever they are in ways they welcome. 

According to Statista, content marketers invest in content for a myriad of reasons, including:

  • Paid advertising purposes, such as sponsored or gated content
  • Selling content products
  • Driving online traffic
  • Generating leads for sales teams
  • Retaining existing customers

Overall, the content market is expected to grow by more than $584 billion between 2022 and 2027. Content budgets continue to increase year after year (more on that in a moment), proving that marketers not only find value in content but also don’t want to risk being left behind.

Does Content Marketing Still Work?

Despite how noisy content marketing (and the internet as a whole) has become, marketers still look to content to help them achieve their business objectives. 

According to Neil Patel:

  • 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing.
  • Content marketing costs 62% less but generates three times more leads than native or traditional advertising.
  • Conversions are 6x higher for companies that use content marketing vs. those that don’t.

As for what’s working in content marketing, SEMrush data shows what content marketers find to be most impactful. First and foremost, marketers that create and post content more often see the best results. Improving the quality of existing content is a close second, followed by creating more research-driven content (like this State of Content Marketing report).

Other aspects that make content marketing more effective are:

  • Keyword research
  • Aligning content with search intent
  • Improving technical SEO
  • Building topic clusters
  • Link building
  • Winning featured snippets on Google

With marketers planning to increase spending on content marketing, it’s clear that content continues to hold its value despite more companies trying to make their digital mark.

Top Types of Content Marketing

Content marketing spans a wide range of formats, including:

  • Blog articles
  • Infographics
  • Case studies
  • Ebooks
  • Social media posts
  • Videos
  • Images
  • Podcasts

SEMrush provides more insights into where marketers are spending their content budgets and what types of content are performing the best. Video continues its reign in content marketing, followed by short-form articles and success stories. 

Content Marketing Institute data echoes these findings, stating that short-form articles and videos are the top two content formats marketers are investing in.

The general public agrees, too. Data shows that 69% of consumers would rather watch a video about a product or service instead of read about it. Video is already driving more than 80% of all internet traffic, so it’s no surprise that video in content marketing is able to meet consumers where they want to be.

What about Written Content?

Blogs and other written content still hold value, with 77% of internet users sharing they read blogs. In fact, out of 1.9 billion websites worldwide, 600 million—or about a third—of them are blogs. And for those marketers who do blog, 80% say that blogging still drives positive ROI. 

Specifically, short-form written content (i.e., anything under 1000 words) is having a moment in 2023. In light of dwindling attention spans and readers wanting clear, succinct answers to their searches, marketers are finding favor with shorter blog content that more closely aligns with search intent.

It’s worth mentioning that there’s a time and a place for written vs. video vs. audio content. The context of the content matters. For instance, video works well for instructional information. But if your audience can more quickly get their answers from skimming a blog post vs. watching a whole video, then written content makes sense.

That’s the beauty of content marketing—there are so many ways to create content and capture your audience’s attention. When one format doesn’t launch you to success, there are plenty of other methods to try.

Content Marketing Channels

Creating content is just the beginning. Once you hit publish, your success also depends on how you distribute and promote your content. Not everyone will come across your content by accident or via organic search. Unless you’re a juggernaut like Amazon, Hubspot, or Gary Vaynerchuk, you’re going to need to do some work to get your content in front of the right people.

The channels you use have a lot to do with this. In addition to your own website and optimizing content for SEO, consider what others share that have worked well for them.

  • For B2C brands, Facebook is the #1 content distribution channel and drives the best results.
  • For B2B brands, LinkedIn remains the top choice for content distribution.
  • 67% of social media marketers use Facebook, followed by 65% who use Instagram.
  • Content sent via email is 45 times more likely to be seen than content posted on social media.
  • TikTok delivers as much as a 96% ROAS and increases sales efficiency by as much as 5.2x. 

These stats are just the tip of the iceberg. As content marketing channels proliferate, marketers should hone in on the effectiveness of each channel, the type of content that performs best on the channel, and what characteristics contribute to each channel’s success.

Our Predictions: What’s Next for Content Marketing in 2024

We use content marketing trends, facts, and data that have emerged in 2023 to look ahead and start planning for 2024. Based on the above data and insights, we’re predicting three key trends to fuel your 2024 content marketing strategy.

#1: Optimize for Quality and Helpfulness

With the launch of Google’s Helpful Content update, content marketers need to think more critically about the topics they write about. It’s no longer enough to publish content for the sake of content—Google is improving how it sniffs out quality and helpfulness and will reward publishers accordingly. 

This is great news for smaller websites that have been creating quality content all along but struggle to compete with bigger giants. See Google’s Helpful Content Self-Assessment to learn what the algorithms prioritize.

#2: Increase New Content Production

Content marketers plan to increase spending on blogging and SEO, among other categories. This, coupled with the rise in short-form content, will allow marketers to produce more content (and at a faster rate) than in years past. 

Marketing budgets will stretch farther as a result. To add even more value, agencies may offer bulk discounts on multiple blog articles, giving marketers turnkey access to their entire written content strategy. And when that content is written with a high level of authority and expertise, marketers will have an easier time achieving their content objectives and proving impact.

#3: Focus on Unique, Differentiated Content

With the rise in AI tools that make keyword research and content drafts a breeze, marketers will need to seek new ways to make their content stand out. With Google prioritizing content that’s high quality and helpful, it’s no longer enough to write basic information that users can find everywhere else. 

At Content Pros, we’re helping our clients explore different ways to add depth and differentiation to their written content. Some of our favorite examples include:

  • Using audio or video recordings with in-house subject matter experts or customers
  • Creating case studies using client interviews
  • Leveraging first-party data as a foundation for written content
  • Crafting original infographics or imagery

AI tools offer a range of advantages, but overuse of them can lead to institutional sameness and losing your brand voice. Finding ways to improve content tone, quality, and context will be of the utmost importance in maintaining audience trust and online visibility.

Partner with Content Pros to Amplify Your Content Marketing

Whether you’re spending more (or less) on content marketing in the upcoming year or want to experiment with the trends we mentioned, Content Pros helps you maximize your budget with quality, expertly-written content. Our writing team is comprised of subject matter experts in a range of fields, including tech, HR, marketing, real estate, and more, helping you establish yourself as a leading voice in your industry. 

Get in touch today to learn more and receive a $100 discount on your first piece of content.