In 2023, most businesses comprehend the immense benefits of investing in content.
Survey data indicates that 83% of very successful marketers have a documented content marketing strategy. And 49% of marketing teams allocate between 30% and 50% of their total budget to content.
But while the role of content marketing in shaping the success of small brands is increasing, the diversity of content being served to audiences is starting to dwindle. You don’t have to go into much research to realize that almost every single blog topic has at least a dozen (or more for those targeting high-volume keywords) similar variants. And even videos, which seemed daunting to most brands just a few years back, are becoming washed out carbon-copies of one another, vying for consumers’ attention.
In other words, originality and creativity have somehow managed to disappear from most businesses’ attempts at creating content and have been replaced with the same-old templates that promise big wins with minimal effort.
The good news is that investing in content production doesn’t have to mean confining your business and brand to the cookie-cutter “trends” that everyone else in your industry is so intent on following. Instead, these types of content will re-energize your 2023 strategy and allow you to stand out.
Text-to-Speech Publishing
Naturally, genuine impact in terms of revitalizing your content marketing efforts requires a bit more than an app subscription. Nonetheless, you can still achieve satisfactory results with minimal effort. And one of the things you can immediately start doing to upgrade your brand’s blog in 2023 is to employ a text-to-speech tool, like in the example below.
Source: washingtonpost.com
This strategy has primarily gained popularity with big publishing outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times. However, if you consider the effects it allows you to achieve, it’s definitely worth considering.
First and foremost, text-to-speech tools make your content more accessible, allowing you to engage a bigger audience. But their benefit doesn’t stop at allowing a larger number of people to enjoy your articles. Audio could also transform regular blog posts into resources that can be consumed on the go — similarly to podcasts — giving you a unique opportunity to get your prospects to interact with your brand anytime, anywhere.
Mini Courses
Educational content is always worth investing in. And, in 2023, the way to re-energize your content strategy might just be to enter the realm of e-learning.
According to research, 18% of EU citizens took an online course in 2021. And considering that the digital education sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7%, you can rest assured that presenting your prospects with interactive educational resources will become a requirement for allowing your brand to stand out in 2023 and beyond.
But, while creating a full-blown 10-week course is an excellent way to highlight your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, it’s not absolutely necessary, especially as you can achieve the same effect with a slightly less resource-intensive approach.
For example, by creating a mini course, like the one advertised in the Shop Solar Kits post on 1000 Watt Solar Panel Systems, you can present your readers with a ton of expert guidance that will improve their shopping experience with your brand and provide them with insights that they’ll want to come back to time and again while using your products.
Source: shopsolarkits.com
Interactive Tools, Quizzes, and Calculators
Investing in interactive content is always a great idea. For starters, interactive content is 52.6% more effective at engaging audiences than its static counterparts. Plus, it can be an innovative way to solve your potential customer’s pain points and encourage them to convert.
Online tools like this protein calculator developed by ATH, for example, are an exceptional way to address and answer consumer questions in an easy-to-understand way that’s accessible and which provides prospects with relevant, personalized answers tailored to their specific requirements.
Source: athsport.co
Quizzes, like the Find Your Perfect Toothpaste page on the Hello eCommerce website, can also be used to push potential buyers toward the bottom stages of the sales funnel, encouraging them to make better purchasing decisions without resorting to aggressive sales tactics.
Source: hello-products.com
Then, you could also use interactive content to help your target audience quickly complete a goal. The UnscrambleX Anagram Solver is a superb example of such a tool. It does nothing more than help internet users find new words without forcing them to download an app or subscribe to a paid service (instantly positioning UnscrambleX as a trustworthy, user-oriented business).
Source: unscramblex.com
Finally, it’s also worth noting that interactive content, like the customizable Penny Stocks list from MarketBeat, can be an original approach to answering user questions that prove your brand’s expertise and creates a market for your niche products, which your audience wouldn’t necessarily have found out had they not come across your unique interactive content.
Source: marketbeat.com
Email Campaigns
Blogging is a wonderful way to drive organic traffic to your website. But if your marketing goals for 2023 include more than just increasing audience reach, you need to experiment with alternative distribution methods.
Email marketing, although often overlooked, makes for an exceptional weapon in any marketer’s arsenal due to its multiple benefits. In addition to being a budget-friendly way to engage potential customers and nurture them into loyal clients of your brand, data shows that email also has the potential to maximize your ROI.
A 2021 research report from Unbounce discovered that the traffic from email marketing campaigns had a median conversion rate of 21.8% — 6x more than the median CR of paid search traffic.
The Goodreads New Releases newsletter is an outstanding example of a monthly email campaign meant to re-engage customers with exciting (and personalized) product recommendations delivered straight to their inboxes.
Source: gmail.com
However, if you’re already investing time, energy, and precious resources into the production of content to be published — either on your website or your social media channels — it’s also not a bad idea to treat email as an additional distribution method. Organizations like McKinsey do a great job of using email to get new content in front of their subscriber’s eyes. They not only encourage readers to visit their websites to read the full articles but ensure that they stay at the top of their prospects’ minds as a source of valuable, trustworthy information.
Source: gmail.com
Evergreen Content
As you explore the content formats that will re-energize your 2023 strategy, remember that while it’s OK to follow trends, evergreen content should never take the back seat when trying to present your audience with value.
Yes, pillar articles — like the one by Trustshoring explaining the concept of custom software development — aren’t necessarily exciting or unexpected. However, they’re one of the most valuable types of content you can create. If done right, they can allow you to win high rankings for relevant search terms, establish your brand’s credibility, and get people to trust your business in matters related to your field of expertise.
Source: trustshoring.com
Moreover, it’s also worth noting that long-form content, like the evergreen article mentioned above, can be a great way to invest in SEO. They are highly shareable, and they can become link magnets, growing from simple blog posts into resources that will positively affect your site’s rankings and allow your other content to attract more potential customers.
In Closing
If your goal for 2023 is to refresh your content marketing strategy, know that investing in the types of content discussed in this article is guaranteed to deliver results. They’re all excellent ways to achieve your goals without having to experiment or try and adopt trends everyone else is using nowadays.
However, know that the best way to boost the chances of high-quality content driving conversions is to combine it with other marketing techniques. So don’t forget to pay equal attention to your social media strategy, invest in SEO, and remember to keep an eye on your analytics data. That way, you’ll be able to adapt (or pivot) as needed and will guarantee that your hard work delivers the returns you’re after.