The Most Important Content Marketing Trends In 2021

By Claire Winter

It’s been a challenging year for business, and many people have found themselves making enormous shifts to the ways they work. With a higher focus on online presence - due to less in-person interaction - building and expanding upon digital marketing efforts has become vital.

For 2021, it’s important to plan ahead with the current climate in mind. Preparing for marketing trends ahead of time will ensure content marketing strategies are formed with relevance to drive greater success.

HAVE A WRITTEN CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY

Many business owners and entrepreneurs follow a loosely based structure when it comes to content, creating it ‘in the moment’ rather than scheduling it ahead of time. However, this could be the key difference between a successful and an unsuccessful strategy.

The use of content marketing calendars and social media tools are becoming highly effective for creating a clear vision and direction. When content is tracked, it is much easier to see the impact of the content you have created and the content marketing goals you have set. You can download this free useful content planner here

KNOW WHAT YOU STAND FOR

In a world of uncertainty, consumers want to feel heard and listened to. They want to have a sense of control over their power to invest in a product or service. In order to gain their trust, expressing core values is important. Businesses will need to highlight their community-building efforts alongside producing content that is thoughtful, sensitive and, most importantly, has practical value.

FOCUS ON FEATURED SNIPPETS

Aim for your content, such as blogs, to become a featured snippet on a search results page - the information box that appears at the top with complete answers to someone’s Googled query. Plugins like Yoast on WordPress will flag the snippet for you. If your content is easy to read with headlines and short paragraphs, this will inevitably increase your chances of boosting traffic to your site as well as maintaining your site’s domain authority. Think about what someone would have to Google in relation to the subject you are writing about. And what would someone say on voice search?

LIVE VIDEO

With the convenience of smartphones, live video is the best way to create meaningful content without the need for any fancy equipment. It’s a great way to connect with people authentically and in the moment. If you use a platform like streamyard.com, you can repurpose the video for other platforms too.

ONLINE COURSES

Due to the challenges of 2020, there has been an influx in online courses because coaches and trainers have lost the ability to teach to large amounts of people face to face. Building online courses is an effective way to provide value to potential and existing customers whilst presenting educational content in an engaging way, and it will particularly spark the interest of those on the job search who are looking for ways to develop their skills wherever possible. It’s important that you make your course stand out from the crowd in a busy market place. What can you teach that no one else can?

MAKE IT MOBILE-FRIENDLY

With the majority of us using mobiles to retrieve information, optimising the mobile experience for your website is absolutely vital. Whether we are browsing whilst on public transport or Googling a question we might have, the site we want to land on must be easy to navigate. Make sure to use a mobile responsive theme when optimising, then test again and again to ensure a quick loading time.

Prepare ahead for these trends in 2021 and you can create content that aligns with your goals for success. Whether you are only just building your online presence or are diving into the new world of online courses, these tips are a great starting place for growing your business.

Claire Winter has been a content creator, journalist, and dedicated tea drinker for twenty years. She is a trained NCTJ journalist and started her career at ITN in radio and television. Passionate about helping business owners create content that converts via her online mastermind and 1:1 training, she loves sharing writing tips and content tips over in her own community, Cracking content.

Claire currently writes for all 41 Families magazines covering the UK and reaching 9 million parents a year. She has helped hundreds of large and small businesses with content marketing campaigns in print, online, and social media.