In content marketing, it's all about producing and publishing helpful information to draw in and retain an audience. Brands no longer run ads, but blogs, videos, guides and social posts. The aim remains unchanged: To serve people, rather than to sell to them. According to sources such as the Content Marketing Institute, it’s a strategic marketing practice that involves creating and distributing valuable content, which leads to natural trust.

There are three elements of any successful content marketing campaign: a clearly defined audience, a regular publishing schedule and valuable (and trustworthy) content in each publication. One of these missing and the whole plan goes down by the wayside quickly. Therefore, before trying to follow the trends, make sure you have the basics down pat.

Let's now get on to what will be different this year. There's always a new tool emerging, a new format that seems to be the next big thing, and a new way of getting your message across every few months. However, marketers need to stay up-to-date or they fall further behind their quicker competitors. These are the top 5 trends that you must be aware of.

1. AI Tools Reshape Content Creation

AI writing tools are continually improving over time. They assist teams to draft, proofread and refine their pieces quicker than they previously could have done. Teams can initially outline ideas in a fast and efficient manner with the help of AI. Afterwards, they test various headlines with it. But savvy marketers still incorporate the personal touch. They carefully look over AI drafts. They offer original facts and data, and a point of view. Otherwise, the reader comes across the information as uninteresting and dull.

Therefore, brands that combine AI speed with human judgment are going to gain more attention than brands that are based on AI. It's all about speed and originality still prevails in the longer game. So, do not let AI become the end goal, but rather a means for starting the process.

2. Video Takes the Lead

Feeds all over are dominated by video. People need to know which parts of a video are important and are getting used to them through short clips. Face and voice are more believable than wall of text. As a result, brands consider video to be a big part of their content strategy, rather than an add-on.

It's true that many teams make videos then edit them into blogs, social media posts, and then turn them into emails. This is time-saving and has a greater reach across channels. Meanwhile, live video is another way of gaining trust as it appears real and no editing. So if brands don't pay attention to video, they'll lose a tremendous amount of audience this year.

3. Internal Linking Gets Smarter

Search engines will prefer sites that have a nice structure. This year, it's more important than ever that they link to each other. There are links to other articles within the team and there are links from other useful articles to the team. This helps to hold on to visitors, and aids in understanding the relationships between pages.

Broken links have a negative impact on rankings, but it is not that obvious, and teams are more conscious of link health and watch closely for broken links. A Linkwatcher can instantly alert when links are removed or changed and teams can quickly address these issues before they lose traffic. In the meantime, Linkwatcher's link indexer enables the team to help new pages get indexed by search engines quicker, resulting in a faster return on investment for each internal and external link that the team creates. If you're looking for a broader overview of on page SEO techniques, Google's very own Search Central guide includes an overview of the basics.

4. Data Drives Every Decision

This year, guesswork falls by the wayside to data. The advantages of real numbers lie in the fact that they are used by marketers before they publish, and not after. They have a good knowledge of click rates, time on page, and shares closely. They then modify the plans according to the numbers they have.

This data-driven thinking approach allows for content to be measured, rather than a guess game. Close monitoring teams are able to identify trends quickly and then take action when something is successful. Linkwatcher's keyword rank monitor will display the ranking changes on a daily basis, on a per-region basis and will provide teams an early warning long before traffic reports do. In the end, it's numbers that will make the decision over gut feeling.

5. Community Builds the Brand

Logos are not trusted, people are. So, brands are investing in community this year. They have live chats! They directly respond to questions. These are actual and real life stories from customers, not slicky advertisements.

This community-based approach helps to create a two-way conversation instead of a one-way broadcast, by helping to shape a brand's output. This engenders loyalty over time that advertising can't purchase. Likewise, when the brand responds promptly to comments and messages, then, brands establish better relations than the brands that remain silent. So don't view your community as a conduit, view it as a community.

Why These Trends Matter

All of the above are actual issues that have been solved by the trends. They help to create a more robust content marketing strategy for all brands, large or small. Any marketer who does not pay attention to these changes face a greater risk of becoming obsolete to those who are quicker to adapt and move. Meanwhile, in a world where marketing lives on forever, it's the early adapters who will have a competitive advantage going forward beyond this year.

So, check out your existing plan today! Make comparisons to these five trends, one at a time. Then make gradual changes, don't try to change everything all at once.

How to Start Applying These Trends

Start small. Choose a trend from this list and try it along with the 30 day trial. Monitor very carefully, and make note of any changes. Once you make a real progress in a trend, then go for the next trend. The slow approach will not overwhelm your team, and will keep them focused.

Also, revisit your goals often. Content marketing works best when it stays aligned with real business outcomes, not vanity metrics like likes alone. So set clear targets before you start, and measure against them honestly.

Track Your Content Performance with Linkwatcher

If you have a strong plan, you need to have a strong tracking behind it. The monitoring and rank tracking features of Linkwatcher allow teams to identify broken links, track keyword positions and see how content is doing within a site. If you're looking for more SEO and link-building breakdowns, then look into the Linkwatcher blog. Combine these with the trends mentioned above and stay away from assumptions and guesses.

Conclusion

Brands that are quick and savvy will reap benefits this year. These four elements AI, video, smart linking, data and community, drive the way forward together. If you follow these five trends, you'll make your content marketing efforts stand out in a crowded space. Do this now, and see the results in the long term!

FAQs

What is the first trend that small businesses should try?

Simple internal linking and video are the first steps for small businesses as it is less costly than using full AI tools. They also have the advantage of being able to gain consistent traffic over time, with no high initial investment.

How long does it take to see results from these trends?

Early indicators of most teams are within 30 to 60 days. Typically, the results of a full investigation take 3-6 months of diligent and focused work.