A marketing team drawing on a whiteboard with the words "A Guide to Content Marketing Trends in 2023" over them.

A Guide to Content Marketing Trends for 2023

19 January, 2023

Bev Herscovitch, Copywriter at Clash Creative

The best content marketers understand that you can’t just post for the sake of posting. You know that to succeed in breaking through the noise, you have to create compelling content that has an impact. To continue doing this, you’ll want to be aware of the content marketing trends for 2023.

Consumers prefer content that’s appealing, thoughtful, and fresh, so businesses can’t rely on what worked a few years ago. Not to mention, it feels like new innovative technologies and features emerge daily, expanding what digital tools can accomplish when it comes to interacting with our audiences.

Your marketing team should evolve right along with the platforms and develop solid content marketing strategies based on current industry best practices. Let’s explore the biggest content marketing trends in 2023 so you can stay competitive and get the best results.

1. Interactive Content Marketing

It’s not enough anymore to share passive and static content. In 2023, companies must be exceptional to draw attention to their brand. Internet users, particularly younger digital natives, hold different expectations for online platforms. They don’t just want digitized, analog media like magazines and newspapers. 

Interactive content marketing encourages consumers to participate with the brand, creating a two-way dialogue. When consumers interact with you, they provide crucial data about their interests, wants, and needs, helping you build both a stronger product and community. The benefit? You can both retain existing customers and improve customer acquisition.

Marketers can make many types of content interactive, integrating quizzes, maps, games, polls, and other features into their strategies. Recently, Michelin and The Sims FreePlay collaborated to create an extraordinary example of interactive content, using digital billboards and an in-game currency incentive to push safety messaging. 

2. Content Experience (CX)

To thrive beyond 2023, consider how your consumers feel when interacting with your company. A positive environment will foster loyal customers who stick around, and you will also create unofficial ambassadors who will market your brand for free. 

The CX must be a top priority, with content marketers strategically planning how potential consumers absorb their content on different devices and platforms. CX is a form of customer experience that more broadly focuses on how a customer interacts with a business at every point of their relationship

To deliver the best CX possible, businesses should consider their own mission and vision, and how those connect with their target audience’s preferences. You can create an informed plan by compiling insights from consumer research and industry data, while also analyzing your competitors. To start, we recommend checking out our recent article “How to Create Marketing Personas for Your Business.”

3. Virtual Reality

Using virtual reality in digital marketing takes the phrase “show, not tell” to a whole new level.  The growing virtual reality (VR) industry demonstrates serious demand for this technology across multiple industries, with experts projecting that the market size will grow from its current $12-billion value to $22 billion in 2025.

In 2023, you need to get on board with this growing trend. VR exists as a powerful interactive content tool, enhancing the content experience by keeping it engaging. Consumers love that VR provides the opportunity for an immersive experience, providing the opportunity to step into a whole new world.

With VR, potential customers can get a feel for your product or service from a 360-degree perspective in a simulated real-life setting. The Etsy Virtual House is one excellent example. They allow consumers to walk through a location furnished with items from their sellers. 

4. Hyper-Personalized Strategies 

With so many options available on the market, consumers expect messaging that speaks to their specific needs. Content marketers must take a more thoughtful approach to get engagement. The answer? Hyper-personalized marketing! This popular tactic creates more impactful marketing messages while enhancing customer satisfaction and optimizing resources.

With constant innovation in artificial intelligence, AI tools provide a powerful way to get insights into your customer’s needs and preferences. With AI, you can also offer potential consumers a content experience that feels targeted to that specific individual.

Popular brands like Netflix serve as an incredible example of hyper-personalization. By offering individualized entertainment recommendations, they yielded incredible results: 80% of users watch the content the platform recommends, with a mere 20% of users actually searching for something to watch.

5. Video

In 2023, video content will continue to dominate the digital landscape. In response, content marketers must develop a video marketing strategy and dedicate resources to creating compelling, high-quality videos that will retain a consumer’s attention.

It will be worth it! With the right video tactics, you can tell a more effective story that leads to greater profits. Recent statistics show that users spend roughly 19 hours a week watching online videos. Additionally, video content receives significantly more engagement from audiences. People clearly want to be entertained, and video provides a more captivating and exciting experience. Video marketing can also improve your SEO too, increasing your website traffic.  

Why does video work so well? When it comes to making purchase decisions, video content provides potential consumers with a more thorough and detailed perspective of your brand. 

6. Empathetic Strategies 

In 2023, you can set your company apart by showing consumers that you actually care. Through an empathetic marketing strategy, you can form a genuine emotional connection with your audience, which can lead to strong relationships and loyal customers.

Of course, you need to approach your empathetic marketing with authentic intentions. Your content marketing strategy could backfire if your message appears disingenuous, or worse, manipulative. 

Here’s a great example of empathetic marketing that worked. In recent times, many brands chose to email their customers around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day with the choice to opt-out of receiving parenting-themed promotional materials. Through this action, they showed respect toward customers coping with infertility. 

7. Influencer Marketing

There’s no better way to embrace empathetic marketing strategies than working with influencers who have strong relationships with your target audience. Influencer marketing continues to grow among content trends, with more than $4 billion allocated and a 12%-increase from last year.

Influencers operate essentially like small publishers with their own hyper-focused audiences and specific niches. Yet influencer marketing also taps into word-of-mouth advertising, with influencers offering a different type of trust and authority that is often elusive to corporate brands. People glaze over paid ads, but well-done influencer marketing can feel organic and real. Influencers exist as trendsetters and role models, helping guide purchase decisions. 

In 2023, smart content marketers will embrace influencer collaborations, if they haven’t already, and experiment with new strategies to refresh sponsored posts. Beyond the great results, influencer marketing can help brands cut costs by outsourcing the work and resources to people who act as independent contractors.

Content Marketing Support

At our agency, Clash Creative, we provide content marketing services to elevate how you communicate with your customers. We can create compelling copy that brings you results, whether it’s for social media, blogs, emails, newsletters, press releases, and beyond. Book a call with us today to discover how we can help.

Copywriter at Clash Creative | + posts

Copywriter at Clash Creative

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