content marketing tips for 2023

6 jan 2023 | by julie jones

Content Marketing is one of the most valuable strategies to drive traffic to your website and boost conversions. 

Unlike traditional marketing where you work to get your message in front of your audience (think Youtube ads, Facebook ads, and billboards), content marketing helps draw people to you! Through the creation of materials like blogs, videos, infographics etc. you create interest in a service, product or brand without explicitly promoting it.

Content Marketing helps demonstrate your experience and adds value to the lives of a clearly defined audience who has “opted-in” to your messaging. When done right, it creates long-term relationships that people can trust.

At Insight, we plan to focus heavily on content marketing in 2023, and recommend our clients do the same! When creating content, here’s a few tips to consider:

1. put your audience first

Content Marketing is popular for many reasons, one being that it improves SEO. While it is important to optimize your content for SEO purposes, it’s way more important to optimize it for your clients’ needs.

It’s simple: write for people first, search engines second.

SEO can help you get on the search engine’s first page, but it’s up to quality content to do the rest.

Businesses are putting out so much information these days, people just don’t have time to engage with subpar content. They will leave your page immediately if the information is not exactly what they need or want.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind when writing for your audience:

• Address their pain points and provide solutions.

• Anticipate their needs. Provide them with information they didn’t even know they needed yet. This will create trust and make your content stand out.

• Use their language. This could include industry specific terms, acronyms or even topics.

• Speak authentically. Remember in 2023, there is no such thing as B2B or B2C marketing- it’s all H2H (human to human).

2. don’t sleep on user experience

We don’t need to tell you that your content needs to be top-notch in order to capture your reader’s attention, but how information is displayed is equally important! In 2023, users have higher expectations of digital platforms than ever before. If your site isn’t quick to load, pleasant to the eye and easy to navigate, users will click off in seconds, literally!

In fact, research has shown that mobile users will leave your site if it takes more than three seconds for your content to load! Seeing as over half of web traffic now comes from mobile devices, that’s not something to ignore.

Here’s a few things to consider when it comes to UX:

• Page Speed

• Accessibility

• Mobile Friendliness

• Page Layout and Design

• Consistent Copy Style

Remember, consumers will only pay attention to your content if it’s pleasant and convenient for them, so taking the time to ensure they have a good user experience is key.

3. repurpose, repurpose, repurpose

As the demand for content grows, it can be overwhelming to keep up. The solution: repurpose the heck out of your content. 

Once you’ve got strong content to share, it can be promoted in various ways. You can share the same information in a Facebook Reel, a blog post, a newsletter, an infographic or even a meme! You just have to get creative, and be strategic with how you serve it up.

Each digital platform has its own culture and preferences, and different audience groups like to consume content in unique ways. Knowing your audience groups and your platforms inside and out is vital to making repurposing work for you.

A new year is also a great time to refresh some of your old content, and share it again or in new ways. You might be able to use older content as backlinks in your current work to keep it relevant and to boost your SEO.

Each time you create content, think to yourself, “How else could I use this to reach my audience”?

4. diversify content

In addition to repurposing content, a new year is also a great time to consider diversifying your content streams.

We always tell our clients not to overextend themselves if they have limited resources; just use a few channels and use them well. However, it’s important to remember that the digital landscape is ever-changing and what worked for you five years ago may no longer be the best way to reach your audience or dedicate your time.

In 2023, it’s time to reevaluate your marketing channels and, maybe, shake things up and try something new. 

For example, do you work in an interesting field with interesting colleagues? Maybe developing a podcast world would be a good fit for you. 

Is your goal to better understand what your clients are looking for so you can improve the service you offer? Creating information-gathering content like surveys or polls would be a great way to interact with your audience. 

Do you have a team of experts with thought-provoking ideas? Maybe writing an article for a trade publication or speaking at an industry event would be a worthwhile endeavor.

The possibilities are endless. And isn’t that exciting?

5. lean into a q & a format

Research shows that approximately 93 % of online experiences begin with search engines. So, it’s extremely important to ensure your content aligns with the questions people are asking search engines.

To do this, you first have to do research to find out what your audience asks most often about your topic. Once again, you’ll need to know your audience and your keywords like the back of your hand. Once you know the questions your clients are asking, simply answer them! 

It’s more important than ever to lean into the Q& A because Voice Search currently accounts for 20% of searching and is growing rapidly. When using voice technology people usually ask their digital assistants a question. For example, “Hey Alexa, what are some Social Media Marketing Trends for 2023?”

You’ll want your content writer to use specific, longtail keywords in header and titles and use a natural language style, taking into account that people are speaking and not typing to find your content, and they don’t always look the same. Tackling big questions with as much detail as possible will help you make your mark on search engines and provide the most value to your audience too.

the bottom line?

Content Marketing, in its many forms, is about connecting and adding value to your audience’s lives. The key is to bring genuine human connection back into digital marketing. As you start to create content, the most important thing to remember is to focus on the client, always. Make sure you really know your audience and their preferences and then put in the work to make consuming your content as easy and as pleasant for them as possible!

This might mean rethinking the way you do things, the types of content you create or how you promote it, but in the end you will be rewarded with engaged clients and increased web traffic.

We hope you keep these tips in mind this year. For additional content marketing tips and trends, follow along with us on social media, or check out the blog section of our website.