8 Content Trends for 2020

Are you in the midst of planning your 2020 content marketing?

Here are the biggest content trends for 2020, according to Convince & Convert’s content marketing consulting team.

• User-generated content
• Continued rise of video
• Voice-activated content
• B2C behaviors continue to impact B2B expectations
• Continued proliferation of messaging apps
• Augmented reality
• No more random acts of content
• Customer journey mapping

Content Trend #1: User-Generated Content

According to a recent study, 85% of consumers find UGC more influential than brand content 85% of consumers find UGC more influential than brand content.

In fact, our own study on Instagram for tourism marketing found that UGC posts were the most engaging type of post on Instagram for tourism marketers. This finding applies to most other industries as well.

User-generated content not only engages consumers but also allows you to create more content with less resources and time by tapping into your community for ideas and pieces.

For 2020, you need to determine what inspires your audience to share content and how you can engage customers to create user-generated content. This step is part of our content marketing planning process for our clients here at Convince & Convert. Make sure it’s part of your planning process for 2020 too.

Content Trend #2: Continued Rise of Video

Video is a critical part of every stage in the customer journey. Though people might not watch a video with the intention of buying, they’re open to discovery.

Fundamentally, people prefer video to all other forms of content when learning about new products and services.

In fact, 80% of people say they typically switch between online search and video when researching products to buy, more than 50% of shoppers say online video has helped them decide which specific brand or product to buy, and greater than 55% of shoppers say they used online video while actually shopping in store.

For 2020, consider how you can make video part of your content marketing strategy. If you’re intimidated by the prospect of creating video, don’t be. Depending on your brand and audience, personal, DIY-style video may be just the content you need to connect with your audience. Check out these video tools for content marketers for inspiration.

Content Trend #3: Voice

Voice content strategy is no longer optional: smart speaker adoption grew 38.9% in the last year, and 26.2% of all U.S. adults have access to a smart speaker.

Presenting compelling and Youtility-oriented voice-activated content to consumers opens an all-new avenue for engagement. It’s an opportunity that eschews the expensive and often clunky website, as well as the social media playgrounds that increasingly require ad budgets to reach customers.

In 2019, most of the voice-activated content we created for clients was rooted in information and helpfulness. As consumers get more comfortable with using smart speakers for more complex, API-driven interactions in 2020, we’ll add layers of specificity and nuance to what we’re doing with voice-activated content. Dive in deeper into voice with these voice content trends for 2020.

Content Trend #4: B2C Behaviors Continue to Impact B2B Expectations

According to Accenture, 61% of all B2B transactions start online, and 51% of customers turn to social media to do initial research. B2C behaviors continue to impact B2B expectations. Even B2B decision-making is heavily affected by social media content. Even B2B decision-making is heavily affected by social media content.

From social media to chatbots to augmented reality to mobile and more, the touchpoints that are seen as traditionally B2C will be even more critical in B2B, considering the complexity of the purchase decision in B2B. By taking advantage of the opportunities at these touchpoints, B2B brands will gain a competitive advantage.

Content Trend #5: Continued Proliferation of Messaging Apps

Messaging apps will continue to proliferate in 2020, which will include many aspects of “content.”

The apps come with a bunch of new opportunities (and challenges) for marketers. The prize: billions of active monthly users, including coveted Millennial and Generation Z consumers.

With more than 3 billion consumers spending a lot of time and sharing emotions on messaging apps, consider how messaging apps will impact your content strategy and results with the rise of dark social.

Content Trend #6: Augmented Reality

By 2022, there will be a projected 3.5B mobile augmented reality (AR) users worldwide (44% of the population) and projected revenues near $15B generated by AR ads in social media.

What is augmented reality exactly? Augmented reality is the overlay of information onto the real world, allowing users to see virtual items or information while looking at real things. If you’ve played with Snapchat’s lenses to take a selfie or seen a sci-fi movie in which a soldier can see information on the inside of her visor, you get the general idea.

AR’s prevalence in our lives is only going to increase from here. For smart marketers, there are already opportunities. Take a deeper dive into AR with these three trends you should know about.

Content Trend #7: No More Random Acts of Content

For 2020, think like a TV network and STOP random acts of content that never work.

Instead of continuously reinventing the wheel, create less content, but make each piece of content you create more effective. Our content marketing clients have adopted this approach, and I think more companies will in 2020 as well.

What does this mean? You need to give your audience a chance to find your content in their preferred channel and format and deliver it to them in a steady stream over a period of time. You can’t simply post an article and expect leads to contact you.

Think about it. The most effective marketing and advertisements are experienced over a period of time. It takes about 7 impressions for a display ad to sink in and about 5 drip emails to warm up leads. It’s also why you see the same commercials over and over again.

The rules of content are the same.

We must stop random acts of content and, instead, have a rich, nuanced plan to create less but content and to deliver that content more frequently to your target audience.

Content Trend #8: Customer Journey Mapping

One question I am receiving more and more from potential and new clients is about customer journey mapping: how to create them, how to improve them, and how to tie them back to your content strategy.

According to a study by Altimeter, 73% of B2B companies say they mapped digital customer journeys, compared to 55% by B2C and 56% by B2G companies.

This is a trend we will continue to see grow in 2020, and, if you haven’t done so already, here are a few great tips to get started with customer journey mapping.

Dive Deeper into These Content Trends with a Consultation with a Strategist

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