Content marketing remains highly relevant in 2023. But we all know it kind of gets a bad name these days. Why? Well over the last decade or so marketers have really played the SEO game, perhaps a little too well. They wrote content meant to be indexed well, which meant the content was keyword-stuffed and written for a computer to understand (not a human). This made content poorly written and overall pretty weak.

In addition to that, user behavior has changed. People don’t spend as much time going off-platform these days.

What do we mean by off platform? Simple. The golden era of content marketing was like this:

  1. Write a blog post
  2. Go to Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook and link to your post.
  3. Do the same with your email list
  4. People clicked off platform and went to your website to read your post, further engage with your content and sometimes convert into leads or sales.

Google looooooooved this! Their algorithms saw people going to a website for a specific purpose, reading the content, and further engaging. This showed their bots that the content was relevant and the website was performant.

And then one day that all changed.

People stopped going off-platform. Now, we want to engage with content in the medium we originally found it: LinkedIn, email, etc.

(And by the way, people DO still find content via organic Google searches. And what is a great way to be indexed for those searches? Yep, blog posts.)

With all that being said, here are a few reasons content marketing is still relevant in 2023:

  1. Audience Preferences: Consumers increasingly prefer valuable, educational, and engaging content over traditional advertisements. Content marketing caters to these preferences by providing information and solutions that resonate with target audiences, helping businesses build strong connections with their customers.
  2. Shift in Algorithms: Search engines and social media platforms continue to update their algorithms, prioritizing high-quality, relevant content. This shift emphasizes the importance of producing valuable content that aligns with the needs and interests of your target audience.
  3. Growing Emphasis on Personalization: Personalized marketing experiences have become more important than ever in engaging and retaining customers. Content marketing allows businesses to create tailored content that addresses the specific needs and pain points of different audience segments, enhancing their marketing efforts.
  4. Importance of Trust and Credibility: Establishing trust and credibility with potential customers is crucial for success in today’s competitive business environment. By providing valuable content that showcases your expertise and thought leadership, you can foster trust and credibility, encouraging customer loyalty and advocacy.
  5. Video and Interactive Content: The rise in popularity of video and interactive content has provided new opportunities for businesses to engage their audiences. Content marketing strategies that incorporate these formats can enhance user experiences, increase engagement, and ultimately drive results.
  6. Long-Term Investment: Unlike traditional advertising methods, which may provide short-term results, content marketing is a long-term investment. By consistently producing high-quality content, businesses can develop a loyal audience, improve their SEO, and generate sustainable organic traffic.

As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, businesses must adapt their marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve. Content marketing has proven to be a vital component of modern marketing strategies for several reasons:

OK, so how does content marketing work in 2023?

We like to make our content work harder for us. We call it the Content Amplification system and it is what helps us get more Marketing Miles Per Gallon out of every asset we create.

Here’s how it works:

@zangardiAre you amplifying the content you’ve already created?♬ Lofi – Domknowz

@zangardi Stop working so hard! Make content creation simpler with these tips #marketing #entrepreneur #PostitAffirmations #contentstrategy ♬ original sound – Patrick & Vanessa Zangardi

People are better informed today than ever before. AND they don’t want to be blatantly sold to. Instead, they prefer to make informed decisions based on the information available to them. This is where content marketing comes in. By providing valuable content, you can build trust with your audience and position yourself as an authority in your industry.

From a business and ROI perspective, content marketing can help you generate leads, increase brand awareness, and improve your search engine rankings. When you create high-quality content that addresses your audience’s questions and pain points, they’re more likely to share it with others, increasing your reach and exposure.

But you can’t just wing it. You really need a strategy to follow. Your content marketing strategy should outline your objectives, target audience, content types, channels, and success metrics. This ensures that your content is aligned with your business goals and target audience, and helps you maintain consistency in your messaging, which can build brand recognition and loyalty.

Without a clear content marketing strategy, your content risks missing the mark and not resonating with your audience or driving the desired results. You may also miss out on opportunities to repurpose and amplify your content through different channels and platforms.

How to create your content strategy

Creating a content strategy can seem overwhelming, especially for a small marketing team. However, with a clear plan and approach, even a small team can develop an effective content strategy that aligns with their business objectives and target audience.

Here are some steps a small marketing team can follow to create a content strategy:

  1. Define Your Objectives and Target Audience: Start by identifying your business objectives and target audience. Consider what you want to achieve through content marketing, such as increasing website traffic, generating leads, or improving customer engagement. Also, define who your target audience is, what their pain points are, and what type of content they prefer.
  2. Conduct a Content Audit: Take stock of your existing content and assess what’s working and what’s not. Analyze your website traffic, social media engagement, and other relevant metrics to determine what types of content your audience is engaging with the most.
  3. Develop a Content Plan: Based on your objectives, target audience, and content audit, create a plan for the types of content you want to create and how often you want to publish it. Be sure to consider the different types of content, such as blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media posts, and how they can be used across various channels.
  4. Create a Content Calendar: Once you have a content plan, create a calendar to organize your content production and publishing schedule. This ensures that you stay on track and consistent with your messaging.
  5. Monitor and Measure Results: Track the performance of your content and measure the results against your objectives. Analyze the metrics to determine what’s working and what’s not, and use that information to refine your content strategy over time.

And one last nugget of wisdom for you:

After you create your pillar content, break it up for use on social media so you can leverage your audiences attention when you have it.