5 Content Marketing Trends That Will Hold Firm in 2021

by | Oct 27, 2020 | Content Marketing

Question. ❓

How is your business traffic growth and revenue doing amidst the pandemic?

Are you staying ahead of the curve and seeing the same (or even better) results in your content marketing since the onset of the coronavirus?

Or are you struggling because you lost a ton of loyal followers when the world suddenly and inevitably changed?

And if you’re seeing success, will it last?

What are the content marketing trends for 2021 you need to keep in mind as the year turns?

All these are great questions, and I’ll answer them in this blog.

I’ll show you:

  • 5 content marketing trends for 2021 to keep you ahead of the curve
  • The #1 trend you need to focus on if you want to stay afloat, no matter how times change
  • Great examples of brands who made it (and excelled) despite the pandemic (and what you need to do to be like them)

Let’s dive in!

5 Content Marketing Trends for 2021

  1. Trend #1: Amazing, Value-Focused Brand Content Will Always Win the Day
  2. Trend #2: Meeting YMYL Standards in Tough Industries Will Be a Must for SEO Content Marketing Success
  3. Trend #3: Video Content Will Bring More Trust than Ever
  4. Trend #4: Voice-Search Savvy Content Marketing Will Rule the Roost
  5. Trend #5: Be Ready to Pivot Your Value-Base and Topics

content trends

Top content trends ? for 2020, via @JuliaEMcCoy's Write Blog: ❶ Amazing content will win the day, ❷ Meeting #Google YMYL standards will be a must, ❸ Video content ? will bring more trust. Read all ❺: Click To Tweet

Content Marketing Trends for 2021: Examining CMI’s Interesting Benchmark Study

CMI’s 2021 B2B Content Marketing: What Now? [New Research] is full of powerful insights.

The part I enjoyed most was where they talked about what brands did with their content marketing during the pandemic.

Here’s the thing: most of them had to pivot and alter their content marketing strategy to keep up with the times.

The data shows that 80-90% of content marketers made changes to their strategy, found those changes effective, and expected those changes to stay in effect in the foreseeable future.

cmi content marketing pandemic pivot

Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com

I totally agree with them, because we did the same at Express Writers.

We did our best to stay current and avoid getting swept away and forgotten amidst the panic COVID-19 caused.

For example, I found out that the term “work from home” skyrocketed from 300,000 searches per month to a whopping 1.8 million searches per month.

To respond to it, pull in a ton of new readers, and help people who were scrambling to supplement or replace their income, I crafted a piece for the Write Blog with the keyword “work from home.”

how to work from home

Source: expresswriters.com

The result?

The post shot up to become one of our top five most shared blogs of all time!

EW top posts BuzzSumo

Source: app.buzzsumo.com

The bottom line?

You can’t close your eyes, continue with your outdated content marketing strategy, and pray things will go back to “normal.”

It’s time to open your eyes, make the needed pivot with your content marketing strategy, and learn about the top content marketing trends for 2021.

Content Marketing Trends for 2021: The Top 5 You Absolutely Shouldn’t Miss

Three of these trends are older trends that are exploding in size.

Two are absolutely new.

Check them out.

Content Marketing Trend for 2021 #1: Amazing, Value-Focused Brand Content Will Always Win the Day

In other words, amazing content that meets or exceeds Google’s E-A-T standards.

No matter how the world changes, stellar content will never go out of style.

Check these stats out:

  • Over 90% of global search traffic now comes from Google. And you CANNOT rank on Google without stellar content.
  • Publishing quality, strategic content generates 67% more leads than not publishing any content.
  • 71% of B2B buyers read blogs to assist them in selecting the right brand to do business with.

You simply can’t succeed in content marketing without amazing content.

You simply can’t succeed in content marketing without amazing content. @JuliaEMcCoy Click To Tweet

In fact, 83% of B2B marketers attribute their content marketing success to valuable content.

cmi factors contributing to content success

Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com

On the other hand, 63% of B2B marketers say the biggest reason for their lack of content marketing success is due to content marketing challenges.

cmi factors contributing to lack of content success

Source: contentmarketinginstitute.com

The bottom line?

With great content, you’ll have met the #1 challenge for content marketing in 2021!

The problem is, creating this kind of content is hard.

You need to keep up with Google’s E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) standards, beat your competition, and deliver real value to your reader.

If you’re having trouble, we’re here to help.

At Express Writers, we don’t scramble for our content hats at the last minute.

Content is what we’re about. (We’ve grown from a $75 startup to a seven-figure business serving over 5,000 clients, without paying for a single ad!)

If you need content that surpasses Google’s E-A-T, has your readers craving for more, and ensures success for your content marketing in 2021, we’re here for you.

If you need content that surpasses Google’s E-A-T, has your readers craving for more, and ensures content success in 2021, consider @ExpWriters. ⭐️ Click To Tweet

Content Marketing Trend for 2021 #2: Meeting YMYL Standards in Tough Industries Will Be a Must for SEO Content Marketing Success

When COVID-19 first hit China last December, what keyword did you hurriedly type into Google?

If you’re like me, it was “COVID-19 news.”

As the virus spread and took over the world, you probably typed in things like, “COVID-19 prevention,” “How to keep healthy during COVID-19,” and “COVID-19 facts.”

And along with the quality content you found, there was a ton of misinformation and fake news, making you scared, doubtful, and confused.

The result?

Google started working extra hard to rate health information found on its SERPs.

Fact-checkers were also hard at work, with fact-checking rising 900% higher than usual.

What this means for you is if you’re in the health industry, you need to take the standard of your content a notch higher.

The same is true if you’re in the legal or financial industry.

The stakes have skyrocketed.

If you’ve heard of YMYL standards, you know how careful Google has always been in making sure readers’ lives aren’t ruined by misinformation.

In 2021, meeting and surpassing these standards will be a MUST for successful SEO content marketing.

Here’s a quick rundown of YMYL topics, according to Google.

Your Money or Your Life (YMYL)

Source: semrush.com

If you’re worried your YMYL content doesn’t meet Google’s standards, we have the answers for you with our team of specialty industry writers. These aren’t just talented freelance writers, they’re industry practitioners like medical practitioners, lawyers, and finance experts trained in the art of writing.

Content Marketing Trends for 2021 #3: Video Content Will Bring More Trust than Ever

Imagine this.

You want to learn how to make your own sushi bake.

Do you:

  • Read five different blogs to learn the latest tips and tricks?
  • Watch a YouTube video that lists all the ingredients and shows you how to do it from start to finish?

I don’t know about you, but I always choose #2.

And I’m not alone.

In fact, 85% of Americans enjoy watching video content.

By 2021, people are expected to watch at least 100 minutes of video per day.

daily minutes spent watching video

Source: marketingcharts.com

Video is an amazing trend that won’t go away anytime soon.

It’ll only grow.

In fact, I pull in a ton of Express Writers clients and course students through content on my YouTube channel.

It’s incredible how a single video can pull in 60,000 views, and how my subscribers’ list grows by 100 new people per week.

My advice on your video campaign?

  • It’s not about when to post and what platform to use. It’s not about posting on a Friday or using Facebook Live instead of YouTube. It’s about connecting with your audience. Trust me, show them your face and your smile. It’ll help them connect with your brand more than a hundred walls of text will.
  • Keep it professional. You can’t publish video just for the sake of doing what everyone else is doing. Make sure you prepare a logical script that’ll guide you as you deliver valuable, concise, entertaining video content. If you’re not sure how, hire one of our video script writers.

Content Marketing Trend for 2021 #4: Voice-Search Savvy Content Marketing Will Rule the Roost

Remember Joaquin Phoenix’s 2013 movie, Her?

It’s about a lonely man who falls in love with Samantha, his voice assistant.

And while you’re not likely to start a relationship with Alexa or Siri (unless Amazon and Apple get Scarlett Johansson to do their voices too, of course ?), you’ve probably already done a voice search by now.

Let me tell you, you’re not alone.

In fact, 50% of all Google searchers are done with a voice search!

So, if you haven’t optimized your site for voice search yet, it’s time to start right now.

Here are three tips that’ll help:

  • Get into Google’s featured snippets. Ask yourself what questions your target audience will ask their voice assistants. Then, answer their questions in a brief, direct way using relevant keywords. That’ll increase your chances of being the site Google gives people when they ask a question. Here’s the answer to: How tall is the statue of liberty?

featured snippet statue of liberty

Source: google.com

what do we use voice search for

Source: wordstream.com

  • Create a mobile-friendly site. Use mobile-friendly plugins, go for speed and responsiveness, and ditch the text blockers and pop-up ads.

Content Trend for 2021 #5: Be Ready to Pivot Your Value-Base and Topics

Let’s go back to the beginning.

If we at Express Writers had ignored the pandemic and continued writing on our usual topics, would we have gotten a ton of shares, comments, and new followers?

No.

To be honest, we’d probably have lost some.

Because in the end, your content marketing isn’t about YOU and what YOU WANT.

It’s about your readers.

And if their interests and values shift somewhere else and you stay the same…you get the picture.

So, in 2021, be ready to pivot both your value base and your topics.

No, you don’t need new values.

You just need to highlight values you had all along, which are more in demand today than ever.

A great example is Airbnb.

You’d think that with the pandemic raging throughout the world and tourism trickling to almost nothing, the home-sharing giant would have gone down into oblivion.

Right?

But it hasn’t.

It has just pivoted, catering to virtual field trips and tours instead of actual travel experiences.

Airbnb pandemic content

Source: airbnb.com

Yes, the same values: adventure, connecting people around the world, learning different cultures.

But on a totally different platform.

Content Marketing Trends for 2021 and Beyond: How to Stay Relevant No Matter How Times Change

If you’re like every content marketer right now, you’re probably wondering what next year will bring.

At the end of 2019, as we sat writing down our predictions and “trends for 2020,” we had no idea what life had in store for us just a few months down the line.

And although we’re almost certain content marketing trends for 2021 will include video, voice search, and the rest…

…we never actually know what huge change will sweep us off our feet 10, or 5, or even 2 years from now.

The key to staying relevant is to know your audience and what they want and need at the moment.

Then, give it to them.

Once you nail that, you don’t have to worry about global changes wrecking your content marketing success in the future.

Need amazing content to match the content marketing trends for 2021? Our Content Shop has everything you need for a customized strategy. 

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