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You may have heard the whispers that content marketing is on its last legs in 2024, but let’s pause and think for a moment. Remember when they said email marketing was finished? Or that Google ads had run their course? Yet, here we are, with these channels still going strong. It’s like when radio advertising was deemed a thing of the past, yet radio ad revenue in Australia increased by 5% in 2022 compared to the previous year. The reality: Content Marketing isn’t dying—it’s evolving. And if you’re still playing by 2023’s rules, it’s time for a change, otherwise, you’re going to be left behind.
In this article, you’ll learn what content marketing looks like today and how to adapt your strategies to stay ahead in the game.
The Way We Think About Traffic Has to Change
Ask any marketer and they’ll tell you that one of the main purposes of content is to generate traffic, convert that traffic into leads, and close those leads into sales.
This mindset, deeply ingrained in marketing strategies, has emphasised traffic as the main goal. This focus often led to content that was more about quantity rather than quality.
In order to get more traffic, many times, content marketers would produce top of funnel content that focuses on targeting buyers at the start of the buying journey, as opposed to targeting buyers who are seriously close to making a buying decision.
But things are changing.
In particular, there’s two major changes that we need to talk about:
- The way Google values content is changing
- The introduction of AI is likely going to reduce traffic
The Way Google Values Content is Changing
Google’s New Helpful Content Update prioritises sites that produce helpful, quality content. This means that quantity no longer beats quality.
If you want to drive traffic beyond 2023, you need to focus on being helpful and answering your prospect’s questions, not just producing top of funnel content that might rank well but not actually give your serious prospects what they want.
🔎 Read: How to Write Blog Articles That Rank & Generate Leads
The Introduction of AI is Likely Going to Reduce Traffic
The buyer wants answers quickly, and with AI, they’re going to get those answers quicker than ever before. However, this may mean less traffic for you.
The reality is that generative search is taking market share away from traditional search engines.
Rather than finding information by browsing websites, users can now find that information without ever leaving the search results page, thanks to generative search.
This means less traffic overall.
So, what does this all mean?
Considering these changes, it’s no longer about generating traffic anymore.
Yes, you will still generate traffic. But with these changes, your focus needs to shift.
Instead, you should focus on producing high quality content that answers your buyers’ biggest questions and concerns. You need to make it easy for people to buy from you.
That’s job number one. Not traffic.
The Move Away from Traditional Content
What content means is also changing, and that’s something you need to consider.
The concept of content in content marketing is expanding beyond traditional forms like articles and e-books.
While these still hold value, the focus is shifting towards diverse mediums like:
- Videos (both long and short-form, including streaming)
- Social media posts
- Events (both digital and physical)
- Interactive content
- Podcasts
This broadening scope is partly in response to evolving search habits, with social media (and in particular short video content) expected to play an increasingly significant role in how products and services are discovered.
For you, this means looking into expanding your content beyond the traditional forms. Start recording video. Start posting short video content across YouTube and TikTok. And start podcasting.
It doesn’t matter what you get started with, the key is to just get started.
🔎 Read: How We Generate 65+ Pieces of Content Every Week
Sales Enablement Content
With all these changes afoot, what better time to focus on producing sales enablement content.
Content that attracts buyers and gets them looking at you is great, and although the landscape is changing, this type of content still has a place.
But moving forward, sales enablement content is going to be what differentiates your brand from every other competitor out there.
Content that directly addresses buyers’ fears, worries, and concerns is what we’re talking about here. It’s the content that your sales team can send to prospects to help push them over the line.
This type of content streamlines the sales process and has a direct impact on revenue generation.
However, it requires a collaborative approach between marketing and sales teams. If marketing doesn’t know what questions prospects are asking in the sales process, they won’t know what type of content to produce.
That’s where Content Brainstorm Sessions between the marketing and sales team becomes handy. These sessions allow for a collaborative approach where both marketing and sales teams can work together toward the same outcome: revenue generation.
🔎 Read: How to Run an Effective Brainstorming Session
While bottom of funnel sales enablement content has always been key in increasing closing rates and revenue, this shift is becoming more significant as the content landscape changes.
If you’re not already producing sales enablement content, it might be time to align your marketing and sales teams, hold a content brainstorming session, and start producing bottom of funnel content.
So, What’s Next?
Content marketing is not dead, but it’s changing. If you don’t want to lose relevance in the future, you need to adapt to the new playing field.
This means focusing on high quality, buyer-focused, bottom of funnel content that helps sales teams close more deals. It means focusing on shifting from the traditional view of generating traffic to focusing on being helpful to your buyer. It means moving towards producing more video content, especially short form video. And most importantly, it means adopting AI.
🔎 Next, read: Why Content Marketers Must Embrace AI & The Best Content Marketing AI Tools
