As the calendar closes in on the new year, we all anticipate what content marketing trends are on the horizon for 2022. Since content marketing is all about preparing consumers for what is to come, the trends for the upcoming year will continue to reflect the use of technology and data-focused strategies successfully used in past years, but with a fresh take for the new year. Next year also may hold a softer, more empathetic approach to customer interactions with more content marketing that is people-centered. The following are great predictions of what content marketing trends will lead in the new year.

1. Content Hubs

Video will continue to grow as a preferred content medium, and marketers will begin to create and manage their own content hubs in 2022. Since every company is now essentially a media company, creating video content that can be managed and tracked more easily will be a big trend in the next year.

2. Podcasting

The coming year will see increases in this already popular platform. With room to grow in the marketplace, brands will jump in to create new customer connections with internal and external thought leader content.

3. Solid Video Content Strategy

The coming year will see companies solidify their video capabilities with a concrete, data-backed video approach. Creative, intentional videos will continue to be the backbone of technology-based content marketing in 2022.

4. Expanded Video Budgets

If 2020 and 2021 were the years of Zoom-style content, the coming year is likely to be the year of planned, live video content. It is likely that budgets to produce quality content will shoot up to reflect the desire to record in-person media.

5. Tokenization

We see monetization on the horizon for 2022 through tokenized content experiences. Marketing will continue to move away from platforms like Facebook and YouTube, instead choosing to focus on utilizing their own supply chain with community tokens and NFTs.

6. Creativity Will Be King

Marketing trends show that consumers will continue to connect with memes, filters, and short TikTok-style content. In the coming year, marketing without brand-safe corporate images will continue to become more popular.

7. Storytelling

Putting human-centric stories as the focus of content marketing will be a growing trend in the new year. Connecting with customers and sharing their experiences will be a big focus in 2022.

8. Matching the Message to the Channel

One of the back-to-the-basics trends we see up and coming for 2022 is a return to channel-focused content. Tailoring the customer motives and preferences to the channel will be more important than ever in the next year, so marketing will return to this approach.

9. Showing Your Impact

With social impact promotion growing every year, content will continue to shift towards marketing that encourages and reflects a brand’s impact on its community. This type of marketing will also apply to internal communications since the younger generations have a strong desire to work for companies that can show they are making a difference in the world.

10. Authentic Brand Voice 

Every advertising company, like Nova, strives to create an authentic brand perspective when promoting its clients. But in 2022, we see an even greater focus on using real people within a company to convey who the brand is and what makes them tick to generate authentic, genuine content to connect with consumers.

11. Assistance From AI Technology

More than ever before, AI technology will be playing a part in creating and delivering marketing content. AI is here to stay. For those not on board yet, it is easy to dip your toes in the water to see what works to help you automate basic tasks to free you up to create content.

12. Using Data to Tell Stories

Marketing companies will lean into the information that brand data can provide in an effort to reflect the authentic customer preferences and history of the brand. Content marketing will use this to create unique, data-backed stories to connect with customers in 2022.

13. Using AI to Learn About Customers

Advanced technologies will continue to take the guesswork out of what your customers really want with more and more usage of artificial intelligence in 2022. You will be able to know more about when your customers are active and what content they seek out.

14. Inclusive Marketing

We see more companies being responsive to all customers with a clear directional focus on inclusivity in their content marketing next year and beyond.

15. Standing For Something

Companies that may not have had a clear corporate mission will find one, reflecting our greater social consciousness. Marketing trends will lean towards content that highlights the corporate mission and purpose.

16. Human Connectivity Will Win Out

With the impersonal tone of the Zoom era in the past years, successful content marketing in 2022 will trend towards content that will help people feel more connected to each other.

17. Niche-Building

Content marketing trends are indicating that brands will need to find their niche and get really comfortable in it to gain and hold customers in 2022. More people are looking for something unique in the businesses that they support so businesses that stand out in some way are likely to see an increase in content interactions. 

18. Conversational Marketing Will Take a Backseat

Less content will be created to drive conversations, instead of shifting to purposefully creating content that will educate and empower communities.

19. Community Management Strategies

Working with the metaverse and building strong community management plans for their brand’s future growth is one of the bigger content marketing trends we see for 2022.

20. Using Real People

Content marketing will move away from utilizing inauthentic customer experiences to build credibility. It will instead focus on using real people and voicing real stories.

21. Delivering Real Value

Refocusing on the value the brand brings to consumers to drive sales is one of the marketing trends we see gaining traction in 2022. Brands will likely be offering more to their customers than they had previously.

22. Bringing Joy

Almost all of the trends we forecast for the next year relate to building strong, human connections between brands and the customer. But the push behind many of these is that people are seeking content that brings them joy, excitement to see the next episode, and happiness to engage with an authentic story. The biggest trends in marketing for 2022 will be content that stirs up positive, strong emotions that drive people to act, be, or do more in the future.