7 Critical Things to Consider for 2023 Content
So you’ve started 2023, and your goal is to make your content even better this year. Spending time at the beginning of the year flushing out your social media and content strategy could benefit you greatly. Chances are you’ve already penciled in a handful of important dates for 2023.! Straighten out any details you can, and if some things haven’t materialized enough to do so, that’s ok too. Do you know what your content marketing goals are? Do you have a plan for how you are going to achieve them?
Organic content is often something that we think of month to month or even week to week. From blog topics to social media copy to starting a podcast, it’s easy to see content marketing as something you plan as you go. Taking some time now, however, to think through what your goals and strategies for 2023 are for your content marketing will help significantly. This list includes 7 critical things to have top of mind for your 2023 content marketing strategy.
1. Strategy Before Tactics
You may already have some tactical goals set for the new year in your planning. Start a podcast, make four videos, and write one glob per month. Awesome! It is important, however, to review the reason for those goals. Instead of starting with “what do we want to do for content marketing this year?” start with “what do we want our content marketing to do this year”. This small change in thinking reframes what you are working on from output focus to how your content contributes.
For example, if you’ve decided to produce a certain number of videos for your brand this year, you should also consider what you want those to do. Back all the way up to your business goal. Are you trying to grow a specific type of revenue because that’s the most profitable product or service for your business? If so, how are you getting that business now, where does that audience get their information, how do you need to reach them, and with what messages? By starting all the way back at the business goal and then creating marketing goals, audience, and finally landing on tactics, everything you do will be effective. You will have those goals as your north star to come back to any time your deciding big or small things for your marketing.
2. Holistic Strategy - Multichannel, Multi-purpose
Once you have your high-level strategy and move into tactics, think holistically for your content across all your marketing channels and support multiple goals.
When you write a blog or make a video for your business, you might think about the fact that you are going to post it on social media and send it via email. One of the advantages of planning ahead with your content is that you can zoom all the way out and look at all your channels and goals. What social media platforms do you use? Do you use email? Do you want to increase your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and target certain keywords or phrases? Your content can support cross-channel goals and, with slight adjustments, support everything.
If you have an event coming up in March, for example, you may want to create that video your sales team has been asking for. You can then post it on LinkedIn, YouTube, and your website optimized for SEO. One video can help you accomplish all of that.
You can also consider multiple audiences. In the same blog, can you answer questions you often get from current customers in a way that appeals to future customers? If you’ve been thinking of running a Google Ad to drive more traffic to your website, can you use that same content for social media posts and emails that will re-engage past customers? Using a holistic content strategy, you can see how your content can support your business.
3. Videos
There’s no denying the engagement power of video. While most content strategies focus on blogs or other written content as the cornerstone of their content marketing, in recent years, video has moved from a nice to have and is now becoming a key part of most content strategies. As Jerome Serra of Melo Multimedia puts it, “There has been a clear shift towards value content in social media, where you nurture your leads and over time become an authority in the marketplace.” He continues, “people learn from, rely on, and trust video.”
In other words, pay attention to where the deciding force in your field (your audience) places the most of their attention and value, which in many cases, is concise video content. Demonstrating your professional wisdom and reliability through video can also be a highly effective method of building brand authority. You can add some dimension and relatability to this trust by including client testimonials and telling your own personal story. Video is also a great tool for SEO since Google tends to prioritize the medium in search results.
For more on video, check out the full Jerome Serra Expert Interview.
4. Podcast
“You should start a podcast” - anyone who’s worked in content marketing has heard this suggestion. Maybe it’s from a sales rep, maybe your friends in marketing, now from me. Because I hate to say it, but honestly, you should start a podcast.
Podcasts might just be the most life-friendly content platform that exists today! You can listen to them at any time, from any place, while doing other things on a broad range of devices, all for free. They’re entirely on-demand. But what’s the advantage of podcasts other than accessibility? Well, for businesses, they serve as a direct line of communication with clients and associates (and are rapidly growing in popularity as a medium). As Ian Levitt of Studio Americana says, “All brands want to create a more personal relationship with their customers, but I believe a defining aspect of 2023 will be the number of companies using podcasts to create and build that connection.” He adds that the key components of a successful podcast presence include passion, consistency, and finding your community. "By this time in 2024, companies without a podcast–whether internally or externally–will simply be behind."
For more on Podcasting for Businesses, check out Ian Levitt’s Expert Interview.
5. Organic Social Media
At this point, almost all businesses, large and small, have social media. However, many businesses are still not using their platforms to their full potential. Social Media can be a powerful tool that you can use to drive new leads, build trust, and even connect directly with current and future customers. Taking time to create a strategic plan for the how, what, and why of your social media will make it vastly more impactful in 2023.
Social media is not only a vessel for your unique brand of expertise but also a multi-faceted tool that can help you search, filter, customize, organize, plan, connect, and conduct business all the better. Small changes can make a big impact, both for the better and, unfortunately, if you aren’t careful, for the worse. Spending some time at the beginning of the year stepping back and asking yourself some key questions can make all the difference. What do you want your social media to accomplish? Who do you need to influence in order to accomplish that goal? What content and in what format will you be able to achieve those goals?
6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an integral element to any company’s content strategy. We all want to be on the first page of google when prospective customers are looking for answers in our area of experience. As Joey Merz advises, “With only 49% of small businesses saying they invest in SEO, it's a great way to get ahead of your competition without having to out-bid them in Search Ads, which can get very expensive quickly.”
We often think of SEO as a strategy in and of itself, which it is, but it’s important to keep SEO in mind when creating content. By creating content strategically with SEO in mind, you can optimize as you go rather than needing to do a full rework of your website the next time you need a big push to grow. Instead, your content can work for you the whole time.
7. Things Change
This is a plan you are deviating from. No matter how diligently we plan every detail, something could come along at any moment and that seems to derail everything. Make sure your plan or strategy reflects your priorities. If you focus your planning on strategy rather than tactics, you will more easily be able to pivot when you need to.
If you are clear on your goal, audience, and then the content you change that content, new opportunities come up, and still achieve your goals. While resources and methods might fluctuate, your ultimate mission and goals are likely much more permanent. Don’t fret too much about changing tactics every now and then, particularly when it leads you toward a path of low resistance and high reward.
