Regardless of whether you are in B2B, B2C, or personal branding, regardless of the industry and niche, regardless of the channels you fancy, content creation is the most commonly used digital language today.
Companies, influencers, and random online citizens all live and breathe the current content creation trends, eager to find new ways to express themselves and to be seen.
In this article, we highlight the most prominent trends in content in 2022 and provide some insight and tips on how to make them work for you.
Read on and prepare to amaze your audience!
1. The Rise of the Creator Economy
Nowadays, everyone who is online creates and consumes content daily. As brands have discovered that this is the way to connect with their audiences and fuel their inbound marketing strategies, the creator economy has grown to a staggering market size of over $104.2 billion and is increasing at a steady pace.
It has been estimated that more than 50 million people today identify themselves as content creators. While most of them consider themselves amateurs and do it just for fun, more than 2 million have made content creation their permanent occupation and primary source of income.
This wave of brands, influencers, and average Joes rushing towards content creation has built up a higher demand for the proper software and tools to facilitate their creative needs. It’s easier than ever for newcomers to start their efforts and produce quality content with minimal investment. All they need to succeed is to embrace the spirit of the times and their audience.
2. Ubiquitous Memefication
People can talk as much as they like about video as the MVP of content, but the fact is that memes dominate the digital world. No other format can even dream of getting close enough to being as popular as they are.
There’s a meme for every occasion nowadays. And where there isn’t, one is being created as we speak.
People love memes because they are quick, simple, easily-digestible, easy-to-make, funny, and relatable. Furthermore, more often than not, they create unexpected relationships between topics and events that, otherwise, have nothing in common, which makes them even more entertaining.
In a nutshell, they are the quintessential digital content and the king of content creation trends.
This makes memes a great tool for creators who want to quickly gain popularity and build a digital presence. Just follow the trending topics, cross-reference them with your pop culture lore, and add a witty comment.
Furthermore, and contrary to popular belief, memes can be a business tool as well. If you create unique content that people in your industry can understand and relate to, this can help you not only build awareness, but strengthen your relationship with your followers.
People love it when they find memes that express the way they think and feel – they not only spark joy, but give a sense of belonging. This goes especially for niche topics, because, when it comes to them, people often feel that there is no one who understands them. If those people find a meme that sums up their hobby, profession, or weird passion, they instantly feel connected and relieved to know that there are others out there that understand and think like they do.
3. Keeping It Short and Sweet in Videos
Ok, although memes are an all-time favourite, video still remains one of the most popular and beloved digital formats. The tendency in 2022 is to keep producing interesting videos that engage the audience, provide value, educate, and entertain.
Depending on the platform, the goals of the content, and the information you want to share, you can experiment with different lengths. However, it’s a good rule of thumb to keep it short and sweet. On the internet, no one has the patience to watch long videos and the attention span of the digital inhabitants is decreasing every day.
For example, back in 2018, 64% of videos were over 10 min long, and people were fine with that. Today, it’s best to keep it within 2 minutes, or – even better – 60 seconds, otherwise, you risk people not even clicking on your link.
If the information you have in mind is too detailed to fit into such a limited time frame, you should consider launching a series of short videos, rather than one longer piece. This way, you will not only give the user what they need, but, if you manage to hold their attention, you can boost engagement and retain their interest for longer.
4. Podcasts. Podcasts Everywhere
Podcasts have taken the digital scene by storm and are not going anywhere. In fact, the trend is so popular that in 2021 more than half of all Americans, aged 12-34, regularly listened to audio shows. The number is expected to grow even further in 2022 as the format is even more popular now.
For content creators, this is an opportunity to expand their audience by reaching users with different browsing habits and preferences because it provides a convenience that other mediums simply can’t – you can consume it anytime, anywhere, and combine it with other activities. People who otherwise might not have the time to watch a video or read a lengthy article can listen to a podcast while they’re doing chores, going to work, etc.
What’s more, launching a podcast can be easier than you think! You can also repurpose them with next to no effort into other types of content to be distributed on other digital channels and this benefits your SEO strategy too. On top of that they can easily be monetized. What’s not to love?
5. Personal Stories on Social Media Platforms
On social media, the TL; DR rules still apply. This means that, in most cases, you should keep your posts short and concise and touch on only the essence of what you want to say.
However, the Covid pandemic has changed our lives in so many ways and one of them is that people feel the need to share their stories, thoughts, and experiences with others more than ever before. That’s what isolation does.
In terms of social media content creation, this means that longer posts are not that uncommon nowadays. Furthermore, if they are on topics that people care about and can relate to, they can drive even more engagement than a short and witty remark with a bunch of emojis.
We see people share personal stories and use them to make a point on all popular social networks. Even LinkedIn is now used, not only to look for collaboration opportunities and talk about professional experiences, but to make a statement as well.
Regardless of the platform, what matters is that you really need to have something valuable, meaningful, and moving to share. In addition, you need to pick your words to keep the information concise and engaging. Otherwise, you risk losing the reader halfway through, and this may signal to the algorithm that your content is not that great and lead to fewer impressions, and, as a result, less engagement.
That said, social media is still not the place to overdo it, so try to limit such posts to only when the occasion really calls for them.
6. Longform Content Getting Even Longer
You may already be tired of hearing about how great longform content is, but the thing is that there simply isn’t any reason for it to perish. (Of course, we are talking about blogs and articles here, we’ve already established that videos and social posts should stay on the short side.)
However, the idea is not to write endless pages just for the sake of it. What makes longform content important is the value that it brings. To be worthwhile, it should deliver exhaustive information, express an interesting point of view, and, generally, provide the information the user wants and needs.
In 2022, when a person researches a topic online, they are looking for a page that has all the answers that they need. If they click on your link, skim through your content, and see that it’s not what they are looking for, they will simply leave to the next search result.
This experience will not only disappoint and frustrate them, but will negatively affect your SEO and your EAT.
On the other hand, if you manage to retain their attention and provide real value, they will stay on the page and read the whole thing. They may even click on your other links because they like what they see. One thing leads to another, and they become customers. Just like that.
Furthermore, longer articles allow you to include more relevant information, optimize for keywords and LSI keywords, and build a better presence in the SERPs.
7. Rich Virtual Experiences
You know that something is really trending when you catch yourself fighting the urge to roll your eyes each time you see it mentioned. That’s exactly the case with the Metaverse. It’s everything that people on the internet are talking about right now. Furthermore, with Facebook involved, we all know that funds will be poured into it to make it even more popular and turn it into the next big thing.
For content creators, this provides a new and exciting playground where they can use their imagination to build completely new experiences that their followers have never seen before. You can create realities, share feelings, showcase products like never before, show, instead of tell, and whatnot.
Whether the trend will stick or not, only time will tell. However, the fact is that it provides limitless lucrative opportunities and is worth keeping an eye on.
8. Inclusivity and Accessibility
In 2022, content creators should do their best to make their production equally accessible to all of their followers. This means adding captions and subtitles to videos, providing transcripts to podcasts, adding meta information to images, adapting written content to audio, and so on.
The more diverse and accessible your content formatting is, the more people you will be able to reach.
The greatest benefit of the internet is that it provides people with almost limitless access to information. And it’s only fair if everyone can enjoy it and benefit from it.
It takes little effort for you to adapt your pieces to different platforms and formats, but it can make all the difference to a person with disabilities who can only fully interact with one of them.
9. Interactive Content for More Engagement
Interactive content is a great way to attract the user, engage with them, and keep them around for longer. While it may be more complicated and time-consuming to implement, it sure drives impressive results.
Whether it will be polls, shoppable posts, quizzes, videos, games, or even an interactive 404-page, content that requires active participation from the user can allow you to stand out from competitors and connect with your audience.
Furthermore, it can provide you with valuable insights into customer behaviour, and allow you finetune your personas and your overall approach.
A popular way to enhance your content with an interactive element is gamification. It allows you to find more engaging ways to communicate complicated information, retain the user’s interest for longer, increase productivity, and even build awareness.
10. Taking the No-Filter Movement to the Next Level
The pandemic gave people a lot of time to contemplate their lives, and re-evaluate their attitudes on all kinds of things. At the same time, almost everyone around the world is in the same position – at home, worried about their closest ones, and uncertain about what the future holds. You, me, popular influencers, or celebrities – we all felt, more or less, the same way.
This kind of experience puts into perspective the way we feel about everything and what really matters. Combined with the fact that almost all of our “public appearances” were hosted in our living rooms, this all resulted in a strong support for the no-filter movement where people felt safe to show their humanity, their genuine selves, and to share their personal worlds with everyone who cares to listen.
This movement also resulted in raw and relatable content that the audience craved for. It was intimate, personal, and, well, unlike what social media is used to.
Even though, in 2022, it seems that the worst of the pandemic is behind us (or, so we hope!) this type of content will remain relevant. Yes, we all want to be out of our day-time pyjamas and be back in society, but we are still curious about what goes on behind the scenes of other people’s lives, such as celebrities, where we are reminded that we are all not that different.
11. UGC and the Voice of the People
If there is something better than staying on the crest of the wave with the hottest content creation trends, it is to become a trend-setter yourself. By starting challenges, hashtag movements, or games you can inspire user-generated content that leads back to your own profiles and brand.
This type of content inspires a sense of community and a feeling of belonging in people. It makes them relate to influencers and brands, and, above all, makes them feel that their voice matters.
Furthermore, if they manage to touch on the right topics, content creators can really make a difference in the lives of their audience. The goal here is to move people, give them a way to express themselves, or simply provide them with an interesting conversation topic.
This way, you will not only build a connection with your audience and expand your reach, but, if you play your cards right, you may even contribute something valuable to the online community.
12. Focus on User Experience
In the oversaturated digital marketplace, customers find it difficult to make buying decisions. More often than not, products and brands seem very similar which can frustrate the client or drive them to make a random choice, especially when the purchase doesn’t involve a large investment.
To stand out, brands need to focus on the user experience. And we are not talking about the basics, such as providing a high-quality product, spot on customer service, and a seamless purchasing process. It’s 2022, and all this is the default now. If you can’t hit the benchmarks, no clever content and stellar marketing can win over the client. Even if you manage to trick them at first, word on the digital street spreads like wildfire, and it won’t be long before your reputation catches up with you.
Nowadays, to provide an excellent user experience, you need to “wow” the person and do it quick.
One of the most efficient ways to do this is by adding a pinch of entertainment to the interaction.
This can be via a gamified experience, a lucrative loyalty program, added value, a brand community, an unexpected AR feature, an interesting gift, etc. The goal is to retain the customer’s attention, provide joy, and, ultimately, to stand out.
Bottom Line
Whether content creation is just a hobby or the primary source of income to you, following the latest trends will allow you to stay in the loop of what people like and share.
However, the field is dynamic and highly dependent on social and cultural trends, new technology, and, generally, what happens in the world around us. This means that simply following the trends is not enough to stand out and remain relevant. You need to feel the pulse of the digital community and create content that moves and excites people.
That said, the tips and ideas we’ve shared will give you a head start and allow you to unfold your imagination and inspire your audience with awesome content.
