Emerging technologies are reshaping content marketing as we know it. From AI’s magic touch to voice-activated assistants, the landscape is evolving faster than ever before. Here are some of our recent favourites!
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Since the time Artificial Intelligence has entered the content marketing game, things have taken a 360-degree turn. What took marketers days is now being done in a few hours. From finding the right keywords to actual content creation, AI can literally do it all. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms are being used by smart marketers to quickly create engaging and relevant content that is largely personalised due to a user’s quality of engagement. Gartner estimates that by 2025, 75% of B2B organisations will drive sales using machine learning and AI.
Netflix is one of the prime examples of how AI/ML applications can be used to one’s benefit. The algorithm closely monitors and collects stats of the movies watched, genres browsed, search queries, etc., to create a personalised list of recommendations that users are bound to get attracted to. Ultimately it does the job of a close friend who knows your taste and always has a list of recommendations ready for you.
Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR)
Catching up to speed with AI, AR and VR are the second most quickly emerging technologies that will change the face of content marketing in today’s world. Virtual and Augmented Reality hold the capability to blend the physical and virtual worlds together, unwrapping a world full of new marketing possibilities. While VR can create fully immersive experiences that transport users to a different world, AR brings the desired content to the physical world.
Virtual try-ons and 360-degree-views of hotel rooms are great examples of how marketing experts are improving the way we engage with their products and services. Remember Pokemon Go? This AR game was an instant hit when it was launched early in 2016. It used Augmented Reality to overlap Pokémons from the virtual world to the physical world and resulted in millions of downloads. L’Oreal, a high-in-demand makeup brand, uses similar tech to allow customers to try on virtual makeup before they make a purchase.
Not only do these technologies help enhance customer experience, but they also engage users in a way that boosts their buying power instantly.
Voice-assisted devices
A crucial and rather underestimated technology is voice-activated devices like Amazon’s Alexa, and Google Home. These devices, when your content is SEO-optimised, hold the capability to transform into your very own brand ambassadors. Studies suggest that 1 in 4 people use voice-activated search to find the information they need online. Experts estimate that in 2024, the number of voice-activated assistants and devices will go up to 8.4 billion, which FYI, is more than the number of people on the planet.
If you want to play this card right, make sure to structure your website and content in a way that is easy for a voice-activated assistant to find and understand. Make this happen by an optimised focus on SEO, content structure, and long-tail keywords. Domino’s ‘order without lifting a finger’ campaign is making the best of this by becoming the first pizza company in the UK that lets their customers order by using only an emoji through Facebook Messenger. Their voice-activated ordering assistant, Dom, has topped over half a million orders since its launch in 2014.
Interactive content
It’s time to reach your target audience in increasingly new and innovative ways, and we’re seeing that happen through the rise of interactive content. From Instagram’s hidden emoji game to LinkedIn’s polls, marketers are generating more and more reasons for users to never actually ‘step out’ of their social media channels.
Generating interactive content has a wide range of benefits, but the one content marketers love the most is engagement. Interactive content gives room for the conversation to be a two-sided undertaking, inviting the users to be a crucial part of the content creation process. Their engagement then helps marketers with in-depth information and insights, giving them an understanding of user preferences. 93% of marketers agree with the power of interactive content.
The best use case that comes to mind is Buzzfeed. Their quizzes are a sensation all over the internet. They work with an interactive media platform, called Eko, to come up with fun, interactive, and topical quizzes that never fails to shoot user engagement through the roof.
Semantic web
Another tech tool powered by Machine Learning algorithms is the semantic web. It enables search engines to understand the context behind content, leading to more relevant search results. Marketers can make the most of this by leveraging structured data and semantic mark-up to improve the visibility and discoverability of their content, ensuring it reaches the right audience at the right time. The New York Times implements semantic mark-up to enhance the discoverability of its articles across search engines. By providing search engines with structured data about the content, such as categories, authors, and publication dates, The New York Times improves its ranking in search results and drives organic traffic to its website.
Wrapping up our exploration of the transformative power of emerging technologies in content marketing, it’s important to note that the examples we’ve discussed are just the tip of the iceberg. The potential for innovation and creativity knows no bounds in this rapidly evolving landscape.
If you’re a content marketer eager to leverage these cutting-edge tools to supercharge your strategy, we’re here to help
