Content marketing trends to watch out for in 2020

Over the years, brands and agencies have made content an integral part of their game plan. As we enter 2020, content marketing has become even more important. Similarly, content creation and distribution will change radically. Technological and innovation factors such as voice search, AI, ML are altering the ways content specialists had been manoeuvring the art of content.

Content will continue to remain a mainstay with an increasing focus on two-way communication and interactivity. Nearly all consumers look for visual, interactive and engaging content and brands that crack the formula will see an uplift in their brand-building efforts.

In 2020, India's leading marketers hope that content on digital would do much better than expected next year as all brands are gradually moving to the digital-first strategy.

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According to Google, 90% of new internet users in India consume content in languages. With increasing internet penetration and India being the most internet consumption-heavy country with over 530 million users, content platforms are getting an opportunity to ride on vernacular as the most trending topic in the industry.

Quality content on digital and in regional languages is what the industry has been referring to as the major trend to look out for this year.

Let’s look into the other major game-changing trends in content space that might mould the digital space for the year.

Voice-based content to gain prominence

In 2020, 50% of searches are said to be going through voice. Having an effective voice search strategy will command brands to have a very different approach towards content as human beings have always learnt to talk first before we type. Audiences have started seeking more passive content experiences. This behaviour, along with a boom in smart speakers and audio streaming services, is genuinely pushing voice-based content to another level, and brands are going to start owning that space this year.

Zameer Kochar

Zameer Kochar, VP, Marketing and Member Engagement, InterMiles, said, “Voice search will become a key marketing channel and content will play a big role to influence that. The audience profile and research that brands would do, content optimisation will vary. The information people seek through those mediums and channels will be different. Also, how do you optimise your local searches will be another element.”

More collaborations between brands, agencies and content platforms/creators

The more, the merrier. Brands are going to increasingly see value in collaborating with more creators and even other brands that target a similar audience. We witnessed OnePlus partnering with Netflix in 2019 (OnePlus 7 Pro has pre-installed Netflix). Brands are realising the merit in experimentation on social, and a lot of brands are trying out different collaborations in the coming year.

Nishant Kashikar

Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, Tourism Australia said this year would witness more of curating engaging original content in collaboration with influencer platforms for a targeted consumer segment, given the rise of OTT platforms and new-age portals.

Sameer Saxena

2019 saw a lot of content sharing between content platforms. Sameer Saxena, CCO of TVF Originals, said there is a possibility that 2020 will witness more such collaborations and it hints towards consolidation in the future.

“It's only for the better as we have key focused players in the market. It also helps the audience to have a clear understanding of what they will want to consume, rather than having those hundreds and thousands of options and then getting lost in the content,” he said.

Mayur Kaku

Similarly, Mayur Kaku, Assistant Vice-President, Branding and Communication, Aegon Life Insurance, said the client and agency relationship would see a new shift as we walk into the next decade.

More innovations and push for creativity in video content

Video for engagement, video for research and video for everything. Pick up any report, and the first recommendation would be to churn out video content from content and search. But when we consider this recommendation, we must juxtapose it with another study that proclaims that human attention span is down to eight seconds compared to 12 seconds in 2000. So, it is not about churning out a new video every time we see a point of contact with the customer.

Kaku said, “As we proceed to 2020, it will be more about attention-grabbing and differentiated videos that communicate the key message in eight seconds or less. This will mean a lot more innovation and push for creativity.”

Brands becoming publishers

Saransh Agarwal

Saransh Agarwal, Senior Director, Content Strategy and Business, The Glitch, said, “For so long, brands have been ashamed of their presence on social, trying to hide inside a five-second YouTube window. I think 2020 will see the true emancipation of owned branded content, where brands will put out more and more consumer-first editorial content that adds to the audience experience.”

Increase in branded content

Saxena said branded content would go big this year. “Everyone wants to be on the digital. Pretty much all the brands have understood that. What new kinds of collaborations happen in the future with brands is unknown yet.”

Vivek Chaturvedi

Vivek Chaturvedi, Associate Director, Brand Marketing, Tupperware India, Tupperware India, said, “Seamless integration of the brand in ‘slice of life’ content is an imperative. Brands need to be a part of the consumer’s daily life, positioned within the realm of relevance and need.”

Celebrity-driven content

Over the last year or two, brands have already started realising the potential of creating more frequent and wide-ranging celebrity content versus the one-off big bad TVC. Agarwal said that in 2020, brands would truly zero in on their exact content strategy on this front, and there will be a lot more smart celebrity content.

Influencers becoming more credible

Nowadays, audiences keep a sharp eye on brands’ collaborations with influencers, especially if the association seems irrelevant to them. They see through it and judge for being inauthentic and insincere. The influencers themselves have started to recognise this.

Abhik Sanyal

Abhik Sanyal, Head, Consumer Marketing, DSP Investment Managers, said this year brands would be more conscious of their collaborations with influencers who are more credible or the thought leaders of a particular category.

Ramakant Khandelwal

“Influencer marketing will see a shift and brands will need to be more mindful of their associations in terms of quality over quantity,” said Ramakant Khandelwal, CMO, Payback India.

Apart from these trends, Kaku said that the majority of brands would resort to ‘in-sourcing’ of creative talent. This will not only help to churn out work faster but have a team that acknowledges the business context and real-time priorities.