Content Predictions 24 Experts Reveal Their
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EXCLUSIVE GUIDE 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
The 24 experts we interviewed:
Andi Robinson
Joe Lazauskas
Global Digital Content and
VP of Marketing, Contently
Brand Leader, Corteva Agriscience
Marcio Moerbeck Andrew Davis
VP of Marketing, Americas, Keynote Speaker and Author,
Datasite Monumental Shift
Lauren Thomas Nicole Martin
Sr. Manager, Communications Managing Director,
& Social, Intuit Consumer Group Pace Communications
Michelle Ngome
Jenn VandeZande
Diversity & Inclusion Marketing
Editor in Chief,
Consultant, African American
SAP Customer Experience
Marketing Association
Kim Garst
Matt Navarra
CEO & Online Business Strategist
Social Media Consultant
Strategist , KT Enterprises
Robert Rose
Jenny Magic
Chief Strategy Advisor,
Strategist, Convince & Convert
Content Marketing Institute
2 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
The 24 experts we interviewed:
Bridget Esposito
Stacie Dauffenbach
Vice President, Creative Director,
Director of Digital Brand, ADT
Prudential Financial
Joe Pulizzi
Domitille de Saint-Exupéry
Founder, Tilt, Content
Head of Marketing, PlayPlay
Marketing Institute
Michel Barber Andy Crestodina
Brand Consultant Co-founder & CMO,
and Marketing Strategist Orbit Media Studios
Melissa Francois
Neal Schaffer
Global Social Media & Intl.
President, PDCA Social
Content Manager, Zoom
Mark Schaefer Kelsey Murray
Executive Director, Schaefer Associate VP, Global Head
Marketing Solutions of Social Media, Nasdaq
Michele Linn Zontee Hou
Co-founder and Chief Strategy Head of Strategy, Convince
Officer, Mantis Research & Convert, Convince & Convert
3 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
Foreword
Content marketing has never evolved more Tactics that were once highly successful may
quickly than in the past two years. no longer have the same impact. Platforms and
techniques we that relied on for years need to
Even before the pandemic, it was moving at an be reevaluated. And audience relationships may
impressive rate – with new platforms and trends need to be reestablished around new demands,
emerging regularly. But once Covid-19 hit, the preferences, and expectations.
consumption of digital content skyrocketed, as
we were spending more time with our laptops That’s why PlayPlay and Content Marketing
and smartphones than ever before. Institute teamed up to bring you this exclusive
guide. We asked more than two dozen
This resulted in brands producing in excess – visionaries, executives, and practitioners
every type of content imaginable: social for their thoughts and industry expertise.
media posts, webinars, virtual events, and more Together, we reveal the trends that should
videos – just to name a few. shape and help you navigate your 2022 content
marketing strategies and initiatives.
But which of these strategies are still effective
today? And which of them have ran their course In this report, you’ll find a thoughtful analysis
over the past year? Are we suffering from of the factors contributing to these key themes
content overload? and the challenges they’ll likely present for
marketers in the upcoming year. We’ve also
After such a prolonged period of uncertainty included expert tips to help you manage those
and disruption, it’s clear that content marketers challenges, as well as real-world examples. Our
need to evolve to serve the audience’s current goal is to show you how brands can achieve
needs and interests – not just press forward on remarkable success through smart, strategic use
the paths that led to past success. of content marketing tactics and techniques.
4 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
TA BLE OF C O N TE N T S
We observed ideas and insights
centered around these 9 key themes:
page 6 page 30
Foster Online Connections Reimagine Search and the Data
and Grow Communities Landscape in a Cookie-less World
page 10 page 36
Adopt People-Centric Align on Shared Values and
Brand Storytelling Communicate With Purpose
page 14 page 40
Focus on Video: The Most Differentiate Your Content
Powerful Content Format By Being Unique, Empathetic,
and Educational
page 20
Be Open to Pivoting and page 44
Adopting New Content Practices Provide Your Teams with
the Skills and Help They Need
page 26
Prioritize and Optimize Your page 48
Content Processes For Efficiency Conclusion
5 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
1
Foster Online Connections
and Grow Communities
AT A G L A NCE
Consumers have been spending so much time
on video conference calls, digital team building
There are many ways to build
events... and Netflix. It’s no surprise that they a brand community through
are all eager to reconnect, resume their social
activities and regain a sens of normalcy.
content marketing; but just
because you build it, doesn’t
This collective longing for human interaction
has also led to consumer behavior shifts that
mean your audience will want
are highly relevant to content marketers, to engage there. If you want
including:
to reap the benefits a thriving
• Increased adoption of group video messaging community can offer, make
tools (think Zoom or Microsoft Teams)
sure you create a space that’s
• A proliferation of “members-only” social inviting, thought-provoking,
media groups, which engage users in
conversations around a niche area of interest
and focused on serving your
they all share audience’s needs – not just your
• Rising interest in virtual events and
own business interests.
livestreamed video experiences
Those behaviors plus others, present brands
with both compelling reasons and more
impactful ways to build active, engaged brand
communities through their content experiences.
6 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
1 Foster Online Connections and Grow Communities
INS I G H TS A ND A DV I CE FROM THE EX PERT S
creating a community where a diverse group
Engage organically on social of people feels comfortable sharing ideas and
conversation.”
“It’s not just about engaging with those who
come to your content anymore – brands need
Kelsey Murray
to meet consumers where their conversations
Associate VP, Global
are happening and fold in organically. Leave
Head of Social Media, Nasdaq
each conversation with a smile, and ensure
your audiences continue to think – and talk –
about your brand.”
Mine conversations for
Stacie Dauffenbach
insights and opportunities
Director of Digital Brand, ADT
“Activating your community opens an incredible
gate into what your customers want to see,
read, and engage with. It can also surface
Build knowledge, not lists ideas for new content – and opportunities to
involve your customers in creating it.”
“Too often, marketers publish content to "check
the box" or they gate it to build their email list.
Melissa Francois
Instead, think about how you can bring people
Global Social Media Manager, Zoom
together so you can learn about them, and
provide a forum where they can learn from
“Start a meetup group. Host regular virtual
one another. A community is far more powerful
events. Publish natively on LinkedIn and
than a list; and helping people help each other
engage in the comments. We’ve built strong
will make your job much more meaningful, too.”
connections with the thousands of marketers
who attend our ContentlyU webinar series
Michele Linn,
each month and the hundreds that comment
Founder, Mantis Research
each week on our LinkedIn newsletters. I can’t
tell you how helpful it’s been to have that kind
of direct feedback and connection with our
Create a welcoming space for audience.”
all members to exchange ideas
Joe Lazauskas
“A lot of brands think that pushing non-stop
Head of Marketing, Contently
content will help with their growth strategy.
What they should really be focusing on is
7 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
1 Foster Online Connections and Grow Communities
Co-create content with
your internal and external
communities
“We’re seeing that user-generated content
is becoming more and more powerful —
with Tik Tok, people prefer to consume
content coming from people they can relate
to. Companies then should leverage their
communities better by creating content such as
client testimonials, employee interviews, case
studies, that showcases their different internal
audiences.”
Domitille de Saint-Exupéry
Employee interview video from Servier
Head of Marketing, PlayPlay
PU T T I N G I T I NTO ACTION
Engage organically on social
Before you can build a community, you need to understand what your audience
is looking for. Mantis Research’s Michele Linn shares the following tips to get you started:
Become involved in at least one existing relevant community.
Get to know the members as people: Listen, learn the words they use to
communicate, and uncover the challenges they’re discussing. Be helpful
(not promotional).
Have one-on-one conversations with others in your space.
This can include customers who love you, prospects, and even people who aren’t
aware of your brand. Be genuinely curious, and always give more than you ask
of them.
Survey known members of your audience.
Learn about their content preferences, and research your niche.
As a bonus, you can publish the resulting insights as additional content assets.
8 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
1 Foster Online Connections and Grow Communities
W H AT TO KEEP I N MI N D
Keep things interesting:
A good online community serves as a social gathering spot that members
want to return to, again and again. It is the brand’s job to keep the
conversation lively by picking helpful topics, posing thought-provoking
questions, and providing opportunities for participation.
Be respectful:
A community is a shared space that should feel comfortable for everyone
to spend their time and offer their thoughts. Set rules that allow your
community to work toward a common goal and post them prominently
so it’s easier to manage expectations and moderate conversations.
Provide the opportunity to share:
Just as good neighbors share a cup of sugar, good members of digital
neighborhoods share too. They become de-facto leaders and influencers,
giving their time and knowledge to others. They also anticipate the needs
of the group and encourage open communication.
9 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
2
Adopt People-Centric
Brand Storytelling
AT A G L A NCE
Everyone loves a good story. But for While marketer mistrust is certainly nothing
storytelling to work successfully as a new, it’s becoming a greater cause of concern
content marketing vehicle, it takes more for brands due to several converging issues,
than a strong message and a well-crafted including the following:
narrative. Brand stories need to connect with
consumers on a personal level, convince • Fake news and false narratives.
them to stick with you along the journey, and An alarming increase in falsified content,
compel them to take action, now and in the conflicting information about hot-button
future. issues like Covid, and more prevalent
biases in news media coverage are causing
That’s often easier said than done – especially consumers to doubt what they see, hear,
when customers have their choice of tools and or read – across all information sources.
platforms to ask and get answers on their own,
start-ups have just as much influence (and air • Corporate scandals, security breaches,
time) as well-established brands, and trust is and cultures of secrecy. Cambridge
becoming tough to earn – and even harder to Analytica, “Me-too” cover-ups, and
keep. other transparency troubles may not be
dominating the headlines right now, but the
In his keynote at Content Marketing World shadow these high-profile trust fails cast
2021, Wieden+Kennedy’s Marcus Collins over the terms of our customer relationships
pointed out a harsh truth about today’s are likely to linger.
marketing climate: “People trust (other)
people more than they trust any form of
marketing communication.” Consumers
commonly trust reviews posted by strangers
more than what we ourselves say about our
brands’ products and services.
10 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20222 Adopt People-Centric Brand Storytelling
INS I G H TS A ND A DV I CE FROM THE EX PERT S
Regardless of what’s behind consumers’ brand trust issues, our
experts see a tremendous opportunity to put those relationships back
on firmer ground. To do that, your content needs to come from
a place of honesty, communicate with clarity, and relate to their
emotional needs and interests – not just their transactional ones.
“Understand your target audience’s pains
Show empathy and and desires before speaking about your own
emotionality brand. Always create content that links to a key
customer need.”
“After navigating the collective challenges and
traumas of the past few years, empathy is more
Domitille de Saint-Exupéry
important than ever! Explore ways that you can
Head of Marketing, PlayPlay
leverage content to extend empathy to your
audience, to establish an emotional connection
that will help you stand out from the crowd.”
Exercise contextual awareness
Lauren Thomas
“Our customers are done with feeling like we
Sr. Manager, Communications & Social, Intuit
don’t know who they are, or that they don’t
know what they want. Informing content
creation by having a really clear picture
Be genuinely helpful of where our customers are in the journey
and truly understanding their mindsets and
“Think about all of the ways you are
motivations as they move through a decision is
communicating with your prospects and
something all marketers need to prioritize.”
customers. Are you being genuinely helpful
when and where people need it, or are you
Jenny Magic
just adding to the noise? Is your content
Strategist, Convince & Convert
easy to understand, or are readers left with
more questions? Are you delivering on what
customers expect, or is working with you
another complexity they need to manage?”
Use transparent messaging to
reinforce positive perceptions
Michele Linn
“Communicating clearly with your audience
Founder, Mantis Research
is critical for developing trust, increasing
11 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20222 Adopt People-Centric Brand Storytelling
engagement, creating competitive distinctions, “Authenticity is not going to go away – it will
and compelling customers to want more just keep building. People want the authentic
content from your business. Most importantly, version of your brand experience. They want to
clear messaging helps shape how your really believe in what your company believes in,
audience thinks and talks about your products.” feel the emotion behind it, and see themselves
in it.”
Kim Garst
Online Business Strategist; CEO, KT Enterprises Bridget Esposito
VP, Creative Director, Prudential Financial
Consider the psychology that
drives human decisions
“That’s often easier said than done. Especially W HAT TO KE E P I N M I N D
when customers have their choice of tools and
platforms to ask and get answers on their own.
According to Sitecore’s Jill Grozalsky
Start-ups have just as much influence (and air
Robertson, “It takes a 10th of a second to form
time) as well-established brands, and trust is
an impression, so there’s very little room for
becoming tough to earn – and even harder to
error when it comes to catching a consumer’s
keep.”
eye. In that short time, consumers cannot form
a logical opinion about a brand. But they can
Andi Robinson
have an emotional reaction.”
Global Digital Content Leader,
Corteva Agriscience.
She offers four tips to set the stage for those
reactions to spark and flourish:
Earn trust with authenticity • Don’t do all the talking. Listen to what they
and personal relatability have to say, instead of assuming what they
want to hear.
“If you are going to lean into a cultural moment
or hashtaggable holiday, it needs to be
• Be mindful of your tone. Avoid using
authentic to your brand. Authenticity means
language that might be perceived as
you’re presenting your brand from a place
inappropriate or out of touch with their life
of sincerity and genuineness, and you have
experiences. Also, consider whether the
research and actions to back up the content
emotionality of your content is consistent
you’re sharing.”
with your brand’s voice and the purpose
you want to achieve.
Kelsey Murray
AVP, Global Head of Social Media, Nasdaq
12 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20222 Adopt People-Centric Brand Storytelling
• “ Dress” for success. Prepare your marketing operations to enable thoughtful, emotional
content. Invest in automation that can streamline your processes, so you can spend more time
crafting stories infused with emotion.
• T
reat the customer like they’re your one and only. McKinsey research finds that 70% of
a customer’s journey is based on how they feel they are being treated. Personalizing the
information you deliver can help close an empathy gap, make them feel more heard and
understood, and build greater trust in your business.
P U T T I N G I T I NTO ACTION
Use empathy mapping to frame your stories
in the appropriate context.
Consumers’ emotional needs and interests
Dove illustrates the
aren’t static, so your understanding of how to beauty in courage
connect with them will need to evolve as their
relationship to your brand deepens. In a sea of slick, polished videos on social
media, focusing on conveying authentic
In her talk at Content Marketing World emotions and real-life consumer
2021, Prudential Financial’s Bridget Esposito stories can both distinguish your brand
suggested creating an empathy map – a content and help create more positive
design-thinking tool that articulates known associations around your business. For
insights and information you’ve gathered about example, this spot from Dove’s Courage
actual customers, and organizes them under Is Beautiful campaign showed photos of
four categories: health care workers after removing their
protective gear to deliver the relatable
• What they say message that there’s not just one way to
• What they think define beauty.
• What they do
• What they feel
Using this technique to visualize what those
consumers say, think, do, and feel under
current conditions will help you better reflect
and connect with who they are now, and who
they want your brand to help them become.
13 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20223
Focus on Video: The Most
Powerful Content Format
AT A G L A NCE
Video consumption has not only grown in the
last few years — it has skyrocketed.
major social media platforms.
If they want to keep up, brands
Considering 80% of all internet traffic is now
video, it’s safe to say that the average person
have no choice but to meet
consumes more video than any other type of their demands and deliver fun,
content.
engaging, and educational
The new remote work culture has only marketing videos.”
amplified the power of video — people were
not only relying on videos to be entertained, And its power for marketing purposes is well
to seek connections with others, but also to proven. A quarter of consumers have made a
educate themselves and to help them make purchase after seeing a product on Instagram
informed decisions and purchases. Stories, and on Twitter, tweets with video
get ten times more engagement than those
What’s more, a number of major social media without. Also, the widespread reliance on
platforms such as Pinterest and LinkedIn — video conferencing tools and virtual events,
have now shifted their focus to video, which are just a few indications that both brands and
means it’s no longer dominated by video- consumers are placing more trust in videos.
centric platforms like YouTube, TikTok and
Instagram. The bottom line is, no matter what kind of
company you are, the industry you’re in,
or the audiences you serve — everyone is
According to PlayPlay’s Domitille expecting more videos from you.
de Saint Exupéry: “Video hasn’t
just changed social media —
it’s come to define it! Today,
users expect video on all the
14 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20223 Focus on Video: The Most Powerful Content Format
If Content is King, Video Has Overtaken the Throne
According to a study by Wyzowl, customers prefer to
spend more time consuming videos than any other
type of content. This is due to 3 main reasons:
1. Versatility and shareability 2. Most compelling type of
content for storytelling and
For example, not only can videos be shared engagement
across multiple consumer touchpoints, but
it can also be applied at any stage of the There’s a reason why consumers prefer to
marketing journey. At the very beginning, watch videos than any other type of content.
it’s able to capture the initial attention of the First of all, video feels much closer to real-life
viewer with an emotional or imaginative brand interaction than any other content formats
story. Once they are familiar with your brand, including text, audio, or images. It’s a direct,
you’re able to educate prospects with a product inviting way to communicate online. In the
demo or explainer video. Finally, you can last few years, social media has become the
sustain post-purchase engagement and loyalty first stop for keeping up with friends, staying
with customer case studies or a behind- informed about what’s going on in the world,
the-scenes look at the people behind your or even learning new skills. Ultimately, video’s a
business. much warmer, more human way to do that —
it’s still not face-to-face interaction, but it’s as
close as you’re going to get through a screen.
Example of customer case study video from Sea Shepherd Example of explainer video from UMass Boston presenting their
explaining how they use videos for social media school
15 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20223 Focus on Video: The Most Powerful Content Format
Paired with powerful storytelling, imagery, stylistic, and distribution decisions, video content can
make a big impact on marketing goals. And that is even if your brand isn’t able to invest a ton of
time and budget in producing it.
3. Easy and cost-effective to produce with the right tools
One key reason that has stopped companies from fully investing in video creation is the
misconception that videos need to be complex, Hollywood-level productions. This is simply not
true. In fact, consumers respond well to authentic but well thought-out videos — whether this lives
in the form of an Instagram Story or a case study on your website.
Domitille de Saint-Exupéry from PlayPlay explains that the in-house video creation process at most
companies is simply not scalable, and most end up relying on outsourcing externally. The result is
often expensive and time-consuming, which is why brands need to enable their in-house teams to
become autonomous when it comes to creating video content. All of this can be done effectively
with the right tools.
INS I G H T S A ND A DV I CE FROM T HE EX PERT S
CMI’s 2022 B2B content marketing research Align video efforts around
report also found that 66% of marketers current consumption
created or used videos over the past year. preferences
Yet, despite its obvious creative and strategic
advantages, 48% of respondents to CMI’s “Two years of a pandemic have completely
2021 Content Marketing Video and Video confirmed that video is the way people want
Storytelling research report struggling to use to consume marketing content. Instead of
video to its full potential. focusing all your efforts on lengthy written
pieces, think about launching a YouTube series,
To make a stronger marketing impact – and a or creating vlogs.”
lasting impression on your audience – keep
these considerations top of mind when Melissa Francois
planning your video content experiences. Global Social Media Manager, Zoom
“There’s a growing appetite for video content
that isn’t super slick and highly produced. With
its DIY aesthetic and unpolished, accessible
16 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20223 Focus on Video: The Most Powerful Content Format
feel, lo-fi video content fits that bill. As you’re audience concerns. 2) Be consistent: creating a
developing your strategy for video content strong bond between a brand and its audience
production, test into lo-fi content, and get requires time and repetition. 3) Be authentic:
creative about where, when, and how you use when a message instills emotions or comes
it.” from someone we can relate to, it resonates
with us better.”
Lauren Thomas
Sr. Mgr., Communications & Social, Intuit Domitille de Saint-Exupéry
Head of Marketing, PlayPlay
“Short-form videos on TikTok, Instagram Reels,
or YouTube Shorts are, arguably, the biggest
opportunity brands have today to gain organic Beware of deepfakes and
visibility. This type of content requires creativity, deceptions that breed distrust
needs to deliver value, and also needs to be
"native" and "relevant" to the users on each “The ability to cheaply and effectively create
platform.” video images in which you can make
anybody say anything will unleash a period
Neal Schaffer of unparalleled creativity ... and peril. It’s
President, PDCA Social outpacing our ability to detect them, posing
an existential threat to companies, brands, and
“Information flows faster than ever and from individuals. I think this issue will escalate in
so many different sources. To keep their 2022 and be full-blown by the end of 2023.”
audience’s attention, companies need to follow
3 basic rules when they create content. Mark Schaefer
1) Be reactive: a good content strategy should Executive Director,
include trending topics and talk to the latest Schaefer Marketing Solutions
17 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20223 Focus on Video: The Most Powerful Content Format
PU T T I N G I T I NTO ACTION
Robert Rose advises that your decisions should stories resonate most strongly, so you can
be made with an eye toward strategy. “Video double-down on your strongest opportunities
requires purpose and should be created, and repurpose your best-performing assets for
managed, and activated with the structure and use on other channels or in other contexts.
optimization for all the channels where it may
be experienced,” he says.
Robert Rose also offers five action-oriented Scale-Up Video
steps marketers can take before producing
and distributing your video content marketing,
Content With
to minimize challenges and maximize their Powerful Tech
potential impact and performance:
PlayPlay’s Domitille de Saint-Exupéry
1. Define a clear goal: for any creative, points out, producing high-quality video
formatting, and structural choices you are can require training, equipment, and
considering for your video storytelling efforts. technical skills that not all brands can
accommodate in-house.
2. Identify key details of your story
architecture: Create a clear outline that While outsourcing can help supplement a
includes key messaging points, tone/voice, lack of team expertise, this approach has
visual aesthetics, audio choices, editorial its challenges, as well: "Most companies
guidelines, and use of copy. struggle with creating amazing video
content at scale. This is because when
3. Develop a production strategy: Think they turn to agencies or freelancers, it can
through ALL the different areas where you may be very expensive and time-consuming
want to use video in this strategy. to produce – it’s simply not feasible to
do more than a few videos per year" says
4. Plan for flexibility in distribution: Make Domitille.
sure you understand the channel-specific
options and implications – and how they She suggests that the key to efficient,
may change over time or under specific scalable video content creation may lie in
circumstances – before you publish your video adopting robust tools that enable teams
stories. to create video autonomously yet aren't
dependent on their level of artistic skill or
5. Measure accordingly: You should be able production training.
to understand which channels, formats, and
18 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20223 Focus on Video: The Most Powerful Content Format
“Instead of being given a painter’s
palette to create videos however they
want, employees that have a need for
video communication should be given
a ‘magic wand’ that helps them create
videos easily, quickly, and of the highest
quality,” she says.
Domitille de Saint-Exupéry
Head of Marketing, PlayPlay
19 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20224
Be Open to Pivoting and
Adopting New Content Practices
AT A G L A NCE
Change is a constant in this complex world. was going on at that moment in time, we
Brands always strive to anticipate things like didn’t produce and distribute."
shifting market dynamics, consumer trends,
and digital tech advances. However, so • "Our audiences did not have time to read
many brands struggle with keeping up with evergreen content… We tried to be highly
spontaneous changes and find themselves relevant in the moment, [focusing only] on
overwhelmed. topics where we could provide meaningful,
actionable insight."
As a result, many businesses had to improvise
and experiment in 2021, as evidenced by some But while global events and trends prompted
of the comments shared by respondents on content marketers to shift gears in the short
CMI’s 2022 B2B research study: term, minor adjustments like these may not be
enough when it comes to managing some of
• " We developed less static content and more the more-enduring changes on the business
interactive and animated content formats." horizon, such as:
• " We created some content that had only • The burgeoning creator economy, which
been ideas previously." brings increased noise and competition to
the digital content landscape.
• " We began generating content on a more
frequent basis and exploring new channels • The continual rise in corporate mergers and
on which to distribute the content." acquisitions, which may ultimately lead to
new governmental anti-trust regulations and
Others say they cut back on how much content structural separations.
they produced and focused more on quality:
• Evolving disruptions in the worlds of art,
• " We forced ourselves to be much more communication, and commerce, such as
thoughtful in what we were putting out NFTs/tokenization, cryptocurrency, and the
there, and if it wasn’t highly relevant to what metaverse.
20 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20224 Be Open to Pivoting and Adopting New Content Practices
Keep in mind: Consumers will face uncertainty related to innovations and evolutions,
expanding brands’ opportunities to educate them and influence their actions through
content. But to realize those opportunities, marketers will need the foresight to plan for
them, the agility to adapt to them, and the willingness to reinvent rather than just repair.
It seems easy to stick to the status quo and keep following old paths that previously led to success.
But in times where change is the rule rather than the exception, your content will likely get more
traction – and better performance – if you’re willing to branch out and explore new technologies,
techniques, and creative territory.
INS I G H TS A ND A DV I CE FROM THE EX PERT S
into the way they design their content
Be open to adopting marketing. It’s no longer good enough to tell
new paradigms and practices people what is happening. You have to tell
them about why it matters to them and what
“Because conversions could happen at any
they can do about it. Turning your content into
time in our world of nonlinear customer
a narrative of where they’ve come from, what’s
journeys, marketers must adopt a paradigm
important now, and where they’re going will
of conversion storytelling. This involves
make it really actionable.”
focusing on customers’ changing motives
and preferences, serving messaging that’s
Zontee Hou, Head of Strategy
tailored for relevant channels and stages of
Convince & Convert
the customer journey, and experimenting and
analyzing constantly.”
Nicole Martin
Recognize that the pace
Vice President, Strategy and
of change is accelerating
Marketing Solutions, Pace
“We’ve got to get accustomed to continuing
change and have the courage to embrace that
change as we deal with a hybrid workforce,
Consider applying proven consumers who are distracted from all the
approaches in new ways marketing messages they’re receiving, and
everything that’s going on in life, in general.”
“We’ve already seen how TikTok, Instagram
Reels, and other narrative-focused channels
Michael Barber
are blowing up. Going into 2022, I’m advising
Brand Consultant and Marketing Strategist
marketers to integrate that narrative approach
21 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20224 Be Open to Pivoting and Adopting New Content Practices
“The pandemic was not a shift – it was a reset. Track significant trends with
Part of the outfall is that consumer behavior will social listening
be impacted by a complex cocktail of big and
small changes that will result in unexpected “In the era of the all-dominating TikTok, no
and even unpredictable events. We are in marketing team can afford to be late to the
an ‘Era of Unintended Consequences’ that party. In terms of steps, I would highly invest in
demands patience and humility for marketers.” social/content listening platforms to make sure
you hear about what matters, as it happens.”
Mark Schaefer
Executive Director, Melissa Francois
Schaefer Marketing Solutions Global Social Media Manager, Zoom
Embrace emerging Get prepared for holistic
opportunities for growth content ecosystems
“Small creators can now fund themselves, invest “A big trend we’re starting to see is the merger
in more content, and take attention away from of content marketing and content strategy as a
content marketers. There is a huge opportunity big focus for business. Content is becoming a
for brands to acquire smaller content creators. much more holistic practice. It means content
The problem? Most content marketers aren’t marketers need to start to understand the
prepared for and don’t understand the art operational models, the governance, and how
of M&A. Because of this, they’ll miss out on their technologies are structured. It also means
perhaps the greatest opportunity of their that operations, technology, content structure,
lifetimes – buying instead of building an SEO translation, and localization professionals
audience.” need to start understanding how to build
inspiring, educational content and deliver it to
Joe Pulizzi their end customers.”
Founder, The Tilt
Robert Rose
Chief Strategy Officer,
Content Marketing Institute
22 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20224 Be Open to Pivoting and Adopting New Content Practices
P UT T I N G I T I NTO ACTION
Content marketing agility starts with an experimental mindset
and a change-friendly culture. But to bring innovative ideas to life
and evolve your content marketing approach, you’ll also need a
solid strategic foundation, streamlined collaboration, and familiar
processes that can make execution more manageable.
Here’s some advice from Robert Rose on how to A corporate
start putting those pieces in place: podcast from
The OECD
Assess your content operating model
and create a roadmap for getting where you
believe you should be. The gaps between
where you are now and where you want to
be should become the priority initiatives.
De-silo the customer’s journey
Start using technology to connect digital
experiences for your customer as much as
possible. If fully de-siloing your marketing
department is too steep a hill to climb,
explore whether you can connect your
content technology to create one source
of the truth for your audience database.
Creating that resource is the first step
toward having sales, marketing, demand
gen, and brand teams work together. Blog post promo teaser video from potential.com
Manage all your owned-media properties like products
Content on your website, blog, digital magazines, and email newsletters are as important to
your customer’s journey as the products and services you put into the marketplace – treat
them as such. Each owned property deserves a managing editor and to be budgeted and
measured as a digital product.
23 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20224 Be Open to Pivoting and Adopting New Content Practices
WH AT TO KEEP I N MI ND
Manage change with agile process principles
With top-notch content now serving as table stakes for brand success, marketers should
invest in efficient methods of execution just as much as we do in our creative outputs
and strategic outcomes.
AgileSherpas' Andrea Fryrear suggests implementing agile practices as a first step
towards developing adaptable operations. This can unleash your content program's
creative potential. Her approach emphasizes five process-focused areas:
Visibility: Achieving visibility can be as simple as listing everything your content
team has in progress and is planning for the next month. This transparency helps
reveal the scope and scale of your content efforts, the available bandwidth of
your content team, and where there may be gaps or overlaps.
Experimentation: After you visualize the work, you’ll probably realize too much is
going on. The next logical question is, "what can we stop doing?" By expressing
this as an experiment, pulling back on certain efforts will feel less like missing out
on opportunities and more like a plan to move in a better direction.
Iteration: When your experiments start to show promise, it’s time to iterate
by expanding on proven ideas for which you can add value, originality, and
functionality steadily over time.
Collaboration: A content creator working in isolation simply won’t be as
successful as a collaborative team with an audience-centric perspective. Even
if you’re not ready to have daily meetings or reorganize teams, you can seek
different perspectives through formalized reviews or informal show-and-tells.
Efficiency: Agile processes enable teams to work hard to do less, so they can
accomplish more. If you maximize the amount of work you choose not to do, you
reap the reward in terms of increasing the amount of high-quality, high-impact
work you can complete.
24 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20224 Be Open to Pivoting and Adopting New Content Practices 25 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022
5
Prioritize and Optimize Your
Content Processes For Efficiency
AT A G L A NCE
Few businesses can expect to be able to do
it all – even under the most favorable of
While restrictions are easing,
circumstances. Yet, the past two years have 2022 is likely to be a year of
given brands plenty of cause to question
whether it’s smart to even try.
rebuilding, reconsidering, and
reprioritizing content initiatives.
According to CMI’s B2B research, 67% of
content teams say they’ve been asked to do
This means stepping back
more with the same resources over the past and looking at the goals and
year.
opportunities that are most
And though it’s encouraging that 66% of important right now. This may
content marketers expect their budgets
to increase in 2022, some of our most
also mean taking deliberate
pressing industry challenges – like achieving steps in a whole new direction
competitive differentiation, finding the right
subject matter expertise, and adapting to
or just refining your existing
ongoing changes in search and data tracking strategy. But whatever steps you
– won’t be solved simply by throwing more
money at them.
take, make sure the amount of
effort you’re putting in stays in
balance with the outcomes and
experiences your customers are
expecting to see.
26 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20225 Prioritize and Optimize Your Content Processes For Efficiency
Instead of continuing to do things the way they’ve always been done, it’s a great time
to take a closer look at WHY you were doing them. If the reasons no longer exist, or the
returns are diminishing, it’s a good idea to stop, reprioritize, and explore new ways to
create greater efficiency and stronger performance.
INS I G H TS A ND A DV I CE FROM T HE EX PERT S
“After two years of the pandemic, people are tired. And rightly so. Brands need to focus
on content that’s either entertaining or solving tangible problems for their customers,
and maybe spend less time trying to re-invent the thought leadership wheel.”
Melissa Francois
Global Social Media Manager, Zoom
“We are digital-first in how we consume information today. Businesses that failed to
digitally transform their marketing (and sales) are still playing catch up, while others are
realizing that they might have neglected necessary investments in web, email, and other
marketing technologies. What is old is sexy and new again, so I feel that a re-investment
in core digital marketing capabilities should be aligned with expected increases in
content marketing budgets to get the biggest bang for your marketing buck.”
Neal Schaffer
President, PDCA Social
27 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20225 Prioritize and Optimize Your Content Processes For Efficiency
Start simple Repurpose everything
when branching out
“Every piece of content that is created, should at
“Emerging platforms like TikTok are focused on least be repurposed in two or three ways. This
video-first, digestible, and educational content. will help with scaling your content, but also
That is what brands should be focused on. You leave time open for creative ideas to flow.”
can create, edit, and amplify this content easily:
you just need a point of view and a phone, not Melissa Francois
a big budget, advertising commercial, or film Global Social Media Manager, Zoom
crew. Start simple and practice, eventually you’ll
find your rhythm.”
Kelsey Murray
AVP, Global Head of Social Media, Nasdaq
P UT T I N G I T I NTO ACTION
Marketers are being tasked with creating more content across more channels, formats,
regions, and target audiences than ever. But when you need to conserve resources, it
can be hard to decide what to pare down or find the most effective approach when
you’re ready to scale up.
Hitting the reset button can mean different things to different businesses. For example,
depending on the specific conditions you’re operating under, you may want to consider:
• P
ulling back on platforms or channels that aren’t delivering as strong an impact as
others, or where your audience seems less interested in engaging with your business.
• R
ebuilding your workflows or implementing more powerful technologies that can
deliver greater efficiency.
• O
utsourcing components of creation or production that require specialized talents.
• O
ptimizing your best-performing assets through repurposing and reuse.
28 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20225 Prioritize and Optimize Your Content Processes For Efficiency
Here are additional tips from experts in the Content Marketing
Institute community to help you:
Reduce and reuse Use data to determine where
to invest your efforts
“If you keep content direct and easy to
understand, easy to read, and easy to digest, “Making decisions off the best data will also
you will get more with any budget because help you scale because your team will spend
you will create less content and can reuse that less time on bad content and direction. It’s not
content over and over again. Everything needs necessarily about investing more but investing
to mix and match, but you won’t need nearly as in the right things that will provide the best
much content.” output for your team and the program.”
Val Swisher Jeff Coyle
CEO, Content Rules Inc. Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer, MarketMuse
Change as your Go for the easy wins first
audience does
“Find your top performers right away. If
“Focus on the consumer and the change in you don’t already know what your top five
behavior that has happened throughout the performers are (at least in terms of traffic), you
pandemic. Reevaluate your content marketing have a big opportunity to get insights almost
strategy to make sure it’s mostly aligned with immediately. Those are the traffic magnets, the
the current behaviors of your target audience. pieces attracting lots of visitors. Working harder
Make sure you provide the context around on those (adding calls to action and promoting
where you distribute the content and the your latest stuff on those) is an almost
content topics so it can reflect the mindset of immediate win. It costs no money and takes
where your audience is now.” almost no time. Anyone can do it very quickly.”
Juntae DeLane Andy Crestodina
Chief Strategist, Digital DeLane Co-Founder/CMO, Orbit Media Studios
29 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20226
Reimagine Search and the Data
Landscape in a Cookie-less World
AT A G L A NCE
The impending loss of third-party tracking Performance measurement
cookies is an enormous disruption. The impact In the ongoing struggle to prove content
of this change will likely ripple across many performance and ROI, marketers both collect
aspects of content marketing, such as: more data than they need and fail to apply it in
meaningful ways. The added uncertainty that
Content creation and distribution the loss of tracking cookies may cause is likely
Search data supplies a wealth of audience to throw those calculations even further into
insights. Marketers collect information and disarray.
correlate to inform their topic decisions, as
well as their audience segmentation and
personalization efforts. That data is also used to
Given the volatility of the current
identify areas where consumers are dropping data ecosystem, it’s no surprise
out of the brand’s content experience. Data
can help deploy retargeting campaigns to coax
that CMI’s 2022 B2B research
them back on track. found changes to SEO/search
Data management
algorithms (62%) and data
Challenges in tracking user interests, behaviors, management/analytics (50%)
and intent across multiple content platforms,
channels, and ecosystems are compounded
to be the top two areas of
by the lack of integrated systems capable of importance for organizations in
delivering a single source of truth. This makes
it difficult for marketers to construct clear
the upcoming year.
customer journeys, let alone determine what
content would be most valuable to buyers in
different roles or at different stages. And that
might explain why the top challenge cited in
CMI’s 2022 B2B research is “creating content
that appeals to multi-level roles within a target
audience.”
30 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20226 Reimagine Search and the Data Landscape in a Cookie-less World
How will marketers adapt to this game-changing search shift, get the clarity they need to guide
their content efforts and continue to prove performance? Our experts shared their vision of a
cookie-less future and offered some alternate approaches to consider:
INS I G H TS A ND A DV I CE FROM THE EX PERT S
To comply with privacy Tech will be key to
protections, marketers may performance in the
lose performance clarity post-cookies age
“Governments and regulators are close to “In a cookie-less world, marketers will need to
publishing new rules to protect users online in prepare for personalization. Google, Facebook,
various countries. Many platforms and big tech and other entities are trying to capture your
companies are pre-emptively making changes traffic and keep it within their properties, which
to how they operate to comply with any new is hurting brands’ organic conversions. Look
laws likely to be implemented. This could make through your marketing stack and understand
tracking campaign performance harder and/or how your content management is working, how
less accurate.” your identity resolution is working, how you’re
going to de-anonymize prospects on your
Matt Navarra website and personalized content for them.
Social Media Consultant That will not only require content marketers to
produce the right content but will also require
tech enablement through marketing operations
31 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20226 Reimagine Search and the Data Landscape in a Cookie-less World
and martech conversations that support your
strategy. Understanding how you’re going to
Link more content to
perform in a world where you cannot rely on
expected outcomes
cookies is something that everybody should be
“If you create a series of interview videos for a
paying attention to.”
recruitment campaign, find out the percentage
of increase of good inbound candidates – e.g.,
Marcio Moerbeck
how many candidates mentioned the video
VP of Marketing, Americas, Datasite
campaign? This will allow you see the true
impact of a video.”
Streamline measurement by Domitille de Saint-Exupéry
setting metrics priorities Head of Marketing, PlayPlay
“Marketers must focus on why we’re measuring
all the data we measure. Ask questions like, ‘Is
that much data collection needed?’ ‘Are we
Reconstruct the role of data
utilizing it to make a better experience, or are
technology
we collecting it to check a box?”
“We are quickly moving away from a world
where different elements of the customer
Jenn VandeZande
journey are handled by separate systems. We
Editor-in-Chief, SAP Customer Experience
must start thinking about the journey in a much
more organic way, where technologies are
connected, joined, and look to a single source
Explore alternate ways to of data. Every handoff of audience or customer
define and measure marketing data is an opportunity to fumble.”
impact
Robert Rose in 25+ Expert Takeaways About
“2022 is the year we will simplify the way we
Content Strategy, Experiences, Tech, Analytics,
measure our content marketing ROI. Consider
SEO, and More
constantly measuring value per subscriber.
Take the number of content subscribers you’ve
added and divide it by the total revenue for
the same time period. There you have it: your
revenue per subscriber.”
Andrew Davis
Author, Brandscaping: Unleashing
the Power of Partnerships
32 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20226 Reimagine Search and the Data Landscape in a Cookie-less World
Reframe your approach to SEO
“Search engines have changed dramatically enough
over the last few years to warrant businesses to
reimagine their branded content. A look at search
results for any given keyword often reveals older,
outdated, irrelevant, or plain old bad content. The
core of a content marketing strategy should be the
creation of a "library of content". It’s a collection of
information and valuable resources that should
both attract and nurture prospective clients to
the value of your product and your company’s
perspective on your industry. This library of
content can help you gain authority in search
engines with fresh, up-to-date, and quality content.
It can also be repurposed into a variety of types of
content that can be invaluable to all of your content
marketing efforts.”
Neal Schaffer
President, PDCA Social
33 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20226 Reimagine Search and the Data Landscape in a Cookie-less World
PE R S P ECTI V ES ON PRIVACY
After years of consumer concerns about how
their data is tracked, used, and secured online,
Explore “off-the-grid”
digital industry leaders are taking bold steps
opportunities
to comply with strict new legislation. But the
“Private communities like Discord and Mighty
increased focus on privacy may leave content
Networks are becoming crucial. Do you have
marketers with some gaping holes to fill in their
one?”
audience understanding.
Joe Pulizzi
Fortunately, there are permission-based
Founder, The Tilt
content approaches brands can take to
preserve their access to deep audience insights.
Here are suggestions from some of the industry
leaders who presented at Content Marketing
Diversify your platforms
World 2021:
“If a platform changes its policies or loses
access to data, you don’t want to have lost your
main source of customers.”
Focus on owned platforms
Zontee Hou
“[This will give you] more control over data
Head of Strategy, Convince & Convert
practices – which makes complying with
data privacy regulations easier and more
straightforward. And better data quality –
which makes the data more relevant and the
Make it an even exchange
relationships you use the data to build more
“Create content so good that people actually
valuable.”
want to hear from you. Create serial content
that compels them to do that. And focus on
Sharon Toerek
collecting first-party data about your audience
Founder, Toerek Law
through surveys, self-assessments, and other
tools.”
Joe Lazauskas
Head of Marketing, Contently
34 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20226 Reimagine Search and the Data Landscape in a Cookie-less World
P U T T I N G I T I NTO ACTION
Third-party tracking cookies may be going away, but marketers can still get useful
insights directly from the source. For example, listening to relevant consumer
conversations and monitoring their comments on posts and group conversations on
social media can give you a better understanding of their topics of interest – and the
questions they’re asking about them.
Furthermore, offering members-only content or other “gated-access” assets can help
brands generate valuable insights that anonymous user tracking could never provide.
For example, consider how much personal data consumers commonly share when they:
• S
ubscribe to receive email communications or exclusive content you publish on your
owned media channels.
• Fill out a form to download a high-value content asset.
• C
omment on posts, or participate in group conversations on your brand’s social
media pages.
• Register to attend your live and virtual events.
• Participate in original research studies or social media polls.
• Use configurators or other interactive tools your brand offers online.
35 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 20227
Align on Shared Values and
Communicate With Purpose
AT A G L A NCE
Words always matter, especially when it comes Of course, discussing topics of current cultural
to content creation. But the values and intent significance may not be the right fit for every
behind a brand’s words speak more loudly brand. Fortunately, there are other ways
these days – especially when communicating to connect with today’s socially conscious
with millennial and Gen-Z consumers. consumers, some of which require little more
than human understanding and a willingness to
Consider these findings about Gen Z from a validate their feelings and offer support.
Facebook IQ research:
For example, here are a few steps taken by
• 7
1% want to see more diversity in marketers who participated in CMI’s 2022 B2B
advertising. research study:
• 68% expect brands to contribute to society. • "We increased our empathy toward our
audience and found them to be more
• 6
1% say they’d pay more for products receptive."
produced ethically and sustainably.
• "We stayed in touch with customers with
• 7
7% feel more favorable toward brands that tips for helping their staff and patients."
promote gender equality on social media.
• "We offered more uplifting and educational
These insights show that audiences expect a marketing, positioned ourselves as a partner,
brand’s marketing to go beyond talking about and focused on helping rather than selling."
its products and services. They also suggest
that brands that fail to demonstrate cultural • "We had to be more thoughtful about the
awareness, act ethically, or contribute to the topics we were covering, as well as the
greater good may be less likely to earn their target audiences we were approaching."
attention, trust, or business.
36 - PlayPlay | 24 Experts Reveal Their Content Predictions for 2022You can also read
