In 2023, Content marketing is breaking down and businesses are having a hard time growing their business through content. And It is not AI. 

 

It is because content systems and formats are changing at a fast pace and the impact is on direct marketing. 

 

First: Change In SEO 

 

The data from sparktoro shows that almost 50% of Google searches end up as zero-click searches. And the user never clicks through to visit your website. 

 

This number is increasing with Google evolving its SERP with new UX additions & updating the old features. More and more Google searches will be answered without making users visit a website. 

 

Costing businesses using content marketing. And the impact is expected to increase as Google’s new chatbot will be integrated into search. To answer your queries based on the data you have on your blog or website. 

 

What are the solutions to this SEO problem? 

 

The importance of branding identities and personalizing your content will increase. 

 

For Google SERP, brands will need to include elements like Insights from their teams, names of those experts, and better branding integration. 

 

Even though recent trends show that many websites have stopped adding their Sitename at the end of Blogpost  Titles. The trend is expected to change. As when the information is shown on SERP, not your website. You need to highlight your name to make people connect that value they got with your own business. 

 

The second is brands will start to do limited SEO. 

 

Meaning showing up for random searches won’t help. Better tracking of where your brand shows up will get more important. 

 

Start Targeting long-tail keywords that are lookalikes and identical. Because it will help brands keep the target audience in the loop. 

 

When you go broad with SEO and spend more time. It will still work for brand awareness. But the demand for better content structuring will increase. 

 

It will be less about 

 

How to write a blog ~ How to design a blog ~ How to monetize a blog ~ How to sell a blog 

 

More about 

 

How to write a B2B blog ~ What to include in a B2B blog post ~ Best B2B blog categories ~ B2B content template ~ B2B blog post length - … 

 

Trying to keep the one ideal searcher within your loop to convert them with your content. Because when SERP shows previewed content at the top. Maybe for the first or second time, that user won’t visit your website. 

 

But with them seeing your brand associated with the last two posts and the value. They will visit the site to check more of your work. 

 

Second: Change In Social Media 

 

Even though now we have 5 links in our Instagram Bio. The traffic to websites from social media platforms is decreasing. 

 

Similar web’s latest research suggests social media referral traffic is declining for most publishers and businesses too. Vice and BuzzFeed did not suffer alone to die. 

 

Traffic is down for most of these publishers. And it is because of a few different reasons. 

 

First is Twitter & Pinterest. After Elon Musk’s takeover, Link sharing took a dip and Elon was even blocking links to a few publications and substack. 

 

And then Pinterest went through a policy and alleged algorithm changes. After it was revealed few people were using the platform to target young users. That shift to make the platform more secure affected a lot of bloggers making their pins go down in rank. And users also complained about the changes. 

 

Second is the consideration change. The video marketing push on social media has changed the behavior of online users. Impacting their decisions like leaving the platform to read the content. 

 

When they are getting the same content on Tiktok or Instagram in a different format more consumable format. 

 

Third is content distribution. Old distribution strategies don’t work. Reposting your blog or event content will not impact your social media traffic. You need to recreate the blog post into the optimized format of that social media channel to get the most out of it. 

 

What are the solutions to fix the social media problem? 

 

The first is to think of social media content distribution strategy as a content recreation strategy. 

 

Understand the formats of that platform and the nature of the audience. Pick the parts of the content that will be most relatable to the audience. 

 

• For Tiktok & Instagram, You have to dumb down the complexity of the post. 
• For Twitter, you need the structural flow in the thread. 
• And for LinkedIn, you need a thought-provoking element in the content. 
• Pinterest or Tumblr needs the visual element of your content. 

 

All these needs might shift based on what type of audience exists on these platforms. But adapting to them is more important than ever. 

 

What content adaptation can do is easy to catch on social media. Washington Post’s Instagram account grew to 6.5 million followers in the past few years with the adaptation to Instagram carousels. They used trending IG format + storytelling to build that audience and derive traffic back to the website using CTAs at the end. 

 

While BuzzFeed News copy-pasted most of their blog content & statements onto their Instagram handle. And many businesses are doing social media content like that! 

 

Please don’t do that, to make social media users visit your business or publishing site. Try to adapt to their needs on IG, Tiktok, and other channels before you complain. 

 

Third: Growth of Personalized Content 

 

The age of private communities and channels is here. Many Brands like Ahrefs & Sprout Social have started their private communities for customers and community members. 

 

These communities provide personalized content for the user's needs. No need to target 1000 different user identities on the Internet. You only have to fulfill the needs of your community members. 

 

And provide structured value in conversations, AMAs, Group meetings, and other community elements. These eventually help everyone get the most out of it. 

 

And Gen-Z users are loving this idea as they want their own privacy-focused curated content space. 

 

For businesses, this is not a problem. But a new part of content marketing. 

 

Earlier it was the goal to make people sign-up for your mailing list. In the email, the control is over the audience, not the deliverability of your content. That is why: 

 

Personalized content spaces like chat groups, WhatsApp broadcasts & private communities will help brands reach their audience even better. Even with all these marketing changes coming to Search & Social Media.