​Content never goes out of style when it comes to attracting and converting customers. When it’s done right, content marketing is an effective and cost efficient (or even free) way to target the audience you want with the information they need.

In 2023, content marketing is evolving in ways that build on the content and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) trends in 2022. It’s not just about looking at the formats you should use to engage your audience (long and short-form) or the emergence of TikTok as an effective marketing platform, but an acceleration of marketers using AI to increase productivity.

So let’s look at 4 key content marketing trends for 2023 to see what you would be watching out for or experimenting with to see if it boosts performance.

1. Short-form immersive video
For years, video has been hailed as the key content type for brands to gain traction across channels - especially on social media. All social platforms prioritise video content including platforms that may be traditionally text-based like LinkedIn.

Many brands will test their content as general posts without paying to advertise it and then promote their best-performing content.

Helpful parameter for video content are:

• Keep it punchy. Successful videos tend to be between 15 and 30 seconds long
• Include a surprise twist at the end of your video like a reveal or transformation
  
• Add interesting captions like ‘wait for what’s next’ to keep people watching
  
• Experiment with creating your own sounds or remixing tracks to increase the possibility of going viral

2. An explosion in the creator economy
Brands want to fill their content gaps and they want to tie into the latest trends. But they do not always have the knowledge or capacity to act quickly enough or do it in a way that best drives engagement and conversions.

Reviews from content creators are trusted, and often engagement is higher on influencer profiles than for brand profiles. So, really consider how you can utilize creators as part of your brand’s marketing.

3. Artificial Intelligence and marketing collaboration
Artificial intelligence (AI) and copywriting have been linked for many years. But in 2023 AI will play a bigger role than ever in content creation as the demand from consumers for personalization intensifies.

There are a lot of new AI solutions coming onto the market. For example, UberSuggest uses AI to assist with blog posts, Copy.ai helps create social media posts and blogs, while Chat GPT is trained to interact conversationally and can be integrated with Zapier to schedule blogs or social media content and create drawings or videos. These new technologies require marketers to learn how to talk to them and create prompts for the best content.

In 2023, there are going to be some breakthroughs due to more investment in software and machine learning. There are going to be improvements in natural language processing and other factors and down the line, we’ll see AI that produces great content that we only have to quality assure or edit and just spend a couple of minutes on.

4. Long-form content and live video
Many marketers rely on and prefer short-term content to attract and engage. But ignoring longer-form content would be a mistake. Not only is long-form content like blogs, eBooks, or webinars great for SEO, but it’s also effective in driving website users to other content on your site – encouraging them to engage with your brand longer.

But what about long-form videos? With 40 percent of young people now using TikTok and Instagram as a way to search for places to go out for lunch rather than using a Google Maps search, creating videos that showcase places can help to engage and drive people to your website or brand.

There’s also audio content like podcasts. This format has seen a rise in popularity in recent years and could be a great option for those who might be camera shy or lacking in video-editing skills.

Government announced the following tax measures in the recent Cost-of-Living Package.

Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS)
TBESS will be extended to 31 May 2023. The “energy cost threshold” will be reduced from 50% to 30%. To that end eligible businesses should qualify for the scheme where they experience an increase of at least 30% in the average unit price of its electricity and/or gas bill for a claim period when compared with the corresponding period in the previous 12 months. 

The reduced energy costs threshold should apply retrospectively from 1 September 2022.

From 1 March the monthly cap will increase from €10,000 to €15,000 per trade or profession. The maximum monthly amount that can be claimed where a qualifying business operates across multiple locations will increase from €30,000 to €45,000 Some of the above changes are subject to state aid approval from the European commission.

VAT
The 9% rate of VAT that currently applies to supplies of electricity and gas will be extended to 31 October 2023. The 9% rate of VAT that is currently applying to the hospitality and tourism sectors will be extended to 31 August 2023.

During the period July 2018 to April 2022, some businesses were incorrectly charged a £25 minimum interest amount for the late payment of customs duty. Such businesses may be able to claim a refund of the difference between the £25 minimum charge and the actual amount of interest that should have been applied.

In addition, between July 2018 and April 2022, HMRC also used an incorrect interest rate which was higher by 0.5% to calculate late payment interest on customs debts.

You must email your request to custdebtrr.customspolicy@hmrc.gov.uk before 31st March 2023.