What better way to kickstart 2022 than by redesigning and rethinking your content marketing strategy? According to the Content Marketing Institute, 46% of B2B businesses report that they will increase their content creation spending in 2022. Plus, experts confirm that 51% of content consumption derives from organic searches. This suggests that the time to hyperfocus on content marketing to increase organic traffic, garner best-fit leads, and achieve marketing goals for this year is now.

But any good B2B marketer knows that redeveloping a content marketing strategy starts with understanding the trends and predictions for content creation, distribution, and overall outlook. In this article, we’re diving deep into this year’s predictions for content marketing and encourage you to keep these predictions top-of-mind when developing your content marketing strategy for 2022.

Creating Good Content Needs to Align with a Killer Distribution Strategy

You’ve probably heard the expression, “content is king,” before, right? This ideology was coined by Bill Gates in 1996. And it makes sense! Without high-quality content, your marketing initiatives are seldomly fruitful. However, there is another aspect of content marketing besides content creation that has a major impact on marketing success overall.

Jonathan Perelman, VP of Agency Strategy and Industry Development at BuzzFeed once stated, “Content is king, distribution is queen.” Sure, a strong content marketing strategy develops educational and relevant content. But what’s also critical is to develop a killer distribution strategy that targets your specific buyer personas and appropriate audiences. As we move forward in 2022, it’s essential to align your content strategy with the proper distribution strategy.

For instance, say your product solves chronic issues for IT developers such as time-saving IT automation. Based on your market research, you determine that developers spend most of their networking and free time on LinkedIn. Thus, you should distribute your educational content via LinkedIn and leave other social platforms like Instagram and Facebook out of the distribution plan for now. Additionally, your research shows that developers are more likely to engage with emails that include videos. Therefore, the best practice would be to create educational and relevant videos and leverage them in your email marketing campaigns to encourage developers to interact with your content.

Content Marketing Roles in High-Demand in 2022

Now, let’s discover which roles will be key to content marketing success in 2022. Below is a list of the top 5 roles according to HubSpot that are in high-demand this year, their job descriptions, and why marketing teams are on the lookout for the most ideal candidates. 

Content Creator 

32% of marketing teams plan to recruit for the role of a content creator this year. The role of a content creator is to generate marketing copy for blogs, lead-generation pieces, social media content and more to promote products and increase brand awareness. As the impact of content marketing grows, it’s expected that the need for content creators will continue to rise.

Content Marketing Manager

Moving on, 25% of marketing teams are looking to hire a content marketing manager this year. Essentially, a content marketing manager’s job is to plan, develop, and implement a company’s overall content strategy. Often, people in this role manage content creators and the production of content to ensure the process is running smoothly and on schedule.

Content Strategist

Content strategist roles account for 22% of marketing teams hiring goals for 2022. Content strategists are responsible for the planning and execution (designing, editing, writing, and publishing) of content to reach target audiences. Plus, a content strategist’s plan is carefully crafted to meet business goals. 

Creative Assistant 

Next up, we have creative assistants. A creative assistant can wear many hats but they typically support the marketing team by helping create and design content for advertising and promotional purposes. According to HubSpot, 22% of marketing teams are expecting to be on the hunt for creative assistants throughout the year.

Digital Brand Manager

Lastly, is the digital brand manager. A digital brand manager is responsible for taking the marketing strategy and bringing it to market. By planning and executing the marketing strategy throughout all marketing channels, from product launches to brand awareness campaigns, to email marketing and more, a digital brand manager is a jack of all trades. Thus, it’s not surprising that 22% of marketing teams are looking to hire digital brand managers in 2022.

Developing an SEO Strategy is a Top Priority for B2B Organizations

All B2B marketers understand the importance of having a killer SEO strategy to increase organic traffic, leads, and search engine rankings. And in 2022, prioritizing your SEO strategy is the key to effective content marketing. 

In fact, HubSpot reports that “61% of marketers say improving search engine optimization to grow their organic presence online is their top inbound marketing priority.” So here are a few steps you can take to maximize the impact of your SEO:

1. Conduct well-thought out keyword research
2. Leverage long-tail keywords in your content
3. Optimize images with alt text
4. Keep keyword density between .5-3%

For more information about creating a killer SEO strategy, check out our blog, SEO Best Practices: Top 5 Techniques to Rank Higher.

Types of Content that will Reign Supreme in 2022

As each year passes, B2B marketers draw upon their data and predict which types of content will be most beneficial to leads and prospects in the new year. Let’s take a look at the top three pieces of content that are sure to make a positive impact on not only your marketing initiatives but also your leads.

Blogging is Here to Stay in 2022 and Beyond

It’s alive! Contrary to the charts stating that the top content marketing format is video, blogging isn’t dead. In fact, 56% of B2B marketers who leverage blogging in their content marketing strategy report blogs as being highly effective. Plus, 10% of B2B marketers report that blogging generates the greatest ROI for their marketing initiatives. So don’t toss blogging out the window just yet — the benefits of blogs are virtually endless. To learn how to calculate the ROI of your blogging efforts, take a look at Blogging 101: Cadence, ROI, & Lead Nurturing.

Case Studies Continue to be Extremely Effective at Driving Leads

Case studies are impactful pieces of content that are wildly effective at moving leads towards making a purchase. As a matter of fact, 64% of B2B marketers who leverage case studies find them to be influential pieces of content. Consider this. Case studies showcase the benefits and positive outcomes brought forth by a product or service. Additionally, experts state that the use of case studies is on the uptick. 37% of HubSpot’s survey takers report that they plan to use case studies in their marketing strategy for the first time in 2022.

Infographics are Key to Illustrating Data Points

Because of the immense value they can show on just one page, it’s no surprise that infographics are taking the lead on shareable content marketing. According to a recent HubSpot survey, 56% of B2B marketers report that infographics are their most effective content type. The reason why is obvious. Infographics enable marketers to easily illustrate impactful data. These visualizations make it easier for the reader to understand and absorb the data presented to them. 

Often, infographics are leveraged in BDR emails, blogs, ebooks, and other downloadable content. And it’s likely that infographics will play a large part in content marketing strategies in 2022 and beyond. HubSpot states that 45% of B2B marketers are already using infographics in their marketing strategies and 38% plan to use infographics for the first time this year.