5 Content Marketing Trends to Watch in 2024

Is it worth staying up to date with content marketing trends as a freelance content writer? We say, “Yes, it is!”

If you want to enhance your reputation as a writer, it pays to be up to date on the latest industry trends. Incorporating them can help boost your client’s SEO efforts, raise brand awareness, and generate great leads.

Our top five content marketing trends to lean into in 2024 are:

• Greater use of AI in content creation
• The continued rise of short-form video
• User-generated content coming to the fore
• The power of relationships
• Strategic use of topic clusters

Read on to find out more.

Greater Use of AI in Content Creation

It might only seem like yesterday that ChatGPT burst onto the scene, but generative AI’s expansion is continuing apace. According to Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2023 AI Benchmark Report:

• 61.4% of marketers already use AI in their campaigns
• 44.4% of marketers have used AI for content creation 
• Over half of marketers feel AI enhances their marketing efforts

AI thought leader Nina Schick believes that the use of AI-generated content will reach 90% by 2025.

To stay competitive in 2024 and beyond, marketers and writers will need to be comfortable using AI tools to streamline their content creation processes. This will mean developing a variety of generative AI skills, from writing effective AI prompts to knowing how to humanize AI content.

The Continued Rise of Short-Form Video

Short-form video is expected to show the fastest growth and highest return on investment of any marketing tool in 2024. Hubspot’s Social Media Marketing Report for 2024 notes that over 90% of marketers plan to either maintain or increase their level of investment in short-form video in 2024.

Short-form video platforms, such as Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, now dominate video content creation. According to Wyzowl’s Video Marketing Statistics 2024, 89% of consumers want to see more videos from brands in 2024. If you want to follow this trend, we advise following a few best practices:

• Keep it short (we’d recommend less than 60 seconds).
• Hook your audience within the first few seconds (e.g., by using a popular sound). 
• Create vertical content (most short-form video platforms are designed to be viewed in this way). 
• Always keep it relevant to your target audience.

Repurposing long-form content by carefully editing it into less than a minute also works well. As concentration spans become shorter, short-form content becomes more attractive to consumers, providing instant gratification.

User-Generated Content Coming to the Fore

Research by Adweek suggests that 85% of consumers are more influenced by user-generated content (UGC) than content directly created by brands.

UGC comes in many forms. Organic UGC is content that customers share of their own accord – photos and videos, brand mentions and comments on a business’ social media feed, and reviews and testimonials. Paid UGC is when brands and influencers collaborate to produce promotional content.

Both forms of UGC are valuable. Influencer-generated content can be aspirational, but organic UGC tends to be more authentic. If you see someone like you wearing or doing something, you can relate to them and picture yourself doing the same.

Whether it’s posted by friends, family, colleagues, or influencers, UGC is a form of social proof. It’s essentially a stamp of approval that says, “I loved this product/service, and you will too!” Check out these tips from SproutSocial on adding UGC to your content strategy.

The Power of Relationships

In the age of AI, relationship building will be more important than ever before. For a brand to build trust with its customers, it will need to prioritize genuine human interactions and show authenticity and transparency. Customers want to feel truly valued and understood.

Similarly, content will need to address customer pain points and provide genuine value – thin, generic content will turn customers off. Thought leadership will become increasingly valuable, providing readers with an alternative to the recycled, repetitive content produced by generative AI.

Strategic Use of Topic Clusters

Having a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is crucial in today’s online world. Awareness of SEO techniques and best practices is essential for marketers and content writers.

Topic clusters (also known as content clusters) are groups of web pages built around a central theme. Each cluster has a pillar page and several cluster pages. The pillar page provides a broad overview of the topic, while the cluster pages cover related subtopics. For example, imagine your pillar page is “How to Become a Freelancer.” Your cluster pages might include “How to Register Your Freelance Business,” “5 Ways to Find Freelance Jobs,” and “A Guide to Building Your Freelance Portfolio.”

Topic clusters boost your SEO efforts by allowing you to build topical authority and rank for multiple keywords on a particular topic. They also help to improve internal linking and create a clear, easy-to-follow site structure. This guide from Semrush explains exactly how to create topic clusters for SEO.

Becoming a Freelance Writer

If this post has made you want to expand your skill set as a writer, take a look at our course Becoming A Freelance Writer. It covers all you need to know to kickstart a new career or upskill for your existing role.