Content has always been king but its kingdom has grown remarkably over the past few years and will continue to grow. These changes are driven primarily by the ever-changing consumer behaviour and preferences; both with the lingo and the mediums they use to freely express themselves. The world is going to be a very different place in the next ten years. Millennials and Gen Z will dominate this change, and brands will have to refocus on where, what and why to say what they have to!
The consumer’s journey is going to get a lot more complex with mixed, augmented and virtual realities taking centre stage. Customised messages consisting of the right lingo, perfectly targeted text and an appealing call to action will determine the decision to buy what this consumer is making. To create such content funnels and add tech to enable these messages to reach the consumer, will be the biggest challenge.
Adding tech to the mix, static one-way messages will be dead. A new age of highly interactive (not just likes, comment and share) content will come alive where interactions will be determined by the sharing of minds, the amount of time spent viewing the content and doing actions in alternate realities that will come to life. To communicate with an audience that has a highly congested, cluttered mind-space will be another big challenge.
Long-form content as we know it today will exist, but with a lot more visual cues. Interactive infographics and the ability to know more when something seems interesting is going to drive the content of the future.
The type of content a user is consuming has a significant effect on their state of mind, and this can subsequently impact their experience of and receptivity to advertising. The creative might be spot on, and the brand may reach the right user, but if they are not in the right mindset to receive the message, that impression will be wasted. Therefore, apart from the context of the content curation, it’s very important to identify who is consuming the content.
To cater to this need of interacting with the content viewer, the next few years will bring along a large amount of new formats. Video is one of the fastest growing mediums and video content will continue to dominate digital. New content distribution platforms will see an upsurge apart from YouTube, which already hosts billions of videos. The popularity of visual storytelling will continue unabated into the upcoming year. It’s just begun but the rapid evolution of virtual reality and the big investment by players such as Google and Facebook in setting the stage for immersive marketing. Top companies have already begun to implement virtual reality into their marketing structures. Digital marketing with virtual reality can also incorporate many technologies that have been sitting on the shelf.
While there might be quite a few unique trends to watch out for by 2030, the biggest will be the interactivity and creativity of content, which is currently driving the future. Additionally, the amalgamation of content and technology is the crucial factor that will dominate the content arena by then.
(Gupta’s primary role at FoxyMoron is to look after new business acquisition, strategic alliances and reinforce the current client roster. This includes bringing the best of digital services to potential and existing clients through creative ideation, effective execution and management of resources. Prior to FoxyMoron, Pratik worked at Balaji Telefilms as a Business Development Executive, creating new concepts for potential business opportunities. He has also worked with Castrol India where his role included researching market data with regard to the consumption patterns of various vendors that Castrol dealt with. Pratik Gupta was ranked 50 in the Top 100 of the Digital World for 2012 and ranked 70 in 2013 by IMPACT Magazine. He is a management graduate from Mumbai University and is an expert on the content writing scene in the Indian context.)
