5 content formats you should be using in 2023

For a successful content marketing strategy you have to publish content: 55% of marketing professionals¹ agree on this point.

For a business, this requires implementing a constant watch to stay up to date with new marketing trends and to identify the most popular content formats among shoppers.

Discover the 5 content formats that you need to understand to generate leads in 2023.

Long videos

While snack content² or micro-contents are popular, the maximum duration of TikTok videos is increasing from 3 to 10 minutes on average. This increase means that businesses must reconsider their content strategy to integrate longer videos: explanatory videos, webinars, interviews…

These videos add value and catch attention: 65% of shoppers³ are more likely to watch long videos than to read a blog article. Videos also help them to better understand a product and/or service: 94% of shoppers³ watch them for this reason.

« Behind the scenes » videos

« Behind the scenes » videos are authentic and show what's going on in a brand's backstage.

To get the most from these videos, you should borrow some codes from journalism: interviews, illustrations, live video recording… and share the company's day to day with shoppers: launch of a new product range, trade faire preparation, opening of a new production facility…

Shoppers love these videos and 87% of them⁴ will watch a livestream if it contains information on what's going on behind the scenes in a company. They also come with many benefits: give the business a human feel, showcase employees, share the group's values…

User Generated Content (UGC)

User Generated Content (UGC), as its name suggests, is content generated by a product user and published on the Internet. Brands often use this content to promote a product offer.

To get the most from them, you need to implement concrete actions encouraging shoppers to share their content about the brand's products.

One example is the brand GoPro who launched the « HERO11 Black Million Dollar⁵ » challenge to encourage shoppers to send the best videos filmed with their « HERO11 Black », one of the brand's bestselling cameras. GoPro then chose their preferred videos to integrate into their product presentation video.

This sort of initiative increases customer loyalty: 60% of shoppers⁶ would be more loyal if brands encouraged them to promote UGC.

Interactive content

Interactive content encourages shoppers to carry out specific actions: answer a question, click on a link, share… Among the most frequently used interactive content are quizzes, surveys, questionnaires…

To get the most from this content, a business needs to identify the most relevant social media platforms for them and to consider its features⁷. Instagram, to take one example, has dedicated features for creating surveys and/or quizzes and 15% of shoppers⁸ prefer to click on stories that contain them. They should also include CTAs to send shoppers towards the brand's products and boost their conversion rate.

This content has become vital and generates twice as much engagement as « static » content. 88% of marketing professionals⁸ plan to make at least 10% of their content « story ».

Web Stories

Web Stories⁸ are a new Google feature enabling you to use « story » formats on the web: in portrait format, adapted to Smartphones, full screen, slide and/or swipe system… Contrary to social network stories, Web Stories are lasting, referenced on SERP pages, and belong to the brand.

To create a compelling Web Story, you should aim for a short format: it should include between 10 and 15 slides and the videos it includes should be no longer than 15 seconds. You should also work on its SEO to ensure that it ranks well on SERPs: include metadata, add a canonical link element, write short titles…

Web Stories have become essential to attract shoppers: 64% of them⁹ prefer to read this type of content than pure text formats.

So, what have we learned? You should use a variety of content formats to adapt to new online shopper habits: interactivity, demand for authenticity, increased interest for visual content… You also need to adapt your content to their specific needs and expectations: 80% of shoppers¹⁰ are more likely to buy from brands that make an effort to customize their content.

¹ Assogba, E. 40 Statistiques Du Content Marketing A Connaître Absolument. Honadi.
² Gué, V. (2023, January 10). Qu'est-ce que le snack content ? Définition et exemples. Hubspot.
³ Renderforest. (2018, June 4). 44 statistiques de marketing vidéo à connaître pour 2020. Renderforest.
⁴ Ferreira, N. M. (2020, June 30). How to Create Behind the Scenes Footage. Oberlo.
⁵ GoPro. (2023, April 26). Le 5e Million Dollar Challenge est LÀ ! Et il bat tous les records.
⁶ Adobe Experience Cloud Team. (2023, March 3). Qu'est-ce que le contenu créé par l'utilisateur ou l'utilisatrice (UGC, User Generated Content) ? Adobe.
⁷ De Swarte, M. S. (2021, November 5). Créer du contenu interactif pour les réseaux sociaux. Meltwater.
⁷ Bump, P. (2021, June 10). 21 Interactive Content Stats That Marketers Need to Know in 2020. Blog.Hubspot.
⁸ Landecy, C. L. (2023, February 6). Tout ce qu'il faut savoir sur les Google Web Stories. Blog.Hubspot.
⁹ Mileva, G. (2022). Everything You Need to Know About Google Web Stories. Influencer Marketing Hub.
¹⁰ Morgan, B. (2020, February 18). 50 Stats Showing The Power Of Personalization. Forbes.