Ok, this has to be one of the most meta projects I’ve worked on: a piece of digital content about digital content — but, hey, it’s an important one.
From toddlers to senior citizens, everyone today wields a mobile device. So much of our lives are spent staring at screens that very few can say they don’t consume digital content, whether they call it that or not.
No one knows this better than modern marketers, but for those of you new to the field or looking for a refresher on what actually falls under the umbrella of digital content, I’m here to break it down.
I’ll also share what some industry thought leaders predict digital content will look like next year.
Table of Contents
What is digital content?
Simply put, digital content is any type of media used to reach and connect with an audience that is created, hosted, and distributed through the internet.
Many people, like artists, digital creators, journalists, and media organizations, create digital content simply because it’s their offering; it’s a new medium for them to express themselves and communicate with others.
However, businesses, entrepreneurs, and marketers like me usually create digital content to drive traffic and awareness, generate new leads, and convert new customers.
In other words, digital content could also be defined as online media created for content marketing.
Types of Digital Content
Content thought leader and Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs Ann Handley once said, “Everything the light touches is content” — and she’s not really exaggerating.
That email you deleted this morning? Digital content.
The meme your dad texted you this morning? Digital content.
The YouTube video linked in your group chat? Digital content.
This article? Digital content.
And that’s just scratching the surface. Digital content includes, but is not limited to:
- Blogs/Articles
- Videos (Static and Live)
- Podcasts
- Images (Photographs, Graphics, Infographics)
- Emails (Newsletters, RSS feeds, transactional emails)
- Downloads (Guides, Reports)
- Webinars
- Templates
- Interactive Tools (Quizzes, Calculators, etc.)
- Social Media
Now, some of these mediums can exist offline, too, like articles, quizzes, and templates, but when they are digitized, they offer a number of unique and unmatched benefits.
Importance of Digital Content
For modern businesses, the importance of digital content can’t be overstated — and I don’t say this simply because my career depends on it.
Overall, content can drive brand awareness and build trust with your audience but digital content management comes with a wealth of operational benefits that analog mediums don’t.
Benefits of Digital Content
Cost-effective
One of the biggest benefits of digital content is its cost-effectiveness. Many mediums use low — or no-cost tools such as blogging, SEO, and social media, making it accessible for businesses and teams of all sizes.
Yes, paying seasoned, skilled professionals to own and execute your digital content strategy can come at a pretty penny, but the barriers otherwise are quite low.
Plus, your work tends to compound. Once you build site authority and social media followings, quality digital content tends to deliver more without much more immediate attention.
Versatile and Scalable
Don’t get me wrong, I love traditional media. I love seeing what I’ve designed or written brought to life as something tangible that I can touch and feel — but these sensory analog treats are just not as versatile or convenient as digital.
With its online format, digital content is easy to repurpose for different platforms and mediums and enhance for use on larger scales. Blog posts can be turned into videos or social media posts, and podcasts can be transcribed into guides.
Digital content can also be cross-posted or promoted to multiple platforms with just the push of a button. This just can’t be done as efficiently with analog content.
Pro tip: AI can make repurposing content even easier for marketers. Learn more in this article.
Easier Collaboration
Being internet-based, digital content is also easier to share and collaborate on with people near or far. For instance, if I stage an article for publishing in the HubSpot CMS, anyone on my team with the right permissions can go in and leave comments or make edits to it.
All someone needs to share their input is a link and an internet connection.
Better Analytics
When you publish an article in a newspaper or hang a billboard, you can’t truly know how many people took the time to read that message and take action. With digital content, you can.
Most social media tools and content management systems offer in-depth information on your content’s performance, such as views/clicks and conversion rates, but they can also be linked to third-party tools like Google Analytics or Databox to get even more granular.
These insights can help you better understand what types of digital content are working to achieve your goals and what you may need to change.
Ok, so how do you create this oh-so-useful digital content?
How to Create Great Digital Content
Creating digital content isn’t really that different from creating for analog mediums. It’s when the time comes to distribute and analyze that the two go in different directions.
Let’s talk through the five main steps of creating digital content, and I’ll explain.
Plan
At this point, we will assume you’ve already determined what you are trying to achieve with your content.
In other words, you know what you need to get your audience to do or feel after consuming it and grasp who they are and what they’re interested in.
(This is all a part of a greater content marketing plan.)
So, here, you outline your content. You create your game plan for the piece of content you want to create. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Title
- Focus Keywords/Topic
- Key Talking Points
- Medium
- Platform
- Call-to-action
This is the first step I take with every article or piece of content I create.
Research
Now that you know what you’re writing, you can start your content research.
Even if you know the topic like the back of your hand (like I know digital content), you should still be doing some research. I certainly did when working on this piece.
Research is how you know what you’re up against (aka what your competitors say). It’s how you know what perspectives and ideas are already being discussed and what new value you can offer.
It also helps you fact-check yourself and find third-party data to support your claims.
Create
So, you have your outline and your research; here’s where you put them together. This is also where those differences between analog and digital that we talked about can start to show up.
Perhaps you’re writing in a word processor or CMS, stitching clips together in a video tool, or framing graphics in a design tool.
Regardless of the type of content, you’re likely creating it using a computer and possibly even collaborating with your team virtually.
Need some assistance? Tools like Canva have comprehensive libraries of templates and even AI to help you create visual content, while HubSpot’s free AI content writer can help with text.
Publish
After the content has been finalized, it’s time to set it live. With your content living online, it will be accessible to search engines, shareable through links, and in play for engagement via likes, comments, and shares.
Analyze
After your content is live, it’s time to see how it’s performing. Depending on your goals and the platform, this could mean analyzing the clicks, views, and leads generated or likes, shares, and comments. I suggest a minimum of three pulse checks:
- On the day of publish
- One week after publish
- One month after publish
If your digital content is doing very well from the first check or the content is more of a long-term play, I’d increase this frequency.
Examples of Great Digital Content
1. Canva Design School [Resource Center]
Canva does so many things right with its marketing, and its digital content is no exception. “Design School” is essentially the brand’s resource center, where users can learn about design principles, color theory, trends, and how to use the Canva tools.
It offers video-based, on-demand courses, tutorials, and certifications.
Why is this great digital content?
- It offers tons of relevant educational value to the audience
- It showcases Canva’s thought leadership, positioning it as an expert in the design space
- It introduces people to Canva products and teaches how to get value out of them
- Video-based, catering to modern buyer content preferences
- Content exists both on the website and YouTube, expanding its reach and helping with SEO.
2. Semrush: “Barbie Phenomenon” [Infographic]
SEO tool Semrush capitalized on the Barbie movie craze during the summer of 2023 with this infographic.
The film’s marketing made just as much of a splash as the film itself, and Semrush used this design to share various performance stats from its strategy.
Why is this great digital content?
- It incorporates a trending topic.
- It shares information that is of interest to its target audience (marketers) and the greater public, giving it wide appeal and shareability.
- Showcases what Semrush’s data tools can do
3. Strava: “Year in Sport” [Report & User Recap]
Strava’s “Year in Sport” is an annual report released by the fitness company that incorporates several elements. The digital content shares:
- Results from Strava’s global survey of active people, including insights and trends from their motivations and barriers to exercise.
- The biggest news stories and accomplishments of athletes, clubs, and the overall exercise community.
“Year in Sport” also includes a personal year-end recap for paid app users. Like Spotify Wrapped (another great piece of digital content), it shares trends and statistics from the users’ app activity from last year.
Why is this great digital content?
- It shares exclusive insights of interest to their target audience (fitness enthusiasts)
- It offers personalized value through its user recaps, crafting a unique, one-of-a-kind experience for each person.
- User recaps encourage user-generated content (UGC)
4. Sprout Social: 5 Ways to Use AI Customer Service on Social Media [Video]
In this video, social media SaaS company Sprout Social teaches viewers how to use automation and AI customer service to do their best work without losing an authentic, on-brand voice.
While a short video, it makes great use of chapters to make it easier for users to find the information they need, as well as links to additional related resources in the description.
Why is this great digital content?
- It discusses a trending topic (AI) and why it’s relevant to the Sprout audience
- It showcases Sprout Social’s thought leadership and positions it as an expert in the social media/marketing space
- It’s a video catering to modern buyer content preferences
- It’s hosted on YouTube, giving it increased reach potential
- Its description/caption is optimized for traffic, conversion, and search.
5. Allbirds: Flight Status [Sustainability Report]
Footwear company Allbirds differentiates itself on its sustainable products and practices. It calls these practices its “flight plan.”
To keep it honest, the company releases a “Flight Status” or sustainability report every year to keep customers and the market in the loop about how their efforts are performing.
Why is this great digital content?
- It shares important company information that shows credibility.
- It’s ungated, showing they genuinely just care about being transparent not getting leads.
- It doubles down on their company values and those important to their target audience.
6. Il Makiage: Power Match [Quiz]
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written about this piece of digital content, but hey, it deserves the praise.
Makeup brand Il Makiage’s Power Match is a brilliant online quiz that promises to find users their ideal foundation shade through only a series of multiple-choice questions.
After it identifies your shade, you can buy it directly from the site. They’re so confident in the results that they even let you try the product for 14 days before you have to pay for it.
It has since inspired many copycats, including Maybelline’s Fit Me Routine Finder.
Why is this great digital content?
- It’s interactive and engaging.
- It gives users/customers a customized experience on the website.
- It makes the buying process easier for new customers.
- It’s almost gameified the experience of buying from them, sparking a trend of customers sharing their results on social media. (UGC win!)
7. Google: The Year in Search [Video, Report, & Tool]
Google’s “The Year in Search” is one piece of content I look forward to every year.
It’s an in-depth look at the top Google searches of the previous year, including the most searched questions, the most captivating moments, and the most inspiring people based on search queries.
The campaign involves several different pieces of digital content, such as:
Why is this great digital content?:
- It’s interactive and can offer personalized insight.
- It showcases Google’s offering and data only it has access to. This, in turn, highlights just how vast and impactful Google is.
- It makes the buying process easier for new customers.
- It shares information that is of interest to its users and the greater public, giving it wide appeal and shareability.
What will digital content look like in 2025?
Clearly, digital content is a wide umbrella, and it’s constantly evolving. So, what will it look like in 2025? Here’s what three industry experts predict.
More Focus on Personalization
“…I believe the biggest shift is going to happen through personalized content that is tailored to the consumer,” shared founder & CEO of Foundation Ross Simmonds.
While Simmonds maintains video, which will continue to be one of the most valuable assets a brand can invest in, and blog content will still be the most important part of an SEO strategy, personalization is poised to be a key differentiating factor.
“Brands are now able to use AI and code to create content experiences for their audience that are tailored to their needs and their own personal attributes, challenges, goals, and worldviews.”
“I believe more personalized and tailored content is going to be the most interesting and immersive format that we see in 2025. Marketers can prepare for this by experimenting and learning.”
What can you do? Learn everything you can about scaling personalization with AI:
Increased Experimentation
HubSpot’s Head of Audience Development Studio Andrea Hudson, echoed this thought, saying, “The digital content of the future is what we’re tinkering with now; in 2025, we’ll still be experimenting.”
She dove into specifics, saying, “The mass marketing approach of a digital asset working across platforms has been sunset for a while now, and we’re shifting to personalized digital experiences via the creative medium.”
What can you do?
“The only way to prepare for this shift is to become curious about it now by experimenting and leveraging trends as inspiration instead of roadmaps,” advised Hudson.
“Look outside of your industry, set aside a budget for experimentation, and redefine your content KPIs to make sure they’re aligned with what you’re creating.”
“Spotify has found a way to do this for years with their Wrapped campaign and other tentpole moments throughout the year that provide personalized experiences based on behavior and accompanying those experiences with immersive content.”
The Rise of Non-Search Content
“In the digital content space in 2025, one big trend I think we’ll see is marketers leaning more towards discovery channels than ever before rather than search,” explained my HubSpot teammate Caroline Forsey.
“There will be a major emphasis on YouTube, social media platforms, and even more niche channels like Substack or Reddit — essentially, marketers will seek out as many non-search platforms as possible to begin reaching audiences in new places since consumers spend so much of their time passively consuming content on these channels.”
While search engine optimization is still important (there’s a reason Google continues to be the most visited website in the world), it’s not the only way brands can be discovered.
Social media is actually the preferred product discovery channel for Gen Z, millennials, and boomers, and it’s also where they go to consume content.
Leaning more into these channels in 2025 may be critical to digital content success.
What can you do? Review and scale your social media strategy. Here are some resources to help:
Digital Content Gets Bigger and Better
Digital content is both the lifeblood and pulse of modern communication and marketing, continuously evolving to meet the needs of our connected world.
As we look ahead to 2025, the trends highlighted by experts paint an exciting picture of more personalized, experimental, and diversified approaches to content creation and distribution.
To stay ahead, marketers must embrace personalization, experiment fearlessly with emerging formats, and expand their reach to discovery-driven platforms beyond traditional search.
By doing so, they can create meaningful connections, foster engagement, and deliver value that resonates deeply with their audiences.
