Content marketing continually evolves and changes as technology advances and the way audiences consume media and marketing shifts. In 2026, this looks different to even a few years ago- AI-powered searches have become more advanced, and creator-led marketing and influencers have a more prominent role in video marketing than ever before. Video-first platforms have also become even bigger than before, keeping up with the demand for fast and engaging content, yet despite this rise in video content marketing, text content isn’t showing any signs of disappearing either.
So what does the future of content marketing look like now, in 2026?
Will text content marketing stay up there as a popular means of content marketing, or will video marketing keep threatening to overtake it in the digital scene? Whilst each bring their own positives and negatives, they are both here to stay, and this post will look at why.
What is Text Content Marketing?
But first, just to define a few terms: text content marketing is the use of the written word to promote a business or brand and what it offers to its consumers- be that a product or a service.
It is an older form of content marketing compared to video marketing, but nevertheless is still an incredibly important form that has lots of benefits, especially from an SEO perspective. In 2026, text content is not just about keywords- search engines are looking more and more at expertise and topical authority, meaning high-quality written content is more valuable for marketing than ever.
What Are Some of the Types of Text Marketing in 2026?
Text content marketing comes in lots of different formats, but the most commonly used ones are the following:
- Blog posts:these are a great way to improve SEO and are an informative and engaging way to drive more organic traffic to a website.
- Email marketing:with this form of text content marketing, customers are provided with updates about your business through emails. This could be new products or services, or any offers that you may be running.
- Social media marketing: whilst the main part of a social media post may be a visual image or video, the captions that come with them, or the text on the image, all have to be written too in an engaging way.
- SEO Content writing: SEO writing in a form of text content where the text on a piece of content is written in a way that is optimised for search engines.
What is Video Marketing?
Video marketing is, very basically, the use of video content to promote a business and its products and/or services. It has the same purpose as written content marketing, but is just a different format. Video marketing is all around us these days, and you will consume it in ways you probably don’t even realise.
With social media channels like Instagram and TikTok having such prominence, video marketing is all over. People use these to find out about services and products and are visually appealing and engaging, and it has a number of benefits too.
What Are Some of The Types of Video Marketing in 2026?
Just like how text content comes in a number of different forms, there are lots of video marketing types too that are all great at promoting a brand or business. All of these have been shown to engage viewers and increase leads over recent years:
- Explainer videos: This is the type of video content marketing that explains a product or concept to do with the businesses area of expertise. The idea is that complex or lengthy information is compacted into an easily understandable and engaging piece of visual content.
- Short-form videos: Short-form vertical video is what dominates social media in 2026. Brands use these short-form videos to promote products, entertain and educate their audiences, helping to increase their reach.
- Brand videos:These are the type of videos that showcase the business and who they really are. They are great for connecting with an audience and improving the relationship with them.
- Product or service demos: With these videos, a product or service is showcased, with all features and benefits explained. You will often see these type of videos produced by content creators on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, usually as partnered or brand ad videos.
- Live videos: These videos are, as the name suggests, live and could be event footage, an interview, a look at the business, anything like that. These types of videos are often found on social media platforms such as Instagram, especially with the function to go ‘live’ on stories.
- User-Generated Content (UGC): UGC videos have become a popular form of video marketing because they are relatable to audiences.
The Future of Content Marketing 2026 Onwards: Integration
The biggest shift in 2026 is not video replacing text, or vice versa, but rather an integration of multiple forms of content into one marketing plan. Marketing in 2026 works best when text and video are not treated as separate entities, but rather used together in the areas where they perform best- i.e a blog post becoming a social media carousel, a video becoming a podcast or email campaigns becoming short-form videos.
Final Thoughts
There is a place for both video and text content marketing in the future, and 2026 shows that they are both bringing important and differing elements to the scene. Whilst video content marketing brings a level of engagement and opportunity for interaction that text content doesn’t quite, a lot can be said for the importance of the written word in content marketing too.
Text offers an easily accessible and descriptive form of content marketing that a lot of people will prefer over a video, as well as a host of SEO benefits that video marketing doesn’t achieve.
Both bring a multitude of great things to the content marketing scene, and should still be used as allies, not enemies, in order to have the successful, engaging and SEO optimised content that you need.
