If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you must predict the curve. The year 2022 challenged the marketers’ and small businesses’ speed in adapting to the new digital marketing trends—and 2023 will be no different.
Can you keep up?
Where are we now?
The digital marketing landscape has drastically changed ever since the COVID-19 pandemic. But just when we thought we were finally in the clear, new threats loom on the horizon: recession and inflation.
Society has lived through more than enough global catastrophes in one lifetime, which made people rethink their priorities. What is the result of this perspective shift? Spend less on things that don’t matter.
With the promise of easy profits going down, businesses are trying to trim the fat—and marketers carry the burden of proving their worth, while operating on more conservative budgets.
Top Digital Marketing Trends 2023
1. The rise of omnichannel marketing
Brands that add omnichannel marketing strategy into their marketing plans will gain an edge over those that don’t.
Google found out that people’s shopping behaviours changed. Since people are more conscious of their spending, they go through the hoops n’ loops to find the right product or service. Being present in all touchpoints, whether physical or digital, will ensure that you remain on top of your consumers’ minds.
What does it mean for you?
Using only one channel to advertise your brand is marketing suicide—and isolating your physical stores from the equation will do you more harm than good, especially now that two-thirds of Australians are exploring the outdoors.
Instead, launch a seamless omnichannel marketing campaign that covers all your bases. Discover the top social media channels your target market frequents, post relevant content, and then tie it all in with a unique in-store shopping experience.
Know more about how you can mount a successful omnichannel marketing campaign by downloading our eBook.
2. Customer experience is king
Unsurprisingly, people hate ads—and they have pretty good reasons. With gajillion brands competing for a space on the internet, some brands and marketers did something fishy. No wonder why our trust levels with them crashed and burned.
What does it mean for you?
Customers can sniff out B.S. like a shark that can smell blood from far away. Instead of creating a campaign solely focusing on how you can milk them out, devise a strategy that puts positive customer experience in the centre.
To do that, you must understand your target market beyond their basic demographics. Understand what makes them tick to push out relevant ad campaigns that bring value to their lives.
3. More and more people will listen to user-generated content
According to this study, 92% of marketers believe they create “authentic ads,” but more than half of the consumers think it’s all just baloney. A bit unsurprising, given their frustratingly low trust levels with advertisers.
What does it mean for you?
People don’t trust the curated, clinical, and calculated brands—but they trust their peers. Let your people do the talking by launching user-generated content marketing. It’s one of the most effective ways to build trust, engage in authentic connections, and reach new people.
And the best thing about it? It’s free! Make sure your consumer has a good time with your brand, and it’ll be all good.
4. Never underestimate the power of micro-influencers
Piggybacking on our previous point, people will rather trust the voices from their circle instead of the noise of the gajillion brands fighting over bandwidth.
However, relying on user-generated content alone might not be enough to be heard—so brands will bring out their big guns: influencers. This multi-billion dollar influencer marketing industry will continue to grow, and micro-influencers will deliver the most impact.
What does it mean for you?
Micro-influencers will dominate the game. If you want to be heard by your market, especially the younger segment, beef up your digital marketing plan with micro-influencers.
These homegrown talents may have fewer audiences than celebs, but the micro influencers’ audiences engage more with them. The more engaged the people are, the higher the chances they will take action.
Find out how to pick the right influencer for your brand by downloading our eBook!
5. 82% of consumers will shop from brands that align with their values
The recent global events put things into perspective—there are things bigger than we are. People began to reflect on how they spend their energies and are looking for ways to contribute to the greater good.
People are looking for brands that will empower them to do so.
What does it mean for you?
When making a purchase, your consumers will not only look at the benefits of your products and service but also take into account your principles as a brand. They will scrutinise how you communicate, your treatment of your employees, and your philanthropic activities, so ensure that you incorporate these insights into your digital marketing plans.
For example, at 55 KNOTS, we empower our clients to fight against water pollution by partnering up with #Take3ForTheSea. Our clients help us prevent plastics from going into the ocean for every ad design they ask us to do.
Download this guide to help you reflect on your brand values if you’re hitting a wall.
6. Short-form video content = long-term results
Marketers and brands all want to be remembered. But with the shrinking attention spans and pandemic brain fog, it’s challenging to stay on top of people’s minds. One of the best brain hacks is making people remember you through repetition, but parroting content can only get you so far.
What does it mean for you?
Short, snappy, and creative—these are the ad design requirements to ensure that your brand will land on that sweet spot in your consumers’ minds. And luckily, short-form video content ticks off all of the boxes! As a testament to its success, a whopping 84% of consumers said that they were convinced to purchase after watching a brand’s short-form video.
Find out how to leverage short-form video content on your digital marketing plan here.
7. 69% of marketers beefs up their SEO tactics to be more “Googleable”
With more than 4.3 billion users worldwide, Google nabbed the biggest share of the global search market. It has been an integral part of people’s shopping habits that when people want to learn more about a product, they will google it. And with billion pairs of eyes using the search engine, it’s no wonder why brands and marketers are clawing their way to the top of the Google results page.
What does it mean for you?
To maximise the search engine’s potential to push your brand further, ensure that your website is aligned with the latest SEO rules. These SEO rules change at least 12 times a day, so it pays to be agile and forward-thinking when crafting your SEO tactics.
Speed, website security, and responsive user design are some of the most critical factors you must consider when optimising your website. Download the eBook to learn more.
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