We reserve the task of foretelling the future for clairvoyants, but we can already examine and assess recent and forthcoming trends in digital marketing. Are you enquiring?
Some of the upcoming digital marketing trends for 2023 have been selected by DesignLab to help you grow your company and outperform the competition. Remember that these forecasts are based on current marketing trends. The timeless, tried-and-true golden rules are something you should never lose sight of.
However, the new trends offer a fantastic chance to distinguish your brand and remain competitive. The earlier you catch on, the better your chance of being discovered.
- The use of influencers in marketing will become more widespread.
In 2022, influencer marketing really took off, and we forecast that this trend will continue into 2023. Why? 89% of marketers who use influencer marketing will increase or keep their investment in it in the upcoming year. Additionally, 17% of marketers intend to make their first investment in it the following year.
Promoters on social media with a smaller audience are known as micro-influencers, typically with thousands to tens of thousands of followers. Despite having fewer followers, they frequently post more powerful content because there is more engagement. These influencers have also discovered a niche in their industry, which is why they have begun to contribute more to the conversion of leads, audience engagement, and brand awareness.
Contrary to difficult-to-reach celebrities, audiences of micro-influencers are actually more likely to trust their advice because they are still regarded as “everyday” people.
2. Content will be kept brief by video marketers.
The short-form video has revolutionized the marketing industry, and we believe it will continue to do so in 2023. A startling 90% of marketers who currently use short-form video plan to increase or maintain their investment in it in the upcoming year, and 1 in 5 marketers expect to use it for the first time in 2023.
While long-form videos can give audiences a lot of detail and information about a product, brand, or service, B2C and B2B marketers have discovered that short-form videos are actually much more effective at getting to the point.
In addition to using less bandwidth, short-form videos are better suited to online audiences’ quick attention spans across a range of demographics. It is probably for this reason that platforms like TikTok, Reels, and, in the past, Snapchat, have seen rapid growth and marketing interest.
- Social media will be used as a tool for customer support.
Although using social media as a tool for customer service is still relatively new, this trend is picking up speed quickly. So much so that 15% of marketers plan to try it for the first time in 2023, and more than a quarter of marketers already use direct messages (DMs) to provide customer support.
This trend’s emergence coincides with the expansion of e-commerce features on many social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. Customer service on these platforms will therefore become even more important.
It’s also important to note that customers, especially Millennials and Gen Z, prefer to communicate with brands via direct messages. In the past three months, 20% of Gen Zers and almost 25% of Millennials, according to HubSpot’s 2022 Consumer Trends Survey, have contacted a brand on social media for customer service.
- More companies will use SEO to increase search traffic.
As marketers, it is our responsibility to make sure that both our websites and content can be found, particularly on Google, which can generate both long-term and short-term traffic returns. Even though SEO is not a new concept, contemporary marketing strategies are increasingly incorporating its tactics.
SEO comes in third place, behind influencer marketing and short-form video, when it comes to the trend that marketers will spend the most money on in 2023. Additionally, with a slight increase from the previous year (84%), 88% of marketers who have an SEO strategy will boost or maintain their investment in 2023.
All opportunities for search optimization increase in importance and demand as a result of SEO strategies. As Google’s algorithms have developed, SEO has grown to be much more than just producing straightforward posts that respond to straightforward search queries. Brands are now spending money on SEO specialists who can assist them with everything from search insight reports to multimedia optimization.
- The importance of mobile optimization will increase.
Customers are using mobile devices for an increasing amount of time. In fact, mobile devices, including tablets, account for more than half of all yearly website traffic.
Mobile-optimized digital experiences will be even more important to take into account as a business owner who markets to these fast-paced, highly connected generations as millennials and Gen Z audiences continue to increase their purchasing power.
Additionally, mobile experiences are crucial for other important marketing strategies in addition to brand websites. For instance, 56% of email-using marketers are concerned with providing subscribers with mobile email experiences.
- More businesses will give social responsibility a higher priority.
For instance, 40% of Millennials and 50% of Gen Z’ers want businesses to take a position on social issues like climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, gender inequality, and racial justice. Companies’ purchasing choices are significantly impacted when they speak out about these issues.
In light of all of this, businesses have started to change their social media strategies to concentrate more on inclusive initiatives, promotions, and offerings while also highlighting causes or missions they support. Even though it might not result in immediate sales, being socially conscious is still considerate and productive.
- Sales and marketing teams that work together will succeed.
The need for collaboration between the sales and marketing teams grows as 2023 approaches. When these teams are working together, marketers are better able to understand their customers’ interests, pastimes, and demographics. However, when it doesn’t, it causes a flurry of issues for all parties concerned. Most significantly, it’s more difficult to share and access data across teams, which affects 1 in 5 marketers today.
Uncomfortably, only 31% of marketers claim that their sales and marketing teams work well together. It should come as no surprise that nearly half of the marketers will change their 2023 goals to emphasize sales and marketing alignment.
- Experience-based advertising may return.
Audiences can enter an immersive experience through experiential marketing campaigns, which are frequently offered in person or through AR and VR platforms.
Immersive experiences like these were entertaining, effective, and very shareable on social media, but they encountered difficulties in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the global pandemic, which forced businesses, public places, and entire nations to close their doors to the public.
Additionally, fewer small brands have made investments in digital experiential marketing because creating a branded AR or VR experience is a high-budget wager that can also depend on audiences having tools like AR or VR headsets or the most recent smartphone technology to access the content.
- For expanding brands, inbound marketing will continue to be a best practice.
It is incredibly wise to embrace inbound marketing in this era of digital transformation. Due to the unprecedented change that has occurred in the last two years, outbound marketing strategies are now even less successful at attracting prospects and leads.
Inbound marketing has emerged as one of the most effective strategies as work-from-home (WFH) business practices transition from in-person to hybrid models. For instance, the COVID-19 mandate has led to a sharp increase in virtual events as marketers scramble to pique consumers’ interest.
- The marketing industry will adopt virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) slowly.
In the beginning, we had high expectations for VR and AR in the marketing sector. 35% of marketers used AR or VR in their strategies back in 2021, and of those marketers, almost half intended to increase their investment the following year. It might, however, drop down the list in 2023 as fewer marketers are expected to spend money on it. Over a quarter (27%) of marketers say they won’t be using VR and AR in the upcoming year.
Due to expensive equipment and bulky headsets, marketers have generally been slower to adopt this trend. However, this might change as more people have access to VR headsets and AR applications.
- More companies will try native advertising.
You invest in native advertising when your brand pays to have content featured on a website owned by a different party. Native advertising is intended to blend in and spread awareness of your brand to a new audience, as opposed to traditional advertising, which is made to interrupt and stand out.
Consumers are more likely to consume native ads because they don’t “feel” like traditional advertisements; in fact, native ads are viewed over 50% more frequently than banner ads.
Examples of native advertising can be found in search engine results, social media, content recommendation systems (those links to various other content you can click at the bottom of the page to read more on or related to the topic), or in campaigns.
- The best marketing content format will continue to be video.
In 2022, video dominated the marketing sector; we anticipate that trend will continue in 2023. Why? because marketers intend to spend more money on short-form videos than any other trend in 2019. Additionally, a staggering 90% of marketers who use short-form video now plan to increase or maintain their investment in 2023.
Due to expensive resources and production, video creation and marketing strategies in the past were constrained. It’s much easier to access now. Video is now easier to integrate into your marketing strategies thanks to lowered cost barriers.
A smartphone, like an iPhone, and reasonably priced editing software are all you need; you don’t even need to hire a production team or marketing agency.
Make Better Progress Using Marketing Trends
You’re current—for the time being. Your company won’t lag behind as long as you keep an eye on current marketing trends and are always open to change.
Don’t worry if the thought of keeping up with all these insights makes you feel overwhelmed. In the upcoming months, DesignLab will regularly release marketing strategy research articles with information from hundreds of marketing professionals, and we’ll keep updating this post as new trends appear. You can get in touch with us if you have questions about our services.