The digital platform is notoriously fast-paced and ever-changing. Any business that wants to keep its head above water needs to be aware of these changes and adapt to them right when they happen–or else they will get left behind before they can begin to wonder why their numbers are dropping.
In recent years, we have been seeing new digital marketing trends take over, such as influencer marketing, user-generated content, and live videos. There is a clear direction towards authenticity and away from traditional advertising, which bombarded audiences with impersonal and even irrelevant ads and promotional content.
If you are a marketer in 2023, here is everything you need to know about digital marketing trends to watch out for and how you can shape your campaigns to successfully leverage these trends to your advantage.
Overview of Current Digital Trends
Authentic purpose and genuine value are big in today’s digital marketing landscape. For a marketing strategy to work, brands need to be able to convey genuine messages that are relevant to their target market and true to their values.
These are the tried and tested means to gain customer trust and foster loyalty, which, in a competitive market, are gems that are hard to come by.
In terms of real marketing work, what does this mean?
Influencer Marketing on the Rise
Audiences respond more to real people with real stories. Marketers have leveraged this by collaborating with influencers of varying reach.
Unlike traditional ads that promoted products and services from oft-impersonal, unreachable people, influencer marketing is able to convey personal testimonies, authentic messages, and real results through relatable figures.
And it doesn’t matter whether you’re collaborating with A-list Hollywood celebrities to promote your brand. The unique appeal of influencer marketing is it makes even the biggest stars reachable to everyday audiences, as long as the message is perceived to be genuine.
In fact, the wider an influencer’s reach, the higher the potential for ROI.
But don’t ignore smaller-reach influencers. Nano and micro-influencers can be as effective as mega-influencers because they are often more actively engaged with their audiences. This makes them effective at generating quality leads and high-value traffic.
Prevalence of Short-Form Videos
TikTok videos, Instagram reels, Facebook stories–these are only some of the many channels where brands seamlessly promote relevant products and services.
Regular posts are easy to ignore or scroll by. Short-form videos, on the other hand, are more engaging. They force audiences to stop scrolling, pay more attention, and engage with the content in a more meaningful way.
What this means for brands is the increased likelihood of their content imprinting on target audiences.
People are also more likely to share short-form videos because they are easier to understand, making them highly relatable across a wider demographic.
And why short-form videos, instead of long ones? These nuggets of easily digestible information are perfect for a society in a hurry that needs information right away.
Evolving SEO Metrics
Digital marketing services are also being shaped by huge leaps in SEO. Another way with which the demand for authentic, relevant content has shaped the digital marketing landscape can be seen in changes in SEO metrics.
There is a huge emphasis on driving content that provides real answers, as well as leading people to websites that are more user-friendly and interactive.
Some examples of ways by which brands are adapting to changes in SEO metrics are:
- Curating high-relevance content that matches Google’s “People Also Ask”
- Improving website security and removing
- Ensuring smooth user interface
- Optimizing for mobile
Predictions for the Future of Digital Marketing
The drive for authentic, relevant content will remain a priority for marketers in the years to come. Some of the trends that we see today will either continue to be prevalent or shape marketing trends in the future.
To stay on top of your game, these are the trends that you need to watch out for.
AI Tools to Make Digital Marketing More Personalized
There is no stopping artificial intelligence from making an even larger footprint in digital marketing. This is no surprise, as AI has been rapidly advancing in recent years. But marketers will be able to leverage AI in a bigger way than ever before.
AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT are enhancing the way companies provide customer service, making it possible for customers to get real-time answers and access relevant resources at a click of a button.
But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. AI will also continue to give brands the ability to have a closer look into customer behavior, preferences, and even activities. This will allow brands to target audiences more effectively and produce content that guarantees not just impressions but real results.
Quality Long-Form Content is Here to Stay
Digital marketing will continue to be focused on customer experience. One of the ways this translates in practical marketing strategies is driving high-value content that provides accurate answers and valuable insights.
In other words, content will remain king. The spotlight will be on educational long-form content that adds real value to readers and gives accurate answers to practical questions.
Google continues to refine the way it crawls through thousands of websites. One of the most notable of its changes is the helpful content system update that ensures only websites with original, accurate, and helpful content get to have a place in search results.
Focus on Customer Experience
To launch successful campaigns, brands need to focus on ensuring that customers get the best experience–whether that be browsing through their website, watching content on social media, or checking out a product.
It’s the time for seamless promotions and branded content that stays relevant and personal.
How to Prepare for Upcoming Changes
Here are three ways brands can make sure they’re ahead of the competition:
Use AI in Analytics and Customer Service
If you don’t use AI in your digital marketing strategies, you’re already behind. Incorporate chatbots as AI analytics to understand your market better and craft personalized strategies that get the job done.
Produce Educational Long-Form Content
Publish original, helpful content using SEO best practices. This can be blogs, guest posts on other credible sites, as well as repurposing long-form content into other forms of media. This way, you’re able to rank while widening your reach.
Optimize for Voice Search
One of the biggest ways that brands can enhance customer experience and improve search ranking is optimizing for voice search. More and more Internet users are relying on voice command, whether on their smartphones, laptops, and even in car navigation.
Launch an Effective Marketing Strategy
It takes a strong grasp of ever-evolving trends and an in-depth understanding of the digital marketing landscape to craft a winning strategy.
You need a digital marketing agency with a track record of helping brands not only survive changing markets but make it–and make it big.
NGP-IMC has been doing that for 25 years through targeted campaigns, personalized strategies, and compelling storytelling.
Contact us and let’s talk about how we can do that for your brand too!
Jossaine Nunez is a freelance article writer, blogger, and SEO-driven maven. While her true passion lies in writing fiction, her love for storytelling extends to helping brands convey their message in ways that are both engaging and helpful for attaining their business goals.
Jossaine’s interests in writing particularly about people, for people – which translates to brand audience engagement – stems from her experience as the Editor-In-Chief of Siliman University’s The Weekly Silimanian, which published slices of life and educational pieces surrounding university life. Her piece, A Review of Leoncio Deriada’s People on Guerrero Street, published in the Silliman Journal on discussions and investigations in the humanities and sciences, earmarks her foray into the world of writing about, and writing for, humans that make the world go round.
