19 Marketing Trends To Expect in 2023

19 Marketing Trends To Expect in 2023

Marketing strategies and the associated trends change and evolve each year, taking into account consumer behaviours and new technologies. Whether we are talking about the changes in eCommerce or how to take advantage of social media – a marketing strategy in 2023 needs to be diverse and robust.

2023 will bring plenty of change for marketers, and you need to keep your finger on the pulse so that you can stay caught up and stay caught up in the competition. In this article, we'll share the 19 marketing trends you should be aware of for 2023 to help you build an effective marketing strategy.

How Have Marketing Trends Evolved Over the Last Decade?

Before we dive into our 2023 marketing trends, let's try to understand how the marketing industry has evolved over the last decade and the technology and platforms that have played a significant part.

Marketing, and digital marketing, in particular, has seen significant changes over the last ten years. So many changes that keeping up has been a bit of a struggle. Search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media have become vital marketing channels, and constantly adjusting to algorithm changes and user habits can send a marketer's head spinning.

There are no one-size-fits-all marketing solutions these days, with different strategies needed for each channel, targeting a range of audiences while trying to deliver a personalised experience. This means feedback and gathering consumer data is a must to find out what makes your target audience tick and how you can cater to their needs.

Below is a detailed timeline of how marketing has changed over the last ten years, from the rise of SEO to the power of video.

2012 – 2013 – Search Engines Became Smarter

In 2012, Google firmly established itself as the dominant search engine, with numerous updates released that made digital marketers have to think smarter. Search engine result pages (SERPs) began to show social content and web pages. With these changes, larger businesses increasingly relied on digital marketing agencies to promote their brands and websites effectively.

Google's Penguin update changed how Google evaluated links when ranking websites, forcing marketers to ditch any “Black Hat” tactics.

During this time, automation to deliver email campaigns and manage social media accounts became much more prevalent, helped by the popularity of easy-to-use platforms such as MailChimp and HootSuite.

Other significant events between 2012 and 2013 included the introduction of Instagram Ads and the purchase of Tumblr by Yahoo, which led to the monetisation of the social platform.

2014 – 2015 – Further Google Algorithm Updates

2014 saw the release of Google's Pigeon update, another effective method of eradicating Black Hat SEO methods. They further rewarded well-optimised sites over those that weren't, while Google also changed how it delivered local search results and location-based browsing on mobile devices.

Encryption was also given more importance, with HTTPS websites receiving more priority in terms of ranking. This saw the installation of SSL certificates increase significantly.

Other key events during this timeframe included:

• Desktop internet users were overtaken by mobile
• Consumer data was better used to develop “predictive analytics.”
• Snapchat introduced the “Discover” feature to enable advertising on the platform
• LinkedIn launched tailored advertising
• Facebook acquired Whatsapp and released Facebook Messenger
• Pinterest's Buyable Pins provided new opportunities for marketers and retailers

2016 – 2017 – Influencer Marketing Took Off

The effectiveness of influencer marketing was understood in 2016, with online influencers becoming celebrities in their own right in every niche you can imagine. The number of influencers grew considerably as marketers realised their potential in promoting products and brands to broad audiences.

Paid advertising became a vital channel for marketing strategies. It was the primary channel for many businesses, possibly even overtaking SEO in terms of the effort put into it by marketing agencies.

2018 – 2020 – Brand Management and the Power of Content

Many successful brands focused on producing long-form content and saw the potential of video across social media. With longer form content, users' time on websites increased, and session duration became one of the many ranking factors that held a lot of weight (it still does).

Instagram increased the duration of videos that you could upload from 60 seconds to several minutes. This opened the door for much more compelling video content, especially product demonstrations and “how-to” tutorials. TikTok also exploded onto the scene, giving marketers a new way to promote content and capitalise on influencer marketing.

Meanwhile, Google released its BERT algorithm update, its most significant in years. This update was very complex and focused on the context of search queries rather than just the keywords, which required a significant rethink regarding keyword strategies and content delivery.

2021-2022 – Neuromarketing

The use of voice search accelerated over 2021 as search users became accustomed to getting information as quickly as possible. Semantic keyword searches also changed how we approached SEO, focusing more on conversational content.

Neuromarketing was widely adopted to help big brands deliver a better user experience, becoming an effective tool to predict the wants and needs of their audiences. This was well showcased by the growth of chatbot and AI technology which continues to develop in 2023.

19 Marketing Trends To Expect in 2023

Marketing success depends entirely on keeping up with changing technologies and strategies, which can evolve at a whirlwind pace. So now that we have reminded ourselves of the events that have taken us to the current marketing climate, let's look at what we can expect in 2023.

1 – Influencer-Brand Relationships

In 2022, research showed that 93% of marketers had used influencer marketing as part of an overall marketing strategy at some point. Brands will continue to build strong relationships with relevant influencers and content creators during 2023 and vice versa.

For influencers, establishing a working relationship with top brands can lead to more opportunities and higher income. On the other hand, brands must carefully select the right influencers to ensure their marketing messages are delivered to the right audience.

There will likely be many long-term influencer campaigns launched next year as marketers look to fine-tune how they make the most of critical influencers to offer the best return on investment. However, this is not to say that one-off campaigns and single posts will lose effectiveness.

2 – Live Stream and Video-Based Content

Live video and streaming are huge right now, and the situation will likely remain the same in 2023. Consumers spend up to three times longer watching live video content than watching a pre-recorded video, which is why marketers are getting in on the action.

Live video is especially effective when learning about new products, with live-stream shopping also growing in popularity. This is because live video is much more engaging, and the audience can ask questions that we can answer there and then.

You can also offer Offers and discounts to live viewers, encouraging people to tune in due to the fear of missing out (FOMO).

3 – The Ultimate Customer Experience (CX)

Many marketers and retailers prioritise providing the best possible experience for customers, moving away from pushing services and products. Consumers expect a flawless experience when they land on a website or interact with a brand's social media pages. This includes personalised messages, rapid responses to queries, and digestible yet informative content.

Ensuring websites are mobile-friendly and transactions are seamless is now an essential requirement. Still, consumers expect the online customer experience to be as attentive as walking into a high street store.

Delivering this level of experience is the best way to develop trust and customer loyalty, helping you build a customer base that will stick with your brand for years to come.

4 – User-Generated Content (UGC)

Social media audiences want more real content and genuine experiences from like-minded people. Authentic reviews and feedback from ordinary people are far more effective in selling a product than a content marketing agency can produce. User-generated content (UGC) can heavily dictate whether people purchase or engage with a brand.

Tutorials, unboxings, and product views delivered via YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok by key influencers are expected to be even more prominent in 2023, while the resharing of positive, verified reviews will undoubtedly play its part when it comes to product promotion.

5 – Employee Interactions and Engagement

Happy employees are the key to happy customers, which is why many brands will shift their focus towards staff contentment, including providing the necessary training to help them better serve clients. Providing adequate employee training for meaningful interactions with existing and potential customers is one of the best ways to gain an edge over the competition.

As well as training, motivating staff is also crucial to the success of a business strategy, ensuring a happy working environment and letting people know they are valued.

Furthermore, happy employees are more likely to talk openly about how great your company is on social media and are more likely to share the content you create. Content that focuses explicitly on individuals within the business is also proven to attract high engagement.

6 – Visual Content and Brand Storytelling

Marketers must ensure that their content strategies incorporate voice and visual search in the coming year. Your blog and social media posts will likely only be read if they are paired with great visuals that help portray your brand's story and values.

Visual-heavy platforms such as Instagram are still as popular as ever, and fantastic imagery can live long in the memory. Data visualisations are also much more effective than written text, so you can be sure infographics will still have a massive impact on SEO in 2023.

7 – New Targeting Solutions

Over the next twelve months, customer segmentation and drilled-down targeting strategies will be popular weapons for marketers. Experimentation with new targeting solutions has undoubtedly paid off for many marketers in 2022, and with more advanced analytics and better data collection, these new strategies can only become more effective.

8 – Position Zero – Google's Featured Snippet

Google's featured snippet is nothing new, and SEO professionals have been optimising their content accordingly since 2014 to grab “position zero” for relevant search terms.

The featured snippet is the first item shown on Google's search engine results pages (SERPs) and provides the user with the relevant information in a concise format without having to click through to the website.

In 2023, achieving position zero for targeted keywords will be a primary goal for many brands. However, it is still recommended to implement a diverse SEO strategy and focus on the traditional ten blue links, voice search, and visual search.

9 – Personalisation

A personalised approach can be the key decision-maker for many consumers, persuading them to opt for the brand that makes them feel like their custom is valued. Potential customers are no longer swayed by generic marketing emails, forcing advertisers to abandon traditional techniques.

Personalisation goes beyond simply displaying a person's name within the email. Instead, think about the content of the email – it should include recommended products based on the user's search history, location-specific offers, or rewards for loyal, long-time customers.

10 – Cohesive Customer Experiences

A cohesive customer experience relates to consistency and instant brand recognition across various platforms, such as a business's website, app, social media pages, and customer portal. In short, when a customer traverses across different platforms, the experience will be seamless. However, each platform should have a familiarity without looking identical.

A brand can achieve a cohesive customer experience by:

• Consistent branding across all platforms
• A standardised structure and labelling system
• Familiar visual elements
• Cross-device compatibility

11 – Conversational Marketing Techniques

Sales and customer service channels have moved towards a friendly, conversational tone, as opposed to the formal, overly-polite style we have become accustomed to in years gone by. The growth in chatbot technology is a prime example, with many interactions similar to an instant message or text conversation with a friend.

Again, this goes back to personalisation. Not only should the customer find the interactions pleasant, but the response times also need to be extremely fast and reach a conclusion quickly.

12 – Agile Marketing

Agile marketing involves using “agile” practices and methods – teams across the business work together to assist marketing and offer continuous feedback. The processes implemented ensure regular liaison, sharing of data, rapid strategy development, and helping to define measurable goals. This involves marketing strategies focusing on the short, medium, and long term.

This approach helps to implement achievable business goals and assess the success of marketing activities. An agile marketing framework also encourages experimentation to ascertain what strategies are successful and which aren't to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction.

Agile marketing focuses on teamwork, data, and the quick release of different strategies and products. This is often delivered with the use of “Scrum Teams.”

13 – Push Notifications

Push notifications have continued to trend in the marketing world as they are an effective alternative to email, sending direct updates to mobile users. Push notifications can quickly grab the attention of customers who have opted into the service and can deliver all kinds of information, such as the start of a sale period, discount codes, or news about your brand.

The fact that people have allowed push notifications from a specific brand means they are very likely to interact with them, potentially boosting conversions. However, it is imperative not to overdo push notifications, as more than a handful per day can increase the unsubscribe rate significantly.

14 – Voice Search

We have already touched upon voice search briefly, but this type of SEO certainly deserves more attention if you are to reach a broad mobile audience. Around 27% of Google searches are voice searches, and some marketing agencies believe this could reach 50% in the coming years.

The success of the smart speaker market has accelerated the use of voice search, with many households across the US and Europe owning an Amazon Echo or a Google Home device.

“Branded skills” are well-known one-way businesses can take advantage of such technology, providing quick and easy-to-follow audio tutorials relating to their products, and even giving users the option to buy products while listening.

For smaller businesses not in a position to use branded skills, creating content that answers questions are still crucial, helping you rank for voice searches and as a featured snippet.

15 – Social Commerce

Social commerce works effectively alongside influencer marketing, creating targeted ads that achieve high visibility on social media feeds that link to eCommerce platforms.

Instagram has undoubtedly established itself as one of the pioneers of social commerce, including an Instagram checkout feature that enables brands to sell products on the platform directly. TikTok also offers a similar experience thanks to the launch of TikTok Shopping. For younger generations, this could be the future of eCommerce.

16 – Automation Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is becoming more powerful each year and is a handy tool for automating marketing campaigns. AI marketing helps power voice searches and chatbot technology, and now it is also making marketers' lives easier.

Human creativity will always be needed in the marketing industry, but AI can speed up various processes and reduce some of the administrative work that takes up valuable resources. Not only this, but AI is also coming on leaps and bounds in terms of how predictive analytics can help future-proof marketing models.

Some AI automation tools that have been widely adopted include Jasper (copywriting), Zapier (task automation), and Chatfuel (chatbots).

AI can also play a huge role in managing business accounts and departmental budgeting. When searching for the perfect solution, look for multi-company accounting software with invoicing portals and time and expense tracking features.

17 – The Internet of Things (IoT)

Brand interaction has changed entirely because of the internet of things (IoT), with almost every electronic device capable of connecting to the internet (think watches, speakers, and even coffee machines).

This colossal network of connected devices means all kinds of data can be collected and used to improve the customer experience and create personalised marketing campaigns while making it easier for consumers to engage with brands directly.

18 – Hyper-Local Marketing

IoT devices also enable marketers to gather geolocation data which can assist them in creating hyper-local marketing campaigns. For example, we can target potential customers as soon as they are in the vicinity of a store or hotspot via push notifications.

Local marketing is proven to offer an impressive return on investment, and thanks to IoT, the possibilities are mind-blowing. Consumers may even get notifications when they are running low on coffee, offering them a discount just because they are in the right place at the right time.

19 – Environmental Impact

Consumer awareness about the environment and a business's impact on society is at an all-time high. Many people disassociate entirely from certain brands because of how they are perceived. This is why every effort needs to be made to ensure your brand is socially-responsible, sustainable, and has a low environmental impact.

Brand responsibility falls on every area of a business, not just marketing. Still, an ethical business is much more accessible to the market than an unethical one, making it arguably the most vital consideration in 2023.

Conclusion

We understand there are a lot of different marketing trends to be aware of, and not all of them might apply to your brand, but that isn't to say they won't be applicable in the future. Marketing is about keeping your finger on the pulse, embracing new technologies and ideas, and delivering a service that delights the customer.

From improving the shopping experience to delivering great content via smart speakers, your 2023 marketing strategy should be as diverse as possible if you want to reach previously undiscovered audiences.