From using zero-party data and push notifications to voice-optimized Google Ads and chatbots on social platforms, businesses are adopting new strategies to stay ahead of the curve.
Wondering how to market your business in 2023? Discover the latest marketing trends from a digital marketing company to help your small business succeed.
1. First and zero-party data collection.
Privacy concerns are top of mind in 2023, with consumers increasingly aware of data privacy and lawmakers working to limit third-party collection. Instead, marketers in 2023 will continue working to collect the data they need by explicitly requesting permission to collect data, building trust with their customers, and demonstrating a commitment to data protection.
Businesses proactively gather crucial marketing intel through zero-party sources like survey forms, opt-in data sharing, loyalty programs, giveaways, and more. The data your customers share through a well-timed or incentivized ask can help you dig deep into your customers’ needs and pain points.
Between the zero-party data customers share and first-party data, your business collects directly through its own channels and sources.
2. Push notifications to help brands stay top-of-mind.
As growing automation options make it easier for small business marketers to be everywhere all at once, it has also led to higher consumer expectations. In this new normal, you need to quickly give consumers the answers they want, or they’ll continue searching elsewhere.
With growing mobile usage, the average person spends nearly three hours daily on their mobile device. Push notifications can help your business give a more personalized experience and deepen loyalty.
Expect to see businesses using this direct line of communication to send personalized notifications based on customers’ behaviors and preferences. You can integrate mobile notifications with email or social media strategies for a seamless multi-channel experience. You can gently pull back distracted shoppers with personalized suggestions or incentives.
With less friction in the customer journey, you’ll see more conversions and engagement.
3. Email marketing remains strong.
Email marketing continues to be a powerful tool, even as new social platforms and technologies continually emerge. According to the Data & Marketing Association, email marketing has an average return on investment (ROI) of $42 for every $1 spent, making it one of the most cost-effective uses of your marketing budget.
In 2023, email marketers are using AI to analyze customer data and find patterns. This AI can analyze purchase histories and customer preferences to optimize and personalize subject lines, email content, and even email timing.
4. Social Commerce to drive more conversions.
As social media networks grow, new sales platforms and social media marketing trends emerge with them. Consumers can easily see, click, and buy – all without leaving Instagram, Facebook, or their social platform of choice.
Social shopping reduces friction, reaches younger Millennial or Gen Z audiences, and allows you to increase conversions while collecting critical feedback to make your marketing strategies even stronger. You don’tdon’t even need to ask – consumers naturally share their reviews and discuss products on their socials.
In 2023, businesses will spend time building business profiles and optimizing their product offerings for every relevant platform. It’sIt’s another way to bring convenient shopping straight to your customers’ fingertips.
5. Blending blogging with other approaches.
The traditional blog isn’tisn’t dead, though businesses are blending blogging with other content marketing trends and tactics to optimize ROI. 77% of users still regularly read blogs, and you can use your social platform to draw bigger crowds, or create video elements to appeal to consumers who prefer to watch rather than read.
Unlike social content, blog content is owned by your business, giving you 100% control over its use. Use your blog to create a rich resource of educational or entertaining content that establishes trust and builds brand loyalty.
6. Growth of shorter visual formats.
Learning how to keep up with digital marketing trends doesn’tdoesn’t have to mean significantly increasing your budget. TikTok’sTikTok’s rise has signaled to other platforms that a new, less-intensive format is unavoidable – micro-stories. Instagram built Reels, and YouTube introduced Shorts, adapting to consumer desires for a short, snappy video that catches attention quickly.
Marketers are creating more short-form visual content that hooks viewers in under 5 seconds. Fortunately, these short videos are typically cheaper and faster to make, pairing well with longer product videos, infographics, UGC, and long-form content without completely depleting your marketing budget.
7. Voice-optimized Google Ads.
27% of the global population uses voice search, but those numbers are significantly higher in North America. Marketers are tapping into recent trends in marketing, reaching this growing market by optimizing Google Search Ads to keywords and phrases used by voice searchers.
Since users tend to speak longer sentences when using voice search, long-tail keywords are the most effective. Targeting strategies include these adapted, more conversational key terms, and ad copy is customized to answer search query questions. To increase voice search impression volume, marketers need to keep question-related terms off their negative keyword lists, including “how to,” “when does,” can I,” and more.
8. Chatbots on social platforms.
Chatbots are making their way beyond websites to social platforms, with brands like Uber, for example, allowing for ride requests through Facebook Messenger. And with ChatGPT and other NLP models revolutionizing generative AI, these technologies will become even more widespread trends as they become more intelligent and better at serving your customers.
Using chatbots in other marketing channels allows marketers to integrate with the point of purchase. Less friction = better-served customers, shorter purchasing cycles, and more conversions.
What are the top digital marketing trends for 2023?
Some of 2023’s current market trends include collecting first and zero-party data, using push notifications to stay top-of-mind, leveraging email marketing, embracing social commerce, blending blogging with other approaches, creating shorter visual formats, optimizing Google Ads for voice search, and using chatbots on social platforms.
In 2023, try some or all of these marketing trends to deepen loyalty, increase conversions, and build brand loyalty.
Need some help getting started? Our digital marketing specialist can get you started with a Google Ad campaign and content strategy to stay ahead of the trends. Contact us to learn more and get a free cost estimate.
