Marketing today is primarily internet based giving consumers infinite access to products or brands. People have the freedom to log online and conduct their own research without the need of a salesperson or advertisement to guide them.
While nobody can predict how exactly marketing will behave in the future, one thing is clear, there will always be a consumer and with a consumer, comes marketing! Online marketing is forced to keep up with the pace of technological advances, and as a result, interesting digital marketing trends emerge.
Digital marketing trends to be aware of for 2023
1. Quality customer experience is non-negotiable
The customer is king and expects a streamlined customer experience. Today's customers are only satisfied with a personalized experience that speaks directly to their needs.
Communication, speed, convenience, helpful employees, and friendly service are the most essential factors for consumers with 73% stating that customer experience is an important factor in their purchasing decisions.
2023 will see a greater focus on outstanding customer experience.
2. Voice search will become more prevalent
Through the widespread use of Alexa and Siri, a culture of speaking into a device has emerged. It is faster, more convenient, and generally easier. Marketers will have to develop new SEO tactics to prepare for more voice searches as the language used in a voice search is not the same as the language used when typing a request.
Image: Shutterstock.
3. Visual search will become a thing
Just like voice search, visual search will increase. Search tools like Google Lens, Pinterest Lens, and similar search tools can turn any phone camera into a search tool. When a user searches for a product, these tools show related products and where to buy them.
The implication for marketers is that they will no longer be able to rely on SEO practices to get consumers to their online stores or websites. They will need to redesign their websites to support visual and voice search. For instance, it will become necessary to have an image sitemap and tag high-quality images with descriptive keywords.
4. Real-Time messaging platforms will take on bigger roles in marketing
Real-time messaging platforms are an opportunity to provide the instant gratification that so many consumers demand. As a result, platforms like What's App and Facebook are growing in popularity with increased digital marketer use.
Experts predict that they could become data resources for marketing initiatives by giving brands access to customer data. For instance, the data stored on a platform like Facebook could be used to complete forms and landing pages on websites.
Image: Shutterstock.
5. The rise of conversational marketing
This digital marketing trend uses machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to enable conversations between digital agents (previously called chatbots) and customers. Conversational marketing uses real-time conversations to engage visitors on your site and then guide them through the buying journey. It creates an authentic experience that builds relationships with customers and buyers.
So, instead of raising suspicion with customers or expecting visitors to go through lead capture forms, conversational marketing uses targeted messaging and intelligent digital agents (also called conversational UI) to engage with visitors on a website or online store.
6. The influencer phenomenon continues
Influencers on social media have given marketers a huge opportunity to leverage their fame for word-of-mouth advertising. Influencer marketing helps companies to increase brand awareness, generate leads, reach a larger target audience, and set new trends. Influencers appointed by brands act like brand ambassadors, helping brands build trust with their customers.
This trend has given birth to influencer marketing, where a brand collaborates with an individual who has a large online presence thus promoting their brand.
Influencer marketing continues to grow and the market value is expected to increase from $1.7 billion in 2016 to a predicted $16.4 billion in 2022.
Image: Shutterstock.
7. Websites that engage visitors with interactive content
Interactive content performs better than static content because it’s more engaging. It involves two-way experiences with content such as quizzes, games, interactive infographics, calculators, contests, interactive maps, and interactive videos.
As well as engaging visitors, interactive content also delivers the following benefits:
- Increased leads
- Enhanced customer experience
- Enhanced customer service. E.g.: calculators on websites to work out meal calories, or how much fabric to buy for a curtain, etc.
- More conversions
- Improved customer brand knowledge
Image: Shutterstock.
As social media use continues to grow, brands are trying to figure out how best to use their social media platforms for marketing purposes. In order to run effective marketing campaigns, marketing professionals need to be constantly aware of new developments and trends online, and they need to keep ahead of the curve. If it was easy, everyone would do it!
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