As we head toward the close of 2022, marketers are eagerly planning their digital marketing strategies for 2023. What we’ve seen during the last 365 days is the continuation of the trend that was triggered by the events of 2020 – more businesses are focusing their marketing efforts toward digital-based technologies.
Thus, we saw digital innovations in 2022 such as the availability of 5G Technology, the growing application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in more industries like agriculture, manufacturing, and healthcare; and the integration of e-commerce in social media.
In 2023, we anticipate more game-changing innovations in technology to hit the market. Plus, greater involvement of what is arguably a business’s most valuable and most unpredictable asset.
What is it? Keep reading! This asset is so important that to save you the trouble of waiting, we put it at number one on our list of digital marketing trends in 2023.
1. Humanized Digital Marketing Strategies
The human asset will play a big role in planning digital marketing strategies in 2023. Businesses are best advised to keep this in mind because buying remains primarily an emotionally-driven activity.
With all of its flaws and imperfections, consumers will always prefer the Human Touch. Technology is great but it has in some ways curtailed marketing of one of its most powerful tools – empathy.
Consumers prefer to patronize brands they can relate to and align with. Chatbots are convenient – but they can’t provide the key component that makes the customer experience memorable and that is feedback.
Customers don’t just want to be heard, they want to be listened to. Sure, a customer can be irate and resolution might have its ebbs and flows. In time, conflicts can be resolved through a seamless feedback mechanism.
That’s why many businesses have incorporated human chat support agents back into the customer service process via an instant messaging system. Direct human interaction personalizes the experience and will leave a better impression on your customers.
In view of the increasing role of humans in customer support services, businesses should allocate more funds in personnel development programs.
A survey by pwc.com showed that 46% of customers will forego a brand if its personnel is perceived as incompetent, unqualified, and lacking product knowledge.
2.Story-Driven Content
The importance of humanizing your business brand carries over to your approach to creating content. As buying is an emotional decision, consumers want to learn more about who you are than what your product is about.
The components or features that differentiate one product from the other might not be significantly better. Let’s take for example, coffee.
You can have 2 competing brands that source their Arabica beans from the same supplier and recommend a 2:1 serving of coffee grind per cup of water to brew the perfect drip.
Contrary to what you might think, pricing might not be the factor that shifts the decision to purchase from one brand to another. A consumer might not be swayed to patronize one brand over the other because its product is priced lower.
It might come down to which brand told the better story.
Who are we and why did we enter the coffee business?
Story-telling helps create a personalized experience. A story that’s successfully delivered to the audience will reach out and trigger the desired emotional response.
A survey by Epsilon revealed that 80% of customers prefer to patronize a brand that personalizes the experience.
3. Voice-activated Search
Two years ago, it was predicted by tech industry analysts that by 2021, 50% of all Internet queries will be launched by voice-activated search.
We’re not quite there yet as Google estimates only 20% of all searches were carried out by voice activation software. But for sure this trend will continue to be on the upswing in 2023.
Many Americans have embraced voice activation technology. In the last 5 years, the percentage of US homes that utilize voice activation speakers has risen from 12.5% in 2017 to 60% in 2022.
Companies have also integrated voice-activated search into their marketing strategies. For example, tequila maker Patron makes cocktail recipes using their famous brand available to anyone who does a voice-activated search.
Voice activation adds a different level of fun when performing Internet searches while also making it easier and more convenient for consumers.
4. Snippets in the SEO Toolbox
Snippets are a summary of the article’s main points or a concise description of what it’s about. These are typically presented in bullet-point format and are positioned before the link to the web page.
The use of snippets as part of the SEO strategy toolbox has dampened the importance of being ranked at the top of the SERP.
An Internet searcher might not be compelled to click on the URL that appears as number 1 if he comes across a link that already describes what he’s looking for. In fact, more than 60% of search results in Google feature snippets.
SEO experts are still looking for the right methods to optimize the power of snippets. But if you can uncover the full potential of snippets, you could be driving more interest toward your business in 2023.
5. Dominance of Video-based Content
Video has continued to grow as the preferred medium for delivering content. Here are a few statistics to prove the dominance of video-based marketing.
- 84% of consumers were convinced to purchase a product or service after watching a video about it.
- 82% of online traffic is for searching video-based content.
- Video-based content is 53 times more likely to get your web page landing on the first page of the SERP than other SEO techniques.
Presently, 93% of digital marketers have included videos in their strategy. This number will continue to be on the rise in 2023 because it’s easier to get your product’s Unique Value Proposition (UVP) across when you’re using the senses of sight and hearing.
Retention is also longer if the content is delivered via the medium of video compared to text.
Another example of effective video-based content is Live Feed. In 2021, the live feed industry was valued at US$70 billion. Consumers prefer to watch live-feed videos – three times longer on Facebook – compared to pre-recorded videos.
6. The Rise of Generation Z
How fast time flies!
The millennial is a person born between the years 1981 and 1996 and is now approaching his 40s. But the fearless forecast that millennials will account for 75% of the working population by the year 2025 has been proven to be inaccurate.
In their place, Generation Z, or those born between 1995 and 2010, appears to be the dominant market by 2030. So while Generation Y has peaked, Generation Z is still on the rise.
If your business’s marketing strategies remain focused on attracting millennials, it’s time to switch up your plan and target buyers from Generation Z. Start researching on diverse shopping behaviors of Generation Z before they account for the largest share of the consumer market.
7. Integrating E-Commerce with the Physical Store
The rise of e-Commerce is widely regarded as the cause of Retail Armageddon – the event that triggered the demise of many brick-and-mortar retail giants. The shutdown which started in 2010 got worse after the 2020 pandemic when consumers patronized online businesses even more.
While the demand for e-commerce platforms will continue to grow, we’ve seen consumers breathe life into businesses with physical stores.
Surviving giants such as Walmart refuse to go the way of the dinosaurs and have invested heavily in its e-commerce business as complementary to its brick-and-mortar locations.
Integrating e-commerce with the physical store will require businesses to invest in AR/VR technology to shore up the customer experience. The idea is to entice online shoppers to visit the physical location and enjoy first hand the thrill and excitement they’re experiencing on the e-commerce site.
If you have an e-commerce website, you’ve already opened a new stream of revenue for your business. That doesn’t mean you should automatically shut down your physical store.
Instead, realign your budget to support a marketing strategy that will help drive more traffic to your brick-and-mortar business.
If you’re not sure, take confidence knowing that e-commerce giant Amazon has opened its chain of highly-successful physical stores.
Conclusion
Other than Christmas shopping, now is the time to start planning your digital marketing strategy for 2023. It’s not too late and if you appreciate the value of keeping customers happy, you’re already ahead of schedule.
The trends for digital marketing 2023 will focus on improving customer experience through the use of the latest innovations in technology.
While products of innovation such as AI, ML, and VR technologies are seen as cold, gray, and unfeeling, consumers remain in need of good ol’ human interaction.
2023 will usher in a greater preference for digital marketing strategies that combine the precision of technology with the emotion of human empathy.
Let’s help you get started on your 2023 digital marketing campaign. Give us a call and we’ll map out the strategy playbook for the next 365 days.
Mountaintop Web Design has a team of experts in SEO, digital marketing, and content marketing to help your mobile responsive website deliver the expected results.
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