It’s difficult to stay up on all of the changes and new opportunities in digital marketing. Yet, with 1.5 billion social media users around the world, the demand for digital marketing only continues to grow – and consumers’ expectations right along with it. Consumers want increasingly rapid response times, a stellar user experience, and options for how they do business with the brands they choose.
Digital marketing, like never before, enables marketers to deliver what consumers want when they want it, using multiple platforms. The benefits of digital marketing on growing the bottom line cannot be overstated.
- Target The Right Audience
- Optimize And Improve Conversion Rates
- Increase Customer Loyalty
- Build Brand Credibility
Here are eight digital marketing trends you should plan for in 2023. It’s never too early to retool your strategy and transform your marketing efforts going forward.
1. Gather Data Using Forms
Our dependence on big data is as inescapable. It also has the power to be transformative, making it significantly more important to businesses. However, privacy laws have affected how marketers gather data. 2023 will bring with it a shift toward businesses being even more proactive in gathering data, using varying methods. Businesses will continue to implement savvy collection methods and analysis of the information gathered, integrating their findings into their digital marketing campaigns and using it to steer marketing decisions.
The use of forms will continue to grow in 2023 because they are quick and easy and work so well to gather useful information on customers. Forms are a highly effective way to keep users engaged.
2. Include E-Mail Marketing
E-mail marketing will continue to be popular in the coming year because it’s so effective at generating leads. Nearly everyone in the world has an e-mail account, so that makes this platform a continued must for marketers looking to connect with customers and give them access to their brand. The success of any e-mail campaign ultimately relies on the list you are sending to. Make sure it’s highly targeted and cleaned up regularly.
3. Implement Real-Time Messaging Platforms
Real-time messaging platforms enable marketers to reach customers quickly and directly, right when they are read to communicate with your brand. It’s also a great way to collect data so you can know as much about your customers as possible. Today’s customer is impatient, often seeking instant gratification. Empowering marketers and sales to be in contact with those eager to do business when they are ready to talk is powerful.
As these platforms mature, they’ll offer brands the mechanisms to capitalize even more on customer data for digital marketing initiatives.
4. Add Ease of Doing Business With Chatbots
Chatbots have grown increasingly more popular with marketers – in fact, they are the fastest growing brand communication channel. That trend will continue in 2023. Chatbots enable a business to be available 24/7 to engage with customers who need assistance outside of standard business hours, which is a huge asset.
5. Rethink Old Ways
According to a recent Drift survey, the most common frustrations reported by consumers include:
- Websites being hard to navigate (34%)
- Not being able to get answers to simple questions (31%)
- Basic details about a business — like address, hours of operations, and phone number — being hard to find (28%).
Clearly, the online experiences businesses are used to providing may no longer match with evolving customer demand and changing preferences in the ways customers prefer to buy. Customers increasingly want all of the information they seek at the touch of a button. If they have to work to learn about a brand, they will likely look to the competition.
6. Put Attention Into Details
Consumers are inundated with information. It is imperative that marketers put as much thought into their content and creative as they do in choosing the platforms they will run on. Marketers want their content to work to increase clicks and engagement. Pay close attention to creativity, making your brand stand out in the very crowded online market.
7. Be Strategic About Influencer Marketing
What was once used by only a handful of brands has now become common practice. It is estimated that more than $16 billion will be spent on influencer-marketing programs by 2023. It’s no wonder then that influencer marketing will continue to boom next year and in the coming years.
A huge word of caution here. Businesses must understand their vertical and know the type of influencer who will help promote their brand. Choosing the proper influencer can generate a great ROI. However, marketers frequently fall short in this area because they’ve chosen the wrong influencer who doesn’t have the relevant audience or reach for their brand. Marketers want to choose an influencer who can create a trust relationship between customers and brands through transparency and authenticity. To aide this process, marketers must have a thorough understanding of their target audience and then design campaigns that resonate with them.
8. Consider Outsourcing to Digital Marketing Agency
Outsourcing some or all of your digital marketing remains a great way to get more done, using the expertise and resources of an agency. An experienced digital marketing agency can help businesses get better overall results by developing strategies that leverage current technologies and best practices across all channels.
Keeping these forecasted digital marketing trends on your radar and implementing those that work for your business will help you successfully grow your business in 2023 and beyond.
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