7 Digital Marketing Trends to Watch for in 2023

Digital marketing is one of the most rapidly growing and evolving forms of marketing, and 2023 is expected to accelerate this trend. Now more than ever, online consumers are searching for brands that resonate with their values and create marketing content relevant to their personal interests. In this blog, we will share seven digital marketing trends to watch out for in 2023, and how you can be best prepared to capitalize on every one of them.

The role brands play in society and the impact they have on the environment becomes more crucial every year. Consumers continue to demonstrate that not only do they prefer to give their business to purpose-driven brands, but they will also become active, unpaid promoters for the brands they identify with. Recent studies have shown that 77% of consumers claim they only buy from brands that share the same values as they do. Additionally, as markets become more saturated, emphasizing your purpose and mission as a brand helps you stand out amongst your competitors and get noticed.

The meaning and understanding of “purpose-driven” will also continue to evolve throughout 2023. Up until recently, purpose-driven branding has mostly revolved around sustainability, but a recent study showed that 75% of consumers believe a brand’s stance on social and political issues matters as well. Now more than ever, consumers want to trust and align their values with the brands they purchase from and will pay a premium to do so. Ensure that your brand has a clearly stated mission and purpose that is authentically reflected in every element of your business.

With the exponential growth of platforms like TikTok and the growing popularity of Instagram Reels, short form video marketing has become a necessity going into 2023. Short form video has proven to be an effective and efficient way to connect with your audience and remedy the decreasing human attention span. Additionally, Google has been exploring inserting short form video in their search results.

Short form video is already providing the highest engagement rates and is the preferred video method among consumers, as 59.5% claim a video being too long would deter them from watching. If you aren’t already taking advantage of short form video, start immediately so you don’t have to spend too much of 2023 attempting to catch up to your competitors with this digital marketing trend.

While influencer marketing won’t be anything new for 2023, the idea of long term partnerships is becoming more popular and yielding great results, as 80% of professional marketers find influencer marketing effective. Influencers are becoming long term brand ambassadors, providing exceptional brand awareness, increasing trust and authority, boosting conversion rates, and expanding brand reach. Instead of using various influencers to help spread the word about your company, develop a long term marketing relationship with one who identifies closely with your brand’s image and purpose and let them represent you throughout 2023.

Personalization in marketing has become an expectation among consumers as they continue to prove its importance with their buying activity. 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service from a brand that provides personalized experiences. Take the time to research and understand the different segments of your audience in order to provide marketing experiences that are more relevant to them. Not only does personalization increase engagement and return on investment, but a lack of personalization and relevance can also severely hurt audience trust and marketing performance since it has become such an expectation among consumers.

Online audiences love getting to know the brands they follow in an authentic and intimate way. Live streaming and behind the scenes content gives your audience an amazing opportunity to get to know the people and culture behind your brand and is expected to be a huge digital marketing trend in 2023. Live streaming has also proven to be particularly engaging among viewers, as live streams receive an average watch time of 24 minutes, compared to 18 minutes with video on demand. Online audiences spent a mind-blowing 8 billion hours viewing streams in just the first quarter of 2022.

Use 2023 as an opportunity to pull back the curtain on your brand and it’s operations. Provide your audience with behind the scenes content that allows viewers to connect with your employees and show off the processes of how you create your unique product or service. Take advantage of live streaming opportunities to host and showcase engaging events like giveaways, influencer interviews, and product releases.

Not only does user-generated content considerably lower the work load of your on-board marketing team, it creates a sense of trust, connection, and authenticity with your audience. It’s been found that 90% of online consumers trust user generated content to help inform their purchasing decisions. Content created by consumers who have experience with your product or service helps bring peace of mind and shapes an authentic perception of your brand. Consider creating campaigns that encourage consumer reviews and content, so you don’t let this exceptionally valuable form of digital marketing go unleveraged in 2023.

The Metaverse is a virtual reality shared space that will provide incredible marketing opportunities in 2023 and beyond. While the Metaverse continues to grow in size, popularity, and quality, its userbase will rapidly grow along with it. Some companies will undoubtedly miss the early marketing and advertising opportunities due to a lack of understanding of this new media platform. It will be extremely advantageous to jump on marketing opportunities in the Metaverse as soon as possible to enjoy the benefits of an untapped market and enthusiastic user base.

Make 2023 Your Year

2023 will unquestionably be a huge year for digital marketing with new and exciting opportunities at every turn. Make sure your brand has an emphasis on its purpose and mission and strengthen your trust with your audience by staying true to it. Take advantage of marketing methods like short form video and personalization, which have proven to be effective in 2022. Leverage user generated content, live streams and behind the scenes content to foster even deeper connection with your audience. And finally, prepare yourself for the new and innovative forms of marketing that will only grow in popularity, like the Metaverse.

Vonazon can help guide your brand through 2023 and make it the best year of your companies’ existence. We can assist with creating effective and innovative marketing campaigns that expand your reach and improve conversions. Additionally, we consistently identify new trends that pop up throughout the year and capitalize on these in our marketing strategies. Contact us today to create a marketing plan that will position your company for a successful 2023.