Quality content and a clear strategy are never out of date when it comes to your business’s marketing strategy. If you’re planning to review and refresh your digital marketing strategies and plan for the new year, we’ve got some top trends to pay attention to.
With the digital marketing landscape constantly shifting and changing, it can be hard to know what content to produce and which platforms to show up on. In this article, we’re covering the top 2023 digital marketing trends—from elevating your customer experience on instant message to marketing to Gen Z—that we believe all businesses and marketers should be thinking about implementing for themselves.
Casual and Quick Conversations Are Key to Customer Service
If there’s one thing customers don’t want to do today, it’s to sit on hold for 45 minutes to talk with a call center employee. Given the option, they’ll opt instead for a service provider where they don’t have to do that—and there are plenty of them out there.
Today, the user experience is key to a happy customer. They want quick and easy conversations and accessibility to brands on all platforms. As one example, Facebook Messenger is a great way for customers to connect with you. Your speed of response will be highlighted on your business page, so the more responsive you are, the more likely you’ll receive messages this way—and the more likely it is you’ll turn inquiries into business!
Each social media platform has a direct message function or messaging app, and these interactions are personalized, quick, and less scripted—which allows you to communicate with the customer on their platform of choice.
If dedicating the time to responding to customers quickly is challenging, then automating the response process for leads through chatbots and conversational marketing is a great way to go. When you add this function to your Facebook page or business website, the chatbot will be triggered when someone visits your page to answer frequently asked questions and gather information about the customer.
Customers want help that’s specific to their needs, and they want it immediately. Quick response times are a vital part of today’s customer experience on all channels, and speed of response should be built into your overall customer service and digital marketing strategies.
Personalization Is Your Key to Their Heart
One undeniable truth is that customers want to feel like you’re speaking to them, not to the masses. When a customer has choices, a personalized experience will likely be the winner! In fact, one study shows that 80% of consumers said they’d be more likely to do business with a brand that provides a personalized experience.
So how might you be able to cater to individual needs? With technology, personalization is accessible and available on almost every marketing channel.
It can be as simple as personalizing your text campaigns and email marketing to use the customer’s first name in the subject line. Other ideas to consider include segmenting your database (by prospect, client, past client, or certain milestones), and creating personalized messaging for each of these segments.
One final note on personalization: Make sure it’s useful and not creepy! The way the customer experience is personalized should not feel like an invasion of privacy. So if you’re planning to use data collection as a way to learn about your customers, be sure to keep that balance in mind.
How will your business personalize your customer journey in 2023?
Short-Form and Micro Video Content Still Dominates
If you’ve been following us for some time, you’ll know we’re always talking about incorporating video into your content strategy. There’s just no way around it—short-form video is here to stay. When it comes to digital marketing efforts, short-form and micro video content will win the race in 2023!
The good news is that there are lots of ways to get started with video. You can use:
- User-generated content, which is a great way to engage your customers and audience
- Trending audio, which can get more eyes on your content
- A filter, another way to bring new followers to your page
The idea around using these techniques is that you don’t have to spend a ton of time or publish a super-polished end product. In fact, the more FUN you have with it, the more likely your audience will enjoy and engage with your video content!
If you need more information on this topic, we have just the article for you.
Increase Your Investment in Influencer Marketing
One digital marketing trend that will continue to dominate your social media feeds in 2023 is increased investment in influencer marketing. Influencer marketing involves working with individuals with a large social media following to help promote your brand or product on their pages.
Within the influencer marketing ecosystem, there are several tiers:
- Mega influencers (such as celebrities with more than a million followers)
- Macro influencers (roughly 500,000 to a million followers)
- Midtier influencers (roughly 50,000 to 500,000 followers)
- Micro influencers (roughly 10,000 to 50,000 followers)
- Nano influencers (roughly 1,000 to 10,000 followers)
How to engage with an influencer will largely depend on the type of influencer they are. Mega influencers will probably have agents who manage promotional opportunities, while smaller influencers may reply to a direct message themselves. Some influencers may be willing to offer promotions for a trade, and others will charge a fee with specific deliverables!
Here’s an important note: You don’t have to work with an A-list celebrity to leverage influencer marketing. There are likely influential people within your customer base who are already part of your community, and many businesses are turning these loyal customers into brand ambassadors!
And remember, the most important aspect of influencer marketing is to partner with someone who aligns with your brand and will reach your target audience.
Keep Fine-Tuning the Customer Experience
Customer experience is something that many businesses are already paying attention to and will continue to be an area of focus in 2023. The reality is that, with constant advancements in technology, companies will ALWAYS be looking at ways to improve in this category!
The customer experience plays a large role in customer retention and referrals for your business, so it’s important to get it right.
Something that customers increasingly look for is self-service. That means being able to find the information they need so they can take the next step on the customer journey by themselves.
For many businesses, that will mean ensuring that your website is in tune with your customers’ needs. In addition to optimizing your website for Google search and ensuring that it reflects your brand image accurately, your website pages should load quickly, and the customer should be able to clearly see how to take action.
If you have a product, that means setting up your online store and ensuring that check out is easy and secure. If you offer a specialized service, it may mean having an easy way for customers to book a consultation.
These are all critical aspects of your digital presence to provide an enjoyable overall customer experience!
It’s Time for a Deeper Focus on Marketing to Gen Zers
With all due respect to millennials, Gen Z is where it’s at in 2023 and beyond! We can no longer afford to keep implementing outdated marketing strategies in an effort to support our businesses.
Gen Z is all about authenticity and trust, so lean into that aspect of your business! Getting on board with new platforms and new ways of delivering your messaging that is attractive to the Gen Z population is crucial for your future success.
Now that you’re in the know on what to add to your marketing in the new year, it’s time to create your plan. We’ve put together a simple process that will help you evaluate your current efforts and determine what you want to move forward with and add in 2023—click here to read more.
If you’re considering partnering with a digital marketing agency in the new year, we’d love to chat with you. Click here to book a complimentary consultation with our team today!
The post 2023 Digital Marketing Trends to Pay Attention To appeared first on Real Marketing Solutions.
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