From High Tech to Human Connection, Here are 5 Digital Marketing Trends for the New Year

Is your favorite 2022 digital marketing trend worthy of 2023?

Take a look at the Dream Local #Honeybadgers’ favorite trends from 2022, and what we hope to see flourish in the year ahead.

1. Video Content: TikTok, Reels and more

“Social media platforms are encouraging users to engage with their audience more easily — Facebook with Reels, Tik Tok, Instagram. Businesses have used it to create humorous and entertaining memories, and it now serves as an additional income stream for businesses who are growing their audience, having the ability to monetize different platforms.”
— Jodie Tierney, Project Lead and Fulfillment Team Member

“110 percent video! It’s proving over and over to be a magnetic tool, if it is quality and targeted to their audience who wants to watch and share it.”
— Susannah Maher, Strategic Account Executive

“Although Instagram Reels were introduced to the small screen in 2019, their time limit increase to 90 seconds influenced their increase in popularity in 2022. Besides book reviews and Sims 4 builds, some of my favorite videos to watch are from companies showcasing their products! I love a good resin dice pour, or watching small businesses package their products for shipping. I got engaged this year, so my feed has been full of beautiful dresses. I love the reels with clever transitions like this one. Due to the popularity of this type of post on both personal and professional accounts, I’m sure we’ll be seeing them for a while.”

— Katherine Waters, Project Lead and Fulfillment Team Member

2. Comfort, Delight, Conversation and Connection

“My favorite digital marketing trend that I loved in 2022 that I would like to continue through 2023 is the emphasis in marketing on community, connections, tradition, family, and the humanity in all of it. 2022 was proof that those with a good heart, a wholesome idea, or a product that brought people closer together showed that their marketing could set records and fulfill dreams. It’s no longer about who has the most money; it’s about who connects to consumers on their level. You can buy lots of things, but you cannot buy heart. Marketing professionals who lead with a servant’s heart have forever shaped the way brands have to come to the table to make a significant impact. What we saw in 2022 will forever impact brands and how they market themselves, and I am one that is here for it!”

— Amber Anderson, Director of Production and Operations

3. Chatbots

“One marketing website trend that I thought was interesting in 2022 was the use of chatbots. Chatbots are customer service tools that mimic human conversation to aid in people getting the support they need using natural language. They can save the customer time poring over help articles or FAQs. They can also relay the customer’s chat to a live support or salesperson so the customer doesn’t have to repeat themselves.

Statistics from Tidio.com show that given the alternative between waiting 15 mins for an answer or speaking with a chatbot, 63 percent of consumers go with the chatbot to get the answers they need. Chatbots are not only useful for support queries, they can also be beneficial for sales and have helped sales conversions in some markets by as much as 70 percent.

They are still a relatively new technology, though, so I’m interested in seeing how they can be further developed in 2023!”

— Jason Andreoni, Senior Website Developer, Assistant Manager

4. Trending Audios

“One of my favorite trends of 2022 that will definitely be a trend going through 2023 is the use of trending audios on Instagram Reels or TikTok. Usually, a funny video will start trending, and then other people will use just the sound bite of that trending video and apply it to a video of their own.

One of my favorite audios of the year is the “It’s Corn!” video. The original video shows a little boy who just LOVES corn. In the audio, he says things like, “For me, I really like corn. It’s corn! Have you ever seen a more beautiful thing?” The video itself is hilarious, but it’s also super interesting to see the ways that other people use the sound on their own video.

One of our clients, Midwest Express Clinic, used this sound when describing the clinic in its video. When the audio plays “It’s CORN!” the video shows the text: “Midwest Express Clinic. For me, I really like Midwest Express Clinic. It’s Midwest Express Clinic! Have you ever seen a more beautiful thing?” Not only are these videos hilarious, but it also shows consumers that the business is up to date on current trends. TikTok and Instagram Reel’s algorithm will even show that video more since it’s using a trending sound, rather than a user-uploaded sound.

TikTok and Instagram Reels are ever-growing platforms with millions of users worldwide, so these kinds of videos are definitely going to continue to be a trend in 2023.”

— Mary Allen, Project Lead and Fulfillment Team Member

5. Artificial Intelligence

“The use of AI in recent years has proven that it’s here to stay in the digital marketing world for the upcoming year. Marketers not only use AI for analytics, but also to create content and automate processes. With social media apps heavily relying on AI to provide relevant and in-depth insights into their users’ experiences, you can expect new developments for AI and how the industry uses it to elevate their strategies in 2023. In a recent study by Pega, 73 percent of consumers said they are open to businesses using AI with them if it makes life easier.”

— Karen Claveria, Internal Marketing Strategist  

The post From High Tech to Human Connection, Here are 5 Digital Marketing Trends for the New Year appeared first on Dream Local Digital.