We might only be a week into the new year but the world of digital marketing doesn’t stand still! Whilst we’re not Mystic Meg, we are a bunch of marketers with a few years of experience under our belts, so we thought we’d have a bit of fun and predict what we’re going to see in 2023.
Without further ado, here’s the 2023 predictions from the team:
Pete, Head of Design and Creative Content:
AI will be more prevalent and accessible than ever
It goes without saying that AI (and machine learning) will continue to encroach into every creative professional’s territory and will inevitably change the landscape for creatives for both the good and the bad. We’re already seeing a serious backlash against big sites using AI generated art instead of hiring an illustrator. How far this goes depends on a) how much creatives are willing to put up with, and b) whether we are happy to harness the power of AI to help with the monotonous aspects of the industry and keep the creative, fun stuff to ourselves. The key takeaway is that AI is a tool, and will never be able to recreate your personal experience, so use that.
Keeping on top of your UX
User Experience is going to continue to evolve and gain importance (even though it’s already super important folks). With Google continually breathing down business owners’ necks (and Web3 on the horizon) your site content will need to be easier to access and navigate via a variety of different channels in order to be discovered and enjoyed. Whilst the web continues to evolve, and changes will vary for different businesses, all business and website owners should be keen to stay on top of their customer experience and conduct regular site UX reviews / audits to look for opportunities to improve and be ready for when the landscape begins to shift (spoiler: it’s started).
Inclusive digital accessibility from the drawing board
Universal accessibility will become the norm on both your websites and the products / services you sell. Many, many websites were born in the pandemic to help keep businesses alive and provide a base to sell from, though too many (understandably) provided only the bare minimum in terms of user experience and accessibility. As we move out of that phase into the next, there will be a movement to ensure that the entire experience (from products to websites) will be more inclusive, and as such accessibility will become fundamental to design and not just an afterthought.
– and you can see it’s happening.
James, Head of Web Design:
I think we might see the emergence of superapps in the west (like wechat and grab) which cover multiple mini apps in one – a bigger challenge for UX professionals to design apps and sites that need to fulfil multiple roles.We’ll probably see some AI tools emerge to automate regular, dull parts of designer work flow, like information architecture and data analysis. I also think we’ll see a closer relationship between content designers/writers and UI designers, as the hierarchy of content becomes more and more important.
I’m hoping that more SME’s will start to see the value of UCD (user centred design). For example, investing in user research and testing much as they do into web/user interface design. It’s what the big companies do and it could be the missing piece in the marketing puzzle that actually turns clicks/leads into sales.
Amy, Head of Outreach & Digital PR:
I think one thing we’re sure to see is more purpose-led comms. Social consciousness is a big deal, particularly with the current economical and environmental issues, it’s more important than ever to be switched on to what’s happening with your target audience and to show that you’re aligned with their values. (But don’t greenwash, that’s ugly.)
With that, more authenticity and inclusivity. It’s important for brands to keep it real and be explicit in what they stand for and going forward into 2023, consumers are likely to respond better to a no bull, transparent approach with a human interest.
I think we’ll also see more integrated campaigns. As businesses look to save money and deliver a better ROI, we’re more likely to see campaigns that transport well across a number of different channels.
Finally I think we’ll really see a boom for budget brands. As people look to tighten the purse strings/struggle to keep afloat, luxury brands will be a harder sell as publications shy away from promoting them, making way for those smaller budget brands to move into the spotlight
James, PPC Account Manager:
I would expect with the cost of living that retailers and businesses will be doing what they can to ensure they are being efficient with their ad spend. From the technical side, I assume Google is going to continue to move in the way of automation, and while this is tough for people running ads, Google will likely always have more data than we have to make optimisations, and it will be our job to work with the changing systems to drive the best results for our clients
Bethany, Growth Marketing Manager:
I think we’ll see an even bigger shift into e-commerce through social media. Tiktok and Instagram already offer the ability to shop in the app, and I think we’ll see a major move towards this for small businesses. Consumers are becoming more savvy to thinly disguised “ads” on social media so I think alongside this, micro-influencers will play an even bigger role in marketing strategies than we’ve previously seen.
It’s also a given that the emphasis will be on portrait videos across all platforms, LinkedIn have been prioritising this type of content recently as well as the obvious contenders of Facebook, Tiktok and Instagram. As for Twitter… I think it’ll begin to die a slow painful death over the coming year and become less fun, and more annoying giving next to nothing in terms of ROI for businesses, sorry Elon…
Rebekah, Content Strategist:
I can imagine Google will be publishing more algorithm updates around content quality, trying to get SEOs and businesses to see its importance rather than something that has to be done and takes a lot of time. Last year we saw the Helpful Content Update and E-E-A-T (they added Experience to Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust). Creating content on topics you know about, understanding what your audience wants and needs to know and developing that in an engaging, easy-to-digest way will hopefully become more of a trend in 2023.
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