2023 Trends Shaping the Future of Digital Marketing

Industry Trends to Disrupt a Disruptive Consumer

1. Increased Impact of Social Media?

Millennials grew up in a world of technological disruption whereas social media and WiFi have been part of Gen Z’s vernacular from birth. With technology so integrated in their lives, both generations tend to be at the forefront of emerging trends. Let’s face it, they know a thing or two about the ever changing algorithm, so leveraging popular social media platforms can help maintain a competitive pace. Social media adds a new dimension to your omnichannel customer service, helps you reach a bigger audience, boosts brand loyalty, and?so much more.

2. Social Responsibility

Consumers want curated experiences where they feel seen and heard. Even more, they want brands that stand for something and who aren’t afraid to go left when everyone is going right. Gen Z in particular is becoming a priority audience and they are very much cause-oriented. They, and many others, want to see authenticity and effectiveness in companies.?

• 66% of U.S. consumers?are willing to pay more for products from brands making their mark on social responsibility.
• 75% of U.S. consumers?are concerned about the environmental impact of the products they buy.

3. Influencer-Led Marketing?

People are tired of celebrity culture and endorsements. Frankly, an A-lister promoting a skincare line when talking about their beauty routines doesn’t cut it when they conveniently fail to mention their access to healthy food, top doctors, and expensive treatments.?

Now we’re seeing a rise in?micro-influencers?promoting products that align with their interests or expertise – think a mom sharing her favorite stroller or a food blogger promoting a meal prep service. This is effective because of the trust they’ve already built with their audience and they can provide a genuine endorsement at a much lower price tag than celebrities. Marketing with influencers that have 10,000-100,000 followers can earn you more value than a celebrity with millions.?

4. Increase in Personalized Experiences & Experiential Marketing

Welcome back experiential marketing. If you’re unfamiliar, this strategy engages consumers using branded experiences that inspires them to share with their friends both online and offline. This can help humanize your brand through events, samplings or demos, tours, festivals, ways for brands and customers to do social good together, etc. Below include some impressive examples:

• ?AirBnB, Will Smith, and the owner of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” house teamed up for the show’s 30th anniversary to?offer $30 per night. While it only lasted for a handful of nights, the media coverage surrounding AirBnb and the popular ‘90’s show was extensive.?
• Tinder put up a 30-foot “Pride Slide” representing the 30 states that didn’t have anti-discriminatory laws protecting the LGBTQ+ community. For each person that rode the slide, Tinder donated $10 toward passing the Equality Act.?
• JetBlue created the?ultimate icebreaker?in the dead of a New York winter in order to promote their new direct flights from NY to Palm Springs. They placed a number of summer accessories in ice blocks and told New Yorkers anything was up for grabs.

5. Resurgence of Long-Form Content

Blogging quickly became a phenomenon in the early days of the internet with people sharing their lives, advice, recipes, travel adventures, and more. Many of the influencers you follow today likely started out as bloggers. Once new forms of sharing came along, blogging expectedly died a quick death as the owners shifted to Instagram, TikTok, vlogging on YouTube, etc. However, it wasn’t laid to rest for long because we’re starting to see blogging, newsletters, white papers, press releases and much more coming back to life.?

Additional trends to keep your eye on:

• Track new ways for audience targeting. Invest resources in analytics to find out as much information about your customers as possible.?
• Overall design shifts to improve UX such as a simple and intuitive navigation system, minimalist design to avoid overwhelming users, use of voice-activated interfaces, and more.?
• Don’t forget audio marketing as people head back into offices!

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