How to Prepare Your Marketing Strategy for 2023

Is your company’s marketing strategy prepared to resonate with consumers in 2023?

In an ever-changing and increasingly digital world, it’s more important now than ever to stay up to date with trends. This article examines some of the most critical actions every business should take to prepare their marketing strategy for 2023 and accurately stay up to date with current trends.?

Research

The first step in developing any strategy is to conduct research. When developing a marketing strategy, it’s critical for businesses to look at data specific to their industry and review their customers’ current perceptions of the company. Both of these aspects are important to consider when creating a marketing plan for the future, but it’s also important to be aware of more general trends. This blog breaks down the top trends predicted to supplement your advertising strategy in 2023 to inform businesses on how to stay relevant and up-to-date with trends.?

Content Marketing & Social Media

Content marketing is a strategy known to engage consumers through the creation and sharing of relevant content such as videos, podcasts, blogs, and other media. This sort of content is becoming increasingly expected by consumers. Organic content like this can work as free advertising for brands if done well. The content marketing approach proves expertise, drives brand awareness, and keeps your audience engaged with your brand.

Similar to content marketing, social media is an extremely relevant device in a content-consuming world, with an all-time high of over 72% of Americans using at least one form of social media.? A bonus for utilizing social media as a marketing platform is that it doesn’t impact marketing budgets as much as other platforms. If your brand has a sound social media content calendar and interacts with users in an engaging way, you can gain a large following of potential customers. As you probably know, some of the top social media apps to utilize include TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Some of these apps may be more fit for your target audience, so be sure to consider that when deciding how you want to position your brand online. For example, your brand may take a more professional approach on LinkedIn, but have a whimsical tone on Pinterest. Some engaging ideas for organic social media content include polls, live streams, reels, competitions, videos, and games. Social media platforms can also be a great way to reach a specific targeted audience through paid advertising opportunities. Most social apps have the ability for advertisers to select filters based on demographics, location, interests, and other factors. Social media platforms like Twitter also often serve as a customer support device for many companies.?

Virtual Reality

In case you haven’t noticed yet, virtual reality (VR) is something that’s been exciting for consumers recently. Some predict that VR will be the future of content marketing. Imagine your company developed a VR ad that allowed consumers to immerse themselves in a simulated space where they can see and interact with your products. This is just one example of ways that VR can be used in conjunction with marketing.?

Artificial Intelligence

According to Forbes, the top-performing companies are more than twice as likely to use artificial intelligence (AI) for marketing purposes. Many marketers are beginning to take advantage of intelligent technology solutions to improve their customer experience and efficiency. AI marketing utilizes artificial intelligence technology to make decisions from data, observations, and trends. AI uses consumer profiles to identify the best communication method to reach customers with tailored messages. AI can generate content and then place it in front of the specific target audience on the right platform. This AI marketing process does not require intervention from marketing teams, making it extremely efficient for carrying out tactical tasks.?

User-Generated Content

User-generated content is the new word-of-mouth. This sort of content is specific to a brand and original but created by consumers rather than the brand. Some examples include unboxing videos or product reviews found on platforms like TikTok and YouTube. Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to say that user-generated content is most authentic compared to branded content. Consumers want authenticity from brands and having users spread the good word about your product or service can provide that. You can incentivize users to create content for your brand in a few ways such as hashtag challenges. Partnering with individuals can be a strong strategy for businesses since people tend to care about people and personalities. Audiences will most likely relate more to an individual than a company, so partnerships can create credibility and connections for businesses.??

Cohesion

Nowadays, customers expect a tailored and personalized experience from brands that speak to their needs. A cohesive experience is important in defining your brand’s identity. A cohesive experience is based on overall consistency. A cohesive marketing strategy takes all of your brand’s promoting platforms and bases them on the same strategy. A brand’s tone, voice, visuals, and identity needs to remain consistent for consumers. When thinking about cohesion, however, marketers should try to look at the bigger picture, rather than focusing solely on a single campaign for a brand. A customer journey map can be a good way to understand how consumers interact with your brand and discover how to increase cohesion in their experiences. A customer journey map is a visual representation of how a customer acts, thinks, and feels throughout the buying journey.?

User Experience (UX)

User experience, or UX, is a term you are likely to hear soon if you haven’t already. UX refers to the way a person feels and thinks when interacting with a company and its services or products. User experience design is the process of making products that are practical and usable. To have a good UX design, your product should be easy to use, fill a need, be visually attractive, be accessible to anyone, and come from a credible company. UX design can also relate to a website layout that is based on research, rather than aesthetics. Generally, try to keep your company’s website simple and easy to navigate. Users tend to prefer websites that are free from ads and compatible with mobile. An example of an aesthetically pleasing website design is “scrollytelling,” which is telling a story as the user scrolls the page. UX design can be a very useful tool if your company is looking to increase conversions and profits. On average, every dollar invested in UX brings $100 in return.?

Interactive Content

One of the best ways to engage prospective customers is to use interactive content. Audiences today tend to have small attention spans and want content that demands attention. Interactive content can help your brand increase audience engagement, improve customer learning, and lead to more conversions. 81% of marketers agree that interactive content is a low-cost and high-impact strategy that is more effective at gaining users’ attention than static content. Some examples of interactive content that your brand can create include quizzes, contests, assessments, interactive maps, videos, and infographics. Interactive content such as polls can be leveraged by brands on Instagram stories or Twitter. Contests and videos can also be promoted through social media like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Content like interactive maps and assessments can be incorporated into a brand’s website to increase traffic and engagement.???

Focus on Social Responsibility

Consumers today are more likely to support brands that practice and advocate social responsibility. Research shows that over half of American consumers now factor a company’s values into their purchase decisions. What supports this notion further is that 66% of consumers will pay more for products from brands that exemplify social commitment. There are various ways that a brand can incorporate social initiatives, but business owners should be sure that whatever they do remains true to their brand. Some examples of tactics include using recyclable materials, donating to charities, advocating for social justice, and using fair trade practices. One example of a company known for corporate social responsibility is Patagonia. On top of Patagonia’s various programs including the clothing exchange program, living wage program, and fair labor association program, Patagonia gives 1% of proceeds to preserve and restore the natural environment. Patagonia prides itself on transparency with its environmental and social responsibility program, which allows consumers to see how and where the clothes are made. Several other brands practice corporate social responsibility that we can look to for inspiration.

Emphasis on Privacy

While this is not necessarily a marketing tactic, privacy is an increasing concern for consumers, especially as cyberattacks become more common after recent privacy controversies. Upgrading your privacy software may be something to look into if your company’s goal is to generate qualified leads and gain the trust of consumers.

CRM Software

CRM stands for customer relationship management and is typically a software system that is used by businesses to track communication with clients. A CRM collects and consolidates all of your company’s data and interactions. CRM software lends to a much more organized business and increased efficiency overall.?

Taylor Precourt

As a business strategist myself, I tend to use some of these tactics when developing strategies for my clients. Marketing can be a difficult area to hone in on and figure out what exactly works for specific industries and businesses, but with the help and expertise of a strategist like me, creating a successful strategy is possible.?