The trends shaping digital marketing campaigns in 2023

Digital marketing is continually evolving. Tools and techniques that were innovative and central to campaigns can be seen as outdated just a few years later.

There are various reasons for this: as technology advances, new capabilities are unlocked. At the same time market demands shift, meaning that businesses must update what they offer and how they communicate to stay relevant.

Both of these factors, and more, come into play when planning digital marketing campaigns in 2023. Here’s what you need to know before you invest.

Squeezed budgets

Just as it looked as though the economic effects of the global pandemic were behind us, a recession arrived.

That means lower consumer spending, higher business costs, and less spending power to invest in marketing.

However, it’s not all bad news. First of all, if you do have the resources, now is a fantastic time to invest in your marketing.

Some channels which are priced according to demand, such as advertising (both online and off) will become more affordable. Second, it’s likely that your competitors will be reducing their marketing spend, giving you the opportunity to increase your visibility at a time when others can’t keep up.

It’s well known that the businesses who continue to invest in marketing when times are tough are not only more likely to succeed, but are in the best position when the economy picks up again – an effect that can last years, or even decades.

If you’re forced to reduce your marketing spend, remember to think strategically. Some marketing channels require long-term, sustained investment, and short term savings could ultimately prove costly.

The continued rise of AI

It’s not that long ago that we listed AI as a neat feature which will – some day in the future – become relevant to everyday businesses and consumers. That day may now be upon us.

AI improved leaps and bounds recently. It can be employed to “chat” with and answer questions for website users, giving you the ability to provide 24/7 customer service, and another new tool has entered the content marketing sphere, with the ability to produce information for blogs which can be uploaded to websites and shared on social media. New tools like ChatGPT are game-changers, and it will be interesting to see how they will impact on our lives in the coming years.

These tools are already available for public use.

Businesses with bigger budgets are now using AI to mine information on current customers, potential customers, shopping habits and even potential recruits to streamline and improve the efficiency of a whole multitude of processes.

While there are wrinkles yet to be ironed out, it’s clear that AI is already shaping a wide array of business mechanisms, including but not limited to the creation, implementation and automation of digital marketing campaigns.

Evolving analytics

One of the key ways to build effective campaigns is to track who visits your website and when, monitoring data points such as the journey to your website, the actions they took and the money they spent.

This information can help you fine-tune campaigns, investing in the profitable efforts and tweaking or eliminating those which aren’t bearing fruit.

However, with data privacy becoming increasingly important to consumers, the amount of information websites will be able to collect is set to dramatically decrease. For example, Google’s Chrome browser will stop using cookies in 2024.

Instead, businesses are going to have to think smarter about their retention efforts, including asking customers for their data – and for that, they’re going to have to deliver something of value in return, whether that’s exclusive access to content, special offers or something else.

Questions about social media

While TikTok continues to grow (and grow and grow), public perception of social media in general appears to be cooling to some degree.

Opinions on the introduction of the Metaverse and the current management of Twitter are mixed at best. Several platforms have emerged in an attempt to take their place.

Interestingly, though, one of social media’s biggest competitors has been the re-emergence of email.

While social media marketing can still be a fruitful digital marketing tool for many businesses, others are collecting email addresses, building customer databases and fostering relationships with useful content, money-off deals and more.

Customer experience is paramount

In today’s world, especially since the pandemic forced almost all businesses that had not yet done so to create an online presence, customers have an almost overwhelming amount of choice.

It’s unlikely that your business offers a product or service that is entirely unique, with no comparable alternatives.

And the digital world means that potential customers can flick from one provider to another in mere seconds.

The answer? Provide the best customer service. Be the option that your audience is happy to spend their limited, valuable time with.

Make your proposition abundantly clear. Ensure that the customer’s journey – from first learning about you and what you offer, all the way through to them committing to a purchase – is as easy and straightforward as possible. Demonstrate that you’re a company with ethics that people are happy to buy from.

If your marketing is attracting clicks and views but it isn’t converting to sales, conversion rate optimisation (CRO) can help you identify why, and signpost you to the changes which result in more enquiries, sales and a better return on your marketing investment.

The digital marketing landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace. If you’re looking to kick-start a campaign in 2023, or you’re running a campaign that isn’t as rewarding as you’d hoped, give our a team a call for an informal chat on 01254 279998.