10 Marketing Trends You Absolutely Need to Know in 2023

Here at Plan B, we believe in digital marketing and taking risks. That’s a big reason why we’re excited for 2023, a year in which we see the marketing trends pointing towards digital and calculated risks.

Here are 10 marketing trends we think you should keep an eye on as we head into the New Year. Let’s make it a great one. 

1. Content is Still King – Especially if it’s Niche

As the textbooks have read for years, content marketing is the cornerstone of an effective marketing strategy because it connects companies directly to their customers. However, with so many brands creating content, it is important that your brand finds a way to stand out. According to Michael Brenner, a writer for the Marketing Insider Group, the more effectively a company tells their niche story, the more people will want to engage with it.

If you don’t already have a curated brand story, consider making that a goal for your business during 2023.

2. Email Marketing isn’t Dead

While email marketing may seem like old news, many marketers forget its importance in directly connecting a brand to its target audience. According to Constant Contact, the average ROI for email marketing is $36 for every $1 spent.

Considering that there isn’t an alternate digital platform that better decreases the sales touchpoint funnel and increases conversion rate, while also boosting click-throughs and website traffic for 36 times greater than the investment, why stray? 

Keep email marketing in your arsenal in 2023.

3. The Audio Boom Hasn’t Busted 

Voice search accounts for 20% of all searching and is growing. It’s important for marketers to note that SEO for voice differs from SEO for text because the way we speak doesn’t always align with the way we write. This means that marketers will have to adapt their content to natural language search, such as questions and answers, so they don’t miss catching the attention of their target audiences. 

Ensure that your brand accounts for voice search in 2023 so your content can be more easily found by consumers.

4. Partnerships are Key

We are now seeing the rise of content that drives social media commerce in new ways. Influencers and co-branded partnerships are key in this surge in content leading to commerce because they have a dedicated following of engaged followers that are interested in the content they post. There’s no better way to grow your reach and awareness than to combine forces with a like-minded brand that can add value to yours.

Consider partnering with an influencer or co-brand with another company that pairs well with your own for a big year in 2023.

5. The Future of Video is Vertical

Video content continues to prove its ability to connect with wider audiences and build trust among consumers – but when it comes to considering where this content will reach its target audience, increasingly the point of reach is the smartphone glued to their hands. 

According to eMarketer more than 75% of all videos are played on mobile devices. And what’s more, people hold their phones vertically 94% of the time.

From Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, TikTok Videos, and LinkedIn video suggestions, the vertical video approach is becoming an industry standard.

As stated by Dan Knowlton, a UK-based social media expert, we are now operating at a “vertical video first” approach and the data shows it – in a recent 30 day window, switching to a vertical-video-first approach has increased views by 507% and watch time by 319%. 

With the value of vertical video on the rise, incorporating it into your 2023 marketing plan cannot be an afterthought – and if your asset library is currently lacking vertical content, it’s time to make some changes.

6. Virtual Events are Still For Real

As a result of the pandemic, virtual events have become a norm for people across the globe. For example, a study by Bizzabo found a 34% increase in virtual attendance and more than a 250% increase in live-streaming attendance in 2021. Creating virtual events that allow more people to attend is a cost-effective solution for businesses and a great way to increase reach and brand awareness. 

Looking into 2023, It is clear that virtual events are here to stay, and a good idea for brands to continue to use them. Consider or continue to add virtual events to your brand’s calendar this year.  

 7. Drive Social Media Through Stories

While some brands appear to have social media feeds that follow an ad-hoc posting strategy, the most successful feeds are created using a story-driven approach. In curating a story-driven social media marketing strategies, brands have the ability to actively attract new customers and keep existing ones engaged by posting high-quality and strategic content to their feed. And the truth that many don’t realize is that a well-planned out strategy is easier to deliver than ad-hoc posting.

Take a look over your brand’s social media feed in 2023 and be sure you’re following these guidelines to ensure you start the year off right on social.

8. Put Your Trust in Personalization

As users gain more tools to customize their feeds and the type of content they want, along with the ability to prevent tracking and increased privacy, there’s a high probability that they aren’t listening or even noticing you unless your content gets to the core of what drives them. 

To avoid having your brand overlooked or distrusted, it’s better for a business to reach consumers on a more personal level. People are more likely to trust and engage with content when it’s more tailored to their personal preferences.

Personalize your content in 2023 to ensure you have a better chance at reaching and impacting your target audience.

9. Augmented and Virtual Reality Become a New Reality

With the amount of content and advertising that consumers view every day, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a lasting impression. For this reason, many brands are turning to interactive experiences such as Augmented and Virtual Reality to engage consumers. 

By creating game-like experiences that aim to entertain, consumers are more likely to have fun when viewing and interacting with the piece of content a brand has created. From opening a virtual Wendy’s in Horizon Worlds to Tourism Australia’s website full of 360-degree virtual reality video tours, there are many points at which brands can use VR and AR to engage customers with content.

In order to reach consumer types in a more organic and engaging ways, brands should be looking into technologies like AR and VR during 2023.

10. AI May be the Biggest Game-Changer Yet

According to Nishant Patel in her article, “How AI is Changing Content Marketing,” Artificial Intelligence is known for its ability to process and identify patterns in volumes of data instantly. Patel explains how AI technology gives content marketers the ability to quickly understand how consumers respond to campaigns, what tweaks to make to improve performance, and which new marketing trends to pursue next. 

The main reason why AI is such a game changing technology is because of its ability to help marketers complete tasks more efficiently. With the extra time marketers have from using AI technology, they can focus on more big-picture tasks like strategy which can result in a better ROI for them. 

In order to gain a competitive edge in 2023, it’s important to stay on top of AI trends and to learn about new AI tech as updates in the industry emerge.

What marketing trends do you think will be big in 2023? Comment your thoughts below or find us on our socials @thisisplanb !

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