Digital marketing is a consumer-centric industry, which means it constantly evolves with consumers’ changing interests and needs. This year, we anticipate several notable shifts in the way businesses and audiences interact as new tools and technologies allow for real-time conversations, social media becomes a key search platform for younger content consumers, and innovations in data engineering grow ever more crucial for impactful marketing strategies. Read on for more of our 2023 marketing predictions!
Paid Media Spends Will Diversify
“With new privacy restrictions emerging, paid media spends will continue to diversify to new platforms—meaning you’ll have more places to spend your money, and more wisely. We’ll also likely see tactics like Display and Video advertising move to platforms that offer cookieless tracking solutions. This makes it a priority for brands and marketers to ensure that they are investing into the most effective and measurable channels.”
—Laasya Vulimiri, Associate Director of Paid Media
Paid media spends will continue to diversify to new platforms.
Long-Tail Keywords Take the Driver’s Seat
“Long-tail, high-intent keywords will be mission-critical for SEO success in 2023 thanks to Google’s auto-complete functionality. Using automated intelligence, Google can predict a user’s intended search and complete the phrase they’ve started to type. As auto-complete gets smarter, longer-tail keywords will have more value. To adapt, marketers should consider these longer, high-intent terms just as (if not more) heavily as high-volume searches.”
—Conor Dalton, Director of Organic and Data
Real-Time Convos Win Over Customers
“Conversational marketing, or two-way conversations with customers in real time, will allow companies to convert customers faster by building trust, improving customer experience and offering better personalization. Brands will need better messenger capabilities on social, accessible live chats, faster response times—anything to get closer to a real-time connection to prospects that can help meet expectations and respond to needs. Conversational marketing kills customer indecisiveness.”
—Jael Rodriguez, Associate Director of Community Management
Conversational marketing kills customer indecisiveness.
Data Scientists Uncover Key Learnings Around the Customer Journey
“Last-point attribution has historically been the default way of measuring conversion, but there are far more user touchpoints to consider in today’s digital landscape. The good news is that continued innovation in data engineering and cloud technology is making it possible to measure multi-point attribution through customer journey analytics. Leveraging these tactics in 2023 will empower brands with actionable data at every stage of the customer journey to reduce friction and streamline a path to conversion.”
—Kyle Sammons, Senior Data Analyst
CTV Trumps Linear—Officially
“ConnectedTV will not be optional, especially for larger enterprise-level businesses with growth goals. With the introduction of ads in key streaming platforms like Netflix, HBOMax and Disney+, as well as innovation in the space (like Augmented Product Placement), we will start to see CTV overtake Linear as the preferred TV advertising medium. The trackability of CTV is one of its most vital differentiators, giving businesses and marketers the ability to tie together different data points for a more accurate measure of success.”
—Jonathan Hoy, Senior Paid Media Strategist
ConnectedTV will not be optional for larger enterprise-level businesses.
Content Creators Will Repurpose Messaging on New Platforms
“Brands will need to double down on content efforts in 2023 to stay competitive and keep mindshare. But that doesn’t mean scrapping everything you’ve already created. Revisit how you’ve communicated in the past and figure out how to say it a different way—try a different angle or positioning from the customer’s vantage point. Also, try delivering your message on a different channel or medium. Create a video. Turn your long-form blog into a listicle. Build customer testimonials based on the topic. Create a case study as an infographic. Repurpose, reinvent, relaunch.”
—Michael Baylor, Marketing Operations Manager (SMB)
Social Media Platforms Start Dabbling in Search
“We all turn to the web to find answers to questions, tutorials and more. But we’re seeing Gen Zers turn more to TikTok and Instagram for these things than traditional search networks like Google. Often, they’d rather watch a 30-second video than read an article about the same topic. Given this shift in behavior, we expect social media platforms to utilize their algorithms and adjust content delivery methods to step into more of a Search Engine role.”
—Jess Sherman, Paid Social Analyst
We expect social media platforms to step into more of a Search Engine role.
“Influencer” Marketing Will Require a More Authentic Approach
“Social networks are making it easier for brands to find creators who align with their audience’s values and interests. This is a departure from traditional influencer marketing because it’s less about broadcasting a message and more about the exchange between community members and building an authentic relationship with a consumer base. With the right creators, brands can make more authentic connections that drive stronger engagement, purchases and loyalty.”
—Jordan Nowlin, Director of Paid Social
Shorter Videos Live Longer
“Multi-minute videos will fade away as OTT continues to provide brands with a more affordable way to reach targeted groups. As brands compete to capture audiences quickly and uniquely, we’ll see a surge in punchy, 15- or 30-second ads and pre-rolls (a throw to traditional broadcast commercial lengths).”
—Brandon Clarke, Creative Director
We’ll see a surge in punchy, 15- or 30-second ads and pre-rolls.
What Does 2023 Look Like For You?
Looking to start your year off right? No matter what business you run or the marketing strategies you employ, we recommend starting with one ingredient: authenticity. From there, you can build an effective strategy that puts your brand front and center.
