It’s that time of year again. Christmas is coming. That means mulled wine, mince pies and getting the final projects of the year out the door. It’s also the time of year we see a lot of ‘what I learned in 2022’ and ‘biggest marketing trends in 2023’ types of content.
We’re not here to pile up a dense list of 800 design webapps or recycle last year’s list, replacing the ‘2022’ with a shiny new ‘2023’. Nope. This year we took a long hard look at the current state of marketing and what’s on the horizon for agencies, in-house and you brave solo marketers out there.
So, without further ado, here’s what we’ll be looking out for in the next twelve months.
1. More inclusive, more responsible marketing
One marketing trend that’s become unavoidable this year, is the strengthening commitment to Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities. Everywhere you look, the world’s biggest companies are starting to make more commitments to sustainability, diversity and privacy.
Going forward, business leaders are going to have to do much more to reach their sustainability and inclusivity goals. Some companies are definitely moving in the right direction with equal opportunity initiatives, Net Zero pledges, and greater accessibility. But actions have to match words.
In 2023, we’re expecting to see even more emphasis put on ESG, to match growing customer concern over these issues. However, with a more engaged customer base, you’ll also come under much more scrutiny for contradicting messages. Ensure your organization is committed to the ESG plan before sharing it in your marketing. It’s something your organization should be considering, if you haven’t already got one in place.
83% of consumers think that organizations should be taking an active role in shaping ESG best practices, with 86% of employees preferring to support or work for companies that care about the same issues as them. Not only will it make you a fairer, more sustainable, organization, it will also make you more marketable.
Got your ESG strategy nailed down, but not sure where to start on the marketing side? Have a chat with our experts.
2. A little more conversation
Hi
How are you?
I’m good thanks.
Nice. Well, I’m going to tell you all about a new trend called conversational marketing.
Oooh ok, do tell!
Sure. Conversational marketing isn’t a new trend, but it’s one that’s seeing an upward curve at the moment. After decades of ‘correspondence’ rather than ‘conversations’ and plenty or ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’ rather than Simon or Kae, it’s time to get a lot more casual.
Ahhh, so conversational marketing is all about being more human?
Well, yes and no. It’s about more natural conversations that get to the root of what your customer is feeling. Making marketing a two-way interaction, rather than a sales pitch. It’s about finding out what a customer really needs, instead of trying the hard sell.
I see. I guess the conversations are more helpful for both sides too. Speaking to someone who is knowledgeable about the product can bring a customer fresh insight on what they need.
You’re right. That’s why Insider Intelligence estimates that by 2024, consumer retail spend via chatbot will reach $142 billion.
Wow, thanks for this enlightening and informative chat!
3. Howdy, strategic partner
As the old saying goes, “two heads are better than one”. Well, it turns out that two specialist organizations with loyal customer bases are also better than one. We’re seeing more and more strategic partnerships between organizations to help broaden reach, gain added expertise, and build better customer experiences across business borders.
If 2022 was a big year for the partnership ecosystem model, 2023 is going to be even bigger. In fact, it’s estimated that by 2026, 25% of business’ new application portfolios will come from within partner ecosystems. From a marketing perspective, this means linking up with other organizations in your market to see what you can achieve together.
On the B2C side, we’ve seen plenty of marketing-led brand alliances, like Spotify and Uber’s ride playlists to keep riders and drivers sane on the road. And on the B2B side there’s the teaming up of Asana and Vimeo that had project managers around the world brimming with excitement. These aren’t just great business opportunities, they’re also the chance to create some brilliant marketing campaigns that reach another customer base.
4. The low/no code revolution
Rust, Perl, Ruby. If these sound like types of wedding anniversary to you, then you probably aren’t a big coder. Not to worry. Over the last year we’ve seen a whole host of low/no code software released, and with Forbes calling it “the future of software”, now is time to get onboard.
The number of hats a marketer has to wear is continuously growing. Creative, analytics, SEO, ads, lead gen, social listening, copywriting... the list goes on. Low/no code solutions could help to relieve some of the pressure. More accessible software development allows marketers to create their own automations and apps to reduce overwhelming workloads and better monitor their team’s performance.
You might already use some no code development platforms such as Hubspot, Mailchimp and more, as they’ve been around for a while now. But keep an eye on this in 2023 as we expect even more low/no code platforms to pop up across the market.
5. Small but mighty: Microinfluencers
The micro-influencer isn’t new to 2023. Brands began to realise that monolithic macro-influencer brands might not be the best value for money as far back as 2019. Influencers in tight niches with very loyal followers garner higher engagement, have more credibility in their specific spaces, and are often easier to work with.
In 2023 we expect to see niches appear within niches, as changes across social platforms continue. Keep an eye on emerging social platforms such as BeReal and Supernova who are heading the counter-culture against established social media giants like Meta, focusing on authenticity and social responsibility rather than ad revenue. Whilst there might not be much for marketers there now, there could be opportunities tied with ESG in the future.
6. Excuse me, may I help you?
In August 2022, Google released their ‘helpful content update’, with a little explanation of what the seemingly vague term meant. The update continues the slow march away from what Google would likely call ‘SEO orientated content’, towards more human-orientated search results. But what have google said about the change?
There’s also a link to Google’s long-standing guidelines about how to create quality content and have your site rank well with their algorithm – TLDR: write stuff that’s useful, don’t just ram it full of keywords and optimize some stock images.
Like most Google algorithm updates, it might take a while for us to really see any major changes, so keep an eye on your rankings into 2023 for any spikes or falls. But as we always say, if you keep creating content that is genuinely useful for your audience, that contains the words they’re looking for, then you should be ok. If you’re not sure about anything, always check with your SEO people first.
Don’t have any SEO people? No worries, you can use ours. Drop us a line and we’ll set up a meeting.
It’s not all about trends
I know, I know. You’ve just spent 10 minutes reading a whole blog’s worth of marketing trends for 2023. But really, these are gentle waves in the marketing ocean. What’s most important is that you get the basics right first.
Chasing trends won’t get results if you don’t have a solid foundation first. There’s plenty of areas you can begin to build a strong marketing base from which to try out these trends. From social media management, to a full rebrand, we’re experienced in the full stack of digital B2B marketing.
If we could recommend one action to take away today, it wouldn’t be downloading the latest chatbot software, DMing an automation software influencer or buying the latest no-code app builder. It would be sitting down with a branding, social, content, design, or any other marketing expert and getting your business ready to take on the world of marketing.
However you want to do it is fine. You can find a branding expert of your own, or you can get to know ours (Ours are way way way nicer) Get in touch here.
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