Knowing some of the expected marketing trends for the upcoming year is always good, so you can decide whether it aligns with your brand. And although there will always continue to be change in the platforms we use, these are the most useful to understand as one decides what platforms to spend their time growing audience.
The first trend to discuss is where big companies and marketing agencies spend their marketing dollars. The answer is SEO, Email Marketing, and Community Building. Of course, they are also spending on content creation and podcasts. But, according to a survey Neil Patel sent to over 8,000 marketers, they decreased their spending on social media ads.
This leads to the following trends, which you may have noticed but will continue to happen. Facebook, which prides itself on helping friends and family connections, will continue to suggest pages and groups, along with reels and stories from those outside your sphere. They are trying to keep up with the app that does not consider itself a social media app, TikTok. TikTok considers itself an entertainment app, so they constantly push out creators' content based on interests. Facebook, to keep up, will have to do the same. For businesses, this is great, as you want your content seen by those who will align with your messaging. Those who utilize Facebook to keep up with friends and family will have to figure out a way to allow them to prioritize their friends and family simultaneously so they don’t lose their core users.
So, what will work on social media if ads won’t work this year?
This year, conversations are the best way to continue engaging an audience. There are a few ways we will see this happen. First, understanding and utilizing a Direct Messaging campaign will make your audience feel connected to you. Also, having an interactive website where people can chat through an artificial chatbot will be a high priority. One thing to note as someone who has been using direct messaging to fill my podcasts with guests for the last year; this is not something that should be done without a strategy because what will turn off people faster is a spam message that looks and feels like a traditional buy now tactic.
Email marketing, another trend, will also be so important, but not in the traditional sense of throwing everyone into the same Master List and sending them every single email you send out. Instead, it will be about strategically separating your list and sending suitable campaigns to the right audience so that you can decrease the number of non-opens and increase engagement.
And, of course, video content will continue to increase. Still, live videos on all platforms will continue to grow especially live sales will continue to rise on Facebook once they work out the kinks. Also, TikTok, the reigning champion of live selling, has things to work out in their payment systems so that creators can make more money with their content.
Going live or doing videos makes me queasy inside, but influence marketing is ever-increasing along with user-created content. Suppose you need to become more familiar with these terms. In that case, influence marketing is word-of-mouth marketing on steroids; it's when a brand collaborates with an individual with a niche audience that would benefit the brand. User-created content is similar to word-of-mouth marketing, but brands do not pay influencers to create it; instead, customers make the content independently. A popular trend in user-generated content is the popular hashtag #ootd, which is customers showing off their outfits of the day while tagging the brands in the post.
What else can be expected from marketing this year? Ominimarketing. Omnimarketing is strategically ensuring your marketing channels are consistent with your brand.
Interactive marketing will continue to be a significant trend this year, with fun quizzes, games, contests, calculators, and interactive maps. In addition, augmented reality glasses will be the new normal. Platforms like Meta and Snapchat are racing toward perfecting the best pair, but if you are still getting ready for AR, then have fun with the trends of creating personalized avatars this year.
Consumers will heavily look at social responsibility and inclusion trends this year. For example, more and more people are looking at whether or not companies are utilizing things like recyclable packaging, directing portions of profits to non-profit organizations, or if they are giving their time to non-profits. Consumers want to buy from brands that not only talk about but also show their branding diversity and inclusion.
As you look at these trends, remember that they continue to “engage.” So as you think about how you will engage this year, strategically consider how you spend your dollars. My suggestion of where to spend your dollars should always be a strategy, moving your audience from the big platforms onto your email list and website.
If you are ready to strategically be mindful of your marketing dollars in 2023, book a clarity call with me through this link: https://wendymanganaro.as.me/claritycall.
