The digital landscape is constantly evolving and changing; therefore, it is important for digital marketers to keep up to date with all the latest trends. As we near the end of the final quarter of the year, many teams will be evaluating their 2023 marketing plans, and with this in mind, this brief guide will take a look at those digital marketing trends that might influence your marketing efforts in the coming year.
Where are we now?
Recession brings both fear and uncertainty, and it is often marketing budgets that are the first to be slashed in times of economic downturn, however, history has shown that those brands that continue to invest in their marketing during times of economic uncertainty are more likely to come out on top, gaining ground on less pro-active competitors that neglect their customers and their market position. Generating that cut-through is also now more complex than ever before, with a whopping 58% of CMO’s reporting that their teams lack the capabilities needed to execute on their digital marketing strategies, and this is one area where outsourcing at least part of your marketing to performance experts in the digital field can help both bolster your brand, and deliver sales.
Despite signs of recession around the corner, a survey conducted by Gartner reveals that although still slightly below pre-pandemic levels, average marketing spend has increased from 6.4% to 9.5% of company revenues across all industries, with the majority of spend being allocated towards paid social, paid search and digital display.
At such times as now, it is important for brands to get the most out of their marketing budgets, gaining extra visibility and traffic. Bottom-of-funnel sales can still be achieved when budget is used effectively across the omni-channel.
The growth of TikTok
TikTok officially has 1 billion active daily users, and with an ad reach of 885 million, it comes as little surprise that the platform has already surpassed both Twitter and Snapchat in terms of ad revenue. As TikTok continues to outpace other social media platforms, we expect brand competition on the platform to continue to increase. This increased competition will lead to a rise in TikTok ad spend costs and a decrease in organic reach.
According to TikTok, 2 out of 3 users are likely to buy something while on the platform. We expect there to be an even higher demand from brands for effective ecommerce integration, due to a rise in product discovery, and consumers browsing and shopping for products.
The demand for authentic content will continue to rise, and with that influencer brand collaborations are also expected to grow. Collaborations with influencers can increase consumer brand ad recall by 30%, making TikTok an effective (and cheaper) top-of-funnel channel. Influencer activity on TikTok will continue to perform effectively, and brands should be considering allocating their budget towards effectively amplifying their influencer partnerships.
Influencer partnerships & UGC:
As an integrated digital marketing agency, we have been working with influencers to create authentic UGC (User Generated Content) content that amplifies brand stories through effective storytelling for the past 10 years. During the height of lockdown, we saw the influencer boom, and in 2023 we still see immense potential for influencer and brand partnerships. For marketers it is about identifying the right influencers to work with, and for smaller brands finding those niche content creators that can deliver engagement and cut through at a lower cost. For brands with larger budgets, sourcing the right influencers that will drive organic reach and brand recall is a major priority.
We expect a surge in influencer reporting software that can better track the consumer journey both on and off the platform. Discover more about our influencer marketing services here.
Sustainability:
We already know that consumers are more likely to shop with brands that they connect to and find value in. Consumers and brands alike are more socially and environmentally aware than they have ever been. As an agency we are working with a higher number of B Corp. brands and we only expect this to grow.
Data, data, data:
2023 is the year that we shift to Google Analytics 4. The move towards GA4 will provide marketers with more insight into the entire lifecycle of the customer journey, and instead of relying on cookies, the platform will depend on data modelling.
Some new features include:
· Automatic alerts of trends in the data, such as increased demand for a specific product
· Anticipating customer actions by calculating churn probability
· Other predictive metrics, such as revenue estimates from audience groups
The demand for real-time reports across the omni-channel is only expected to grow in 2023. As a marketing agency, we have seen huge advantages in being able to visualise and examine data across all marketing and attribution channels, as well as generating real-time reports for our clients.
