Firstly, the redPepper marketing team would like to wish you a very Happy New Year. We’ve kicked off what we think will be an exciting year by looking at the Digital Marketing trends we believe will influence our digital strategy in 2023. Let’s dive in!
1. Content creators vs influencers
It’s predicted that businesses utilising influencer marketing will see a shift from a focus on ‘super influencers’ to those producing niche curated content. It’s suggested that influencers with very large followings are perceived by consumers to focus on brand sponsorship and making money, whereas content creators may be more focused on creating original content which spreads information.
Content creators are also likely to charge lower rates, and provide more personalised content suited to your brand personality, which in turn can help to drive conversions and engagement rates.
In terms of content creation platforms, Gen Z favourite TikTok is set to dominate once again in the year ahead. According to The Business of Apps, the short form video platform generated $4.6 billion in 2021, a 142 percent increase year-on-year with 1.8 billion monthly active users by the end of 2022.
2. The rise of short-form video
Perhaps attributing this trend to 2023 is a little short sighted, after all, the presence of short-form video has been clear to see on all of our new feeds for the past few years. However, 2023 is set to see this form of media adopted by more content creators. YouTube Shorts now has 1.5 billion monthly active users and receives more than 30 billion daily views, making it an area of opportunity for advertisers.
However, short-form does not mean short supply on quality! It’s important that in order to get the most from your short form video, your content is immediately engaging and jumps straight to the message you want to convey to the audience.
3. The importance of brand ethics
The past few years have seen increasing demand for diversity and representation in advertising, however in 2023 this is likely to extend to media planning and placements. This can be done by examining when and where media is shown, and by evaluating the needs of the audience it is being shown too. In addition, keyword and topic exclusions, as well as audience filters which show any type of bias, are being carefully moderated by advertising platforms. Brands should bear this in mind in the coming year, as well as examining their brand values to assess if they are doing enough to support underrepresented communities.
It’s no surprise that the climate crisis has seen a shift in consumers prioritising sustainability. Expectations on organisations have shifted from meeting fast supply and demand requirements to demonstrating a positive impact on society and helping their customers to make responsible choices. In 2023, we expect to see a rise in ‘advertising with a purpose’ as seen with cat food retailer, Sheba in this campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIXUeSK3nbs&list=PLVWTVHXP4ZLcU_nmS5K2Q6JFD4NoeNjNl
Sheba used their ad campaign to raise awareness of their mission to protect the world’s fish by restoring coral reefs. The ad highlighted the work they are doing, and the revenue from the campaign was donated to the cause. This is a great initiative, but also a smart business move, as recent studies have shown that consumers tend to gravitate towards companies and brands that are more socially and environmentally responsible.
4, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has taken the spotlight on digital marketing trends lists for some years, and it’s not going away any time soon. According to a study by IDC, worldwide spending on AI development will reach over $500 billion.
You may not feel clued up yet, but you’re probably more familiar with AI than you think. It’s the algorithms working in the background that determine the content you see, the ads displayed to you and the search results you are shown. AI is said to be able to predict with 95% accuracy where a consumer will look at an ad, and it’s only set to get more intuitive. Here are a few ways AI is tipped to develop in 2023:
Hyper-automation
Hyper-automation is the processes of simplifying everyday tasks with minimal use of human power and knowledge. This concept is often referred to as digital or intellectual automation. Examples of this include blog writing or social media creation tools and scheduling software.
Cybersecurity
In a data-driven world, businesses are prioritising information security. AI technology makes it possible to create new methods of reliable data protection, which can effectively detect attacks and respond based on risk in a more accurate way than human driven responses.
Internet of Things
The Internet of Things describes physical objects which possess technologies that connect with and exchange data via the internet. An example of these is remotely controlled heating systems. Research suggested that at the end of 2022, more than 80% of Internet of Things projects in corporations will utilise AI.
Forecasting and analysis
Artificial Intelligence makes it possible to produce highly accurate forecasts, which provide scientific insights in to the future. This is already being utilised in industries including healthcare, sales and the financial sector.
5. Saying goodbye to cookies
In January 2020, Google announced that they were planning to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome browsers in the next two years. While this may be old news, Apple users are now being given the choice to block cookies as part of the iOS 14 update.
This is big news for marketers, who have historically relied on cookies for customer data and retargeting. Instead of the information which was previously easily accessible, companies will have to rely on zero- or first-party data which they collect from customers themselves. Businesses may combat this by running incentivised survey programmes, such as the one developed by Amazon as part of the Amazon shopper panel.
If you’ve learned something from this list of trends, or perhaps you have your own predictions for what 2023 will look like for digital marketing. For expert help on your digital marketing strategy, get in touch on info@redpeppermarketing.com.
