The press are still reporting that we’ve managed to stay out of recession for another quarter; however the impact of spiralling costs of living cannot be ignored as they are affecting both Business and Consumer behaviour. So, which marketing trends do we need to be mindful of for the rest of 2023?
Content is still king – but how we are generating it is changing
Artificial Intelligence technologies are moving incredibly fast – in fact the adoption rate of Chat-GPT has been faster than for any other digital product in history :
The demand for innovative, dynamic and engaging content is higher than ever before, whilst resources are stretched even further. AI is helping content generators bridge the gap with copy, image and video apps already widely available.
Here’s an extract from Hubspot’s 2023 state of marketing report which illustrates this marketing trend :
We are yet to see what AI developments will mean for SEO, but without a doubt Google and Bing will be updating their algorithms to account for auto-generated content. Watch this space ….
Value driven marketing is key
Businesses can no longer get by just selling their products. They need to demonstrate authority in their category, market cross-platform, demonstrate brand social and environmental values and do whatever it takes to make their customers’ lives better. Here is a great article from ClickZ that uses Apple’s iPhone 14 marketing as a great example of “go big or go home” Maximising value in unprecedented economic times
Video marketing goes from strength to strength
The growth of Instagram reels, Tik Tok & You-Tube shorts have driven significant growth in short form video. Video is now reported to deliver the highest ROI of any media channel, and so is a target for marketing investment.
Marketing on the move
Given that 84% of adults in the UK own a smartphone (ONS data), it’s no surprise that having a mobile responsive site is mission critical to success. Google are continuing to develop mobile indexing for search, so watch this space for conversations about optimising your SEO specifically for mobile.
Get to the point
The bounce rate has retired along with Universal Analytics, as website visitors expect to land at the relevant content on your site first time. As marketing trends, Landing page usage is on the increase, and marketers typically use just 3-5 questions to access any gated content.
Cookie marketing is dying
With the increase in concerns about data privacy, marketing methods reliant on cookies are in sharp decline. Google says that cookies will be replaced by “privacy-preserving APIs which prevent individual tracking while still delivering results for advertisers and publishers”. Here’s a summary from Hubspot about what marketers are exploring :
Customer service on Social Media
Increasingly, the younger generations are turning to social media for customer service. The public nature of service interactions can be tough on everyone involved, so it’s good to see tools emerging that allow service challenges to be directed to a direct messaging channel giving companies the opportunity to deal with issues 1:1.
Marketing budgets
Perhaps counter-intuitively, 47% of marketers expect to increase budgets in 2023 as a response to stiffer competition (Hubspot state of marketing report). They do acknowledge though that if we go into recession, that their budgets are at risk of being cut.
Marketing channels losing favour include Paid Social Media, Print Ads and In-person events, whilst those being protected and invested in include SEO, Blogs, Podcasts, Video, Online events & Social Media.
Summary
If any of the topics covered resonate with you and you’d like a chat about how the impact on your business, feel free to contact us.
