Marketing over the last few years has been anything but uneventful.

We’ve seen a rise and fall of so many trends and “the next big thing” that a lot of marketers and professionals alike are fatigued and also frankly confused. With so many different avenues that a consumer can interact with your brand, it’s difficult to figure out what trends are going to continue in 2023 and which will go away. 

Marketing is constantly evolving, and it can be tough for businesses to keep up with the latest trends and techniques. As we move into 2023, there are several key trends that businesses should be aware of to stay ahead of the curve and make smart marketing choices.

1. Omnichannel Marketing
   With the proliferation of different channels (such as email, social media, and advertising), it’s important for companies to have a cohesive presence across all of them to create a seamless customer experience.
2. Personalization
   With the increasing amount of data available, it’s becoming easier for companies to personalize their marketing efforts to individual customers — like personalized ads, email promotions, or product recommendations based on past shopping behavior. We’re also going to see more and more personalized website content and even physical marketing materials such as direct mail. By taking the time to understand their audience and deliver personalized experiences, businesses can improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and build stronger relationships with their customers.
3. Customer Experience
   While this isn’t a new trend, customer experience will be a major focus in marketing. We’ve been seeing a shift and increased focus on CX over the last few years and getting back to the basics as it relates to customer experience. As competition increases, businesses will need to go above and beyond to deliver an exceptional customer experience in order to stand out. This could involve simplifying the customer journey, providing personalized recommendations, and making it easy for customers to get in touch with you. By prioritizing the customer experience, businesses can differentiate themselves from their competitors and build loyalty among their customers.
4. Content Marketing
   Certainly not new, but just as important as ever. Creating valuable, informative content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience is a highly effective way to attract and retain customers. In the “old days” content marketing meant writing keyword rich, low value blog posts. In 2023 it means creating content catered to your audience and helping them on their customer journey. This means blog posts, podcasts, webinars, short–form mobile-first video (TikTok and IG Reels) and more. The key is to create content that is relevant to your target audience and helps to solve their problems or address their needs. Need help creating content more easily? https://zangardi.com/create-better-content-with-less-effort/ 
5. Video Marketing
   Video content is becoming increasingly popular and is a great way to engage and educate your audience. Platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube continue to gain mindshare and Cisco reports 82% of all web traffic comes from videos in 2022. Video can be an especially effective marketing tool because it allows businesses to showcase their products or services in a more engaging and interactive way. The sharable nature of video makes it a perfect way to increase your marketing miles per gallon. Quick tip for video marketing: if you’re planning to use short-form video (TikTok, IG Reels, etc) — keep your phone in “portrait” orientation — not “landscape.” You want your video to be the right aspect ratio for mobile phones! That’s where the majority of short form video is being consumed.
6. Social Media Marketing
   Social media platforms offer a variety of ways for businesses to reach and engage with their target audience, from paid advertising to organic content marketing. Social media marketing will continue to be an essential part of any marketing strategy. With billions of active users, social media platforms provide a massive audience for businesses to reach. In addition to traditional platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, other platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, BeReal etc may work for you depending on your customer.
7. Influencers
   Influencer marketing will remain a popular tactic, especially on social media. By partnering with influencers who have a large following on platforms such as Instagram or TikTok, businesses can tap into the power of social proof and reach a new audience. It’s important to carefully select influencers who align with your brand values and have a genuine following, rather than just focusing on those with the most followers.
8. Artificial Intelligence
   AI and machine learning will continue to transform marketing. AI can be used to analyze customer data and provide insights that can help businesses to better target their marketing efforts. It can also be used to automate tasks such as email marketing and social media posting, freeing up time for marketers to focus on more strategic tasks. The use of chatbots and messaging apps for customer service and marketing will continue to grow. These tools can provide a convenient and efficient way for businesses to communicate with their customers and provide support. For example, a chatbot could be used to answer frequently asked questions, provide product recommendations, or even handle basic customer service inquiries. 

Honorable mention: voice search. Voice search optimization will become increasingly important. With the growing popularity of smart speakers and the use of voice assistants like Siri on smartphones, it’s important to optimize your website and content for voice search. One way to do this is to write in a way that people speak — natural language uses a lot of long tail keywords and questions. You’ll also want to use schema markup to help these search engines know what the content is about more effectively.

These trends will allow brands to create a cohesive presence across multiple channels, deliver personalized experiences to individual customers, prioritize customer experience, and reach and engage with target audiences where it makes the most sense for them. To stay ahead of the curve and make smart marketing choices, it is important for businesses to be aware of these trends and adapt their marketing strategies accordingly (and follow along with us at Zangardi!).