As companies learn to use new technology, marketing trends come and go, ranging from keyword analytics to black-and-white newspaper ads. In this constantly changing environment, brands cannot simply rely on tried-and-true marketing best practices. Consumer values and preferences have shifted, and effective marketing tactics have followed suit.
Historically, word-of-mouth promotion has been one of the most effective marketing techniques. If someone they know and trust recommends good products or services, people are more likely to give it a try. This idea is modernized for the new digital era by influencer marketing, which entails a partnership between a brand and a person with a focused audience online.
Influencer marketing is used by 93% of marketing experts for a variety of purposes, including:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Building trust and authority
- Reaching their target audience
- Driving conversions
- Generating leads
- Setting a new trend
Connecting to a wider market
By selecting long-term “brand ambassadors,” brands are able to forge more genuine connections with their target audience even though this type of social media marketing isn’t new in 2023. Through the promotion of the same brand over time, influencers are able to maintain their audience’s trust while the brand is able to develop long-lasting relationships with its influencer partners.
Live streaming and video-based content
Due to its ability to hold a viewer’s attention for a longer period of time than static posts, video-based content is increasingly becoming a key focus area in social media marketing. Marketers are using bite-sized videos to drive engagement and raise brand awareness on platforms like TikTok and Instagram reels.
Additionally, live streaming is proving to be a successful marketing trend. Consumers streamed content on mobile devices for 548 billion hours in 2021, according to one report. When used in conjunction with influencer marketing, live streaming enables potential customers to interact with influencers knowledgeable about the product, discuss it, and buy it while watching the video.
User-generated content
User-generated content is the new word-of-mouth, whether it be TikTok trends or #OOTD posts. Original and brand-specific, this kind of content is made by consumers as opposed to brands. Examples, of how brands can use user-generated content include unboxing videos, makeup reviews, branded hashtags, and photo tags.
User-generated content can be produced by anyone, so incorporating it into your marketing plan can increase the authenticity of your brand. Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to trust user-generated content than brand-created content, demonstrating the importance of emphasizing authenticity in your marketing strategy right now.
New targeting solutions
Google is set to phase out third-party cookies by the end of next year due to rising privacy concerns. Target marketing uses cookies to track a user’s online activity so that they can provide a personalized experience. In order to continue creating highly personalized content and advertisements, brands are testing alternative targeting solutions.
Agile marketing
Agile marketing is an approach that draws inspiration from the Agile methodology, as the name would imply. It’s a way of working that involves rapid iterations rather than one big project.
Agile marketing is created so that marketers can react to change more quickly and places an emphasis on real-time collaboration (instead of silos and hierarchy).
Benefits of Agile marketing include:
flexibility brought about by iterative planning
Possibility of delivering value quickly and frequently by assembling people into small, cross-functional teams that are capable of completing tasks on their own
Instead of activity and output, there should be a greater emphasis on customer value and business outcomes.
More data-driven decisions thanks to an emphasis on experimentation
Improved collaboration and transparency through visible workflows and frequent touchpoints.
Cohesive customer experiences
Customers demand a tailored, individualized experience that speaks to their specific needs. Marketers should refrain from only looking at campaigns because customers don’t interact with brands through a single method or channel.
Marketers must focus on the entire experience rather than just one campaign and be aware of specific interactions that occur throughout the customer journey.
Making a map of your customers’ journeys is one way to better understand their user experience. A customer journey map can be a useful tool for designing a seamless experience because it provides a visual representation of how a customer behaves, thinks, and feels throughout the purchasing process.
Improved user experience across devices
UX, also known as user experience, is more than just a trendy buzzword. It speaks of a person’s experience using a system. A user who has a positive experience with a product or brand will remain loyal to it and use it again.
Your website (and/or app) is conceivably your most valuable marketing resource, and a great UX can make all the difference when persuading top-of-funnel users to convert to customers. Keep your site’s navigation simple, keep the layout uncomplicated, and avoid giving users too much information on the main landing pages. Additionally, you ought to make your website mobile-friendly, especially in light of the fact that more than 50% of internet users use their smartphones for web browsing.
Some examples of current UX design trends include:
Websites that are bland and minimal or that don’t have popup ads
- Voice-activated interfaces
- Hands-free controls
- Animated elements to add intrigue
- Block web design
- “Scrollytelling,” or telling a story as the user scrolls
- Bold colors
- Video content
- Conversational marketing
Instead of directing people to lead capture forms and waiting for a response, conversational marketing uses targeted messaging and AI automation to engage with people when they’re on your website.