6 marketing trends that will perform in 2023

With 2023 fast approaching, it’s set to be an interesting year in marketing as brands leverage new technologies and implement deeper insights and analytics. 

‍

From hyper-personalized content and long-term influencer partnerships, to smarter email marketing and conversational AI — organizations have plenty of opportunity to elevate their marketing and get ahead of the competition. 

‍

Keep reading to discover the 2023 marketing trends that will make waves.

‍

Contents:

‍

1. Hyper-personalized marketing
2. Real-time messaging
3. Interactive content
4. Influencer marketing
5. User-generated content
6. Data-driven email marketing

1. Hyper-personalized marketing

One of the 2023 marketing trends that is going to step up a gear us personalized marketing. In the past, segmentation targeting — grouping customers together according to identifiable characteristics — was considered a very personalized approach. Particularly a few years ago, when brands couldn’t access as much data as they can today.

‍

But in 2023, this level of personalization isn’t enough. Consumers expect tailored experiences from brands that really ‘get’ them. For companies to meet this demand, they must combine segmentation with a customer’s real-time engagement with the brand to present hyper-personalized content, offers, and messaging. 

‍

To find out how brands like L’Occitane, Thread, and ILIA are harnessing hyper-personalized marketing to delight customers and drive business growth, read our article on 10 examples of hyper-personalized marketing.

‍

2. Real-time messaging

Many of the 2023 marketing trends that will perform can be related back to hyper-personalized marketing. Real-time messaging is no different.

‍

Consumers want their concerns and questions addressed as soon as they land on a brand’s app or website. They don’t want to have to hunt for answers or wait to speak with a customer service agent. Fortunately, many brands understand the value of immediate customer support — and that’s why they started using chatbots. 

‍

The problem, however, is that many of these chatbots are ‘traditional’ chatbots. They use templated scripts and a prescribed set of topics, which not only feel robotic but very often miss the point. Many customers start a conversation because the information they need isn’t easily accessible on the website. In this instance, a canned response is unlikely to help. In fact, it runs the risk of losing the customer altogether.

‍

A 2020 study found that once users have had several negative chatbot interactions, they are more aggressive with bots and are less inclined to comply with its instructions. 

‍

So, what’s the solution?

‍

Implement conversational design into your chatbot and combine this with live agents. Together they provide real-time communication that feels synchronous to the customer. The chatbot sounds like a human and if a customer is experiencing a problem, it demonstrates empathy — just like a real agent would. 

‍

Then, at the right time, the bot transfers the customer to a live agent to continue the conversation. This process is smooth and prevents the frustration so many people experience when messaging traditional chatbots.

‍

3. Interactive content

The days of static content are behind us. To stand out in a noisy online world in 2023 and beyond, content not only needs to be hyper-personalized — it needs to be interactive, too. 

So what is ‘interactive content’?

‍

Here are some examples:

• Quizzes
• Augmented reality shopping
• Surveys 
• Interactive videos
• Interactive infographics
• Calculators and tools

This type of content taps into user demand for two-way experiences with a brand that encourages a deeper level of engagement than simply hitting ‘like’. 

‍

For a great example of interactive content, look no further than BuzzFeed. They know how to create brilliant quizzes that generate millions of shares and send massive amounts of traffic back to the BuzzFeed website. 

‍

But what sets Buzzfeed’s quizzes apart from every other online quiz? 

‍

First, they understand exactly who their audience is. That’s why the topics and themes of the quizzes resonate so well. Second, they’re fun, they don’t take long to complete and they’re entertaining every step of the way. Third, they look good. Each quiz combines images and text very well, which increases user retention.

‍

Another great example of interactive content comes in the form of a calculator. In 2020, online thrift store ThredUP released its Sustainability Calculator in collaboration with actor Emma Watson. 

The calculator asks users a series of questions about how often they shop, whether they buy mostly online or in-store and how often they rent or return items. Then it identifies what a user’s personal fashion footprint is and compares this to the national average, which is 1,620 pounds of carbon a year. ThredUP’s “Eco-directory” promotes sustainable brands and “green” shopping discounts.

‍

These are great examples of interactive content — but don’t think you’re limited to just quizzes and calculators. The possibilities really are endless and the more creative you can be, the better. As long as it’s practical, inspiring, or helpful to your audience, your interactive content will strengthen brand recognition and boost customer loyalty. 

‍

4. Influencer marketing

According to Intelligence Insider, influencer marketing spending in the US is set to surpass $4 billion this year, growing more than 12% from 2021. By the end of 2023, spend on brand-influencer partnerships will be nearly double its 2019 level. 

‍

But where is this money being spent? Currently, Instagram still dominates, capturing nearly 3x the amount of influencer marketing spend compared to TikTok in 2022 — or $2.23 billion spent on Instagram versus $774.8 million spent on TikTok.

‍

As for who this budget is being spent on, it’s partnerships with smaller influencers — or ‘nano’ influencers (1,000-4,999 followers) as they’re known — that brands want. This year, nano influencer spending will rise 220.5% compared to just 8% on ‘mega’ influencers (1 million + followers). This trend looks set to continue into 2023 and beyond because influencers with smaller audiences have the highest engagement rates.

According to a report from Later and Fohr, micro-influencers (particularly those with 25,000 followers or less) have an engagement rate around 7%. This is a big deal, especially since engagement rates on platforms like Instagram have been declining in recent years. By focusing on smaller influencers, brands can stretch influencer marketing budgets while still working with individuals who are deeply connected to their audiences. 

‍

Want to leverage influencer relationships without the stress associated with managing multiple influencers, negotiating contract terms and ensuring payments are made on time? DAM vendors like Wedia are working on streamlining the entire partnership process by making it easier than ever to create secure contracts, reduce legal frictions, verify and manage payments and measure ROI. 

‍

Another influencer marketing trend that will perform in 2023 is long-term partnerships rather than one-off projects. It takes time to make a sale and one sponsored post can seem transactional in the eyes of an influencer’s audience. Compare this to a series of posts shared over a period of time. This demonstrates a more meaningful brand relationship that is much more likely to generate results.

‍

Last but not least, as marketing gets increasingly hyper-personalized, so too will influencers. In other words, they’ll become even more specialized than they were before. This is great news from brands who’ll be able to work with individuals that have a hyper-targeted and highly engaged audience. One example of a specialized influencer is gluten-free, allergy-free vegan Instagrammer Rebecca. 

5. User-generated content

In 2019, it was revealed that 96% of US consumers don’t trust ads. This is bad news for organizations spending thousands of dollars on advertising. So what should they do instead?

‍

Start incorporating user-generated content (UGC) into their marketing strategy. 37% of consumers trust social media influencers over brands and 15% would rather sit in traffic than engage with a brand’s customer service channels. These stats are two of many that indicate how important social proof is for brands in 2023.

‍

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people copy the actions of others in an attempt to experience the same results, feelings or behavior. When a brand’s audience sees someone they can relate to wearing or using a product, they’re more likely to buy that product. This is different to an influencer promoting a product, which is still an advertisement — no matter how creative it is.

‍

And that’s one of the huge benefits of UGC versus influencer marketing — it’s more cost-effective. Asking your customers to share photos and videos of them with your product costs nothing. There’s also no need to spend money on an agency to create glossy brand assets — the more realistic the content looks and feels, the more likely it is to perform. 

‍

One example of a brand that rocks UGC is Apple. In fact, the brand’s entire Instagram account is dedicated solely to UGC. They encourage customers to share content with the hashtag #ShotoniPhone to be in with a chance of being featured.

Bedding and bath brand Parachute is another company that embraces UGC. Scroll through their Instagram feed and you’ll see plenty of content tagged #MyParachuteHome, including customers wearing Parachute dressing gowns and adorable pets laying on the brand’s signature bed linen. 

For more examples of effective UGC that builds trust with consumers and boosts conversions, check out our article on how brands are taking advantage of UGC.

‍

6. Data-driven email marketing

We’ve talked a lot about hyper-personalized, interactive content in this article and email marketing is no different. Personalizing emails with a customer’s name is no longer enough. Email marketing in 2023 is about personalizing emails based on a website they’ve visited recently or things they like. 

Another way of ensuring emails are as targeted and effective as possible in 2023 is by segmenting as soon as someone signs up. For example, adding a few tick boxes to an opt-in form so a subscriber can decide what type of content they’d like to receive. 

‍

Take a look at this sign-up form by Formaggio Kitchen. It has a lot of questions. While this might have an impact on its conversion rate, the people that do subscribe will be more likely to engage with the brand’s emails. They didn’t go to the effort of filling in the form for nothing.

‍

Other ways to collect data to create hyper-personalized emails include social listening tools, sentiment analysis platforms to help you understand the emotion in online conversations, website analytics, and a Digital Asset Management (DAM) tool to gather content insights across all channels. The latter can allow you to compare the performance of an image in two countries (France vs USA), or the success of different file formats (JPEG vs GIF) or asset types (product packshot vs lifestyle image) across your digital channels. 

‍

Understanding how customers have engaged with a brand’s content empowers businesses to send emails like Eventbrite’s ‘Your Year In Review’ email. It includes information like how many tickets were sold or purchased, how many events were attended, and how many new followers were gained. It’s a great way of making an email subscriber feel like they are an important part of your business and prompts them to keep engaging with the brand. 

‍

Streamline content production and convert your marketing assets into sales

If we had to sum up 2023 marketing trends in three words, they would be: hyper-personalized experiences (ok, so maybe two!). Conversational chatbots, segmented email marketing, and highly targeted content that is relevant to one individual are all examples of hyper-personalized marketing.

This is what consumers expect from brands in 2023. To achieve this, organizations not only need access to insightful customer data but a robust solution for managing, customizing and delivering a large volume of assets across a variety of digital touchpoints. 

‍

With a DAM tool like Wedia, you can take full advantage of the various benefits like streamlined collaboration, centralized asset management and accelerated time to market in order to deliver personalized customer experiences quickly and consistently.

‍

Ready to apply the latest marketing trends to your 2023 strategy? Discover Wedia’s solutions here.