Marketing trends to look out for in 2023

What were the biggest changes in digital marketing trends over 2021/22? 

Brands big and small need to know what’s in and what’s out, and an understanding of advertising trends is never more important than at the start of a new year. You just have to look back at the marketing trends of the past few years to understand that marketing can be a tricky, and slightly fickle, arena to navigate. Get it right, though, and your brand could happily ride the advertising trends wave to success.  

Here’s a quick look at the digital marketing trends that made it big (and some that didn’t) in the past few years: 

Social commerce 

This is nothing new and it’s not going anywhere any time soon, but social commerce (the presence of ecommerce shops on your social feed) continues to evolve each year. With the rise of small businesses and smaller influencers like nano-influencers, advertisers and creators can reach whole new audiences. Now, even tiny little startups collaborating with small influencers, can make a big impact on the social scene. 

Live videos 

The days of the perfectly prepped photo are coming to an end. Increasingly, audiences want easy, authentic and fast content. So live content is proving to be perfect. Lockdown pushed this into overdrive. When customers were forced to shop online, brands were made to diversify in new ways. Instagram Live was just the platform, allowing for real-time engagement and for brands to have a real face, voice and meaningful conversations with their audience. Seventy-six percent of us were liking live content daily during the pandemic, and this looks set to continue. 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) 

A topic everyone was talking about but no one seemed to really understand, NFTs were big news in late 2021 and into 2022. A part of the blockchain, NFTs combined art with cryptocurrency and the masses wanted in on it. Unfortunately, it seems this same hype also led to the concept’s downfall. With everyone from Coca Cola to Johnny Depp releasing NFTs, the sense of exclusivity that had made the original bored ape the most talked about digital marketing trend of the year slowly vanished, sales dipped and a cryptocurrency crash followed. Now, what was once worth over a million is estimated to be worth around $70,000. The lesson here is one we already know: Authenticity is all, don’t jump on a trend purely because it is trending, make sure it’s something you can really embrace and genuinely deliver on.  

The metaverse 

Back in 2021, people were getting excited for the dawn of the metaverse. While the concept itself — a tangible, interactive way to experience the internet — was not particularly new, it was expected to really take off with the arrival of Meta’s own metaverse. Meta promised a virtual universe where you could play, work and create with people as if you really were face to face, in any space of your choosing. Unfortunately, Meta hasn’t managed to deliver on its promises so far, with the metaverse it created being dubbed ‘sad,’ due in part to Meta’s own inability to keep up with digital trends. Many users found their avatars to be dated and the whole metaverse to be displeasing in an aesthetic sense, suggesting that this way of experiencing the internet may still be a while away. 

What new marketing trends will be big in 2023? 

Here are some suggestions for the new marketing trends that will make it big in the new year: 

Customer experience 

Lockdown may be a thing of the past, but the lessons businesses learned from that unique time are shaping the marketing trends of the future. Consumers now expect the same great experience online as they have offline. Experience is all, and almost 40% of customers won’t give businesses a second chance after even one bad one. But the good news is that this harsh judgement mellows between generations, even if expectations rise. This is something to note if you’re considering marketing to Gen Z, the demographic where 80% would abandon a brand involved in scandal but also be most ready to forgive when a brand demonstrates accountability and corrects its mistakes.  

An effective customer experience is defined by traits such as: 

• Efficiency 
• Convenience 
• Brand proves to be knowledgeable 
• Easy payment 
• Friendly customer service 
• Personalization 
• Easy mobile experience 

Which leads us on to another key marketing trend for 2023… 

Employee engagement 

This may not seem like something that would directly impact customer experience, but happy customers are only as happy as the employees who serve them, and a brand is only as passionate as the people it hires. The past few years have shaped the way people think about work. Between lockdown and work from home being the norm to a struggling economy and a stronger awareness of employment inequality, ‘the great resignation’ saw four million Americans leave their jobs in April alone. These people quitting are also customers, so if they think your brand is guilty of the same sins as their ex-employer, you’re unlikely to win their loyalty. But what can a brand do to convince customers they’re a great place to buy from?  

One key way is to help make your team the voice or face of your brand. Social media accounts run by the real humans of a company with an authentic voice, have proven a massive success for brands like Wendy’s. While you absolutely don’t have to start a battle of wits with every competitor, the fact that that there is a real person behind the brand not ashamed to showcase their engaging personality is where the magic lies. Get your staff involved in your channels, such as asking them to share a blog post or a vlog that outlines a day in their life. Celebrate their contribution to the company while also lifting the curtain on your brand so customers can see the authentic you, something highly valued by 90% of us.  

Visual content 

Again, this is nothing new, but 2023 will bring its own developments like the continued growth of VR and augmented reality. Sixty-five percent of us are visual learners, and it shows in the digital marketing trends that have emerged on social media. There is 180% more engagement given to posts with a visual aspect and an 85% higher chance of conversion if that content is a video. 

The benefits of visual content aren’t just for humans, either. Technological developments mean that your brand becomes more searchable with discoverable visual content. And that means functions of visual search and shopping feeds become something you can take advantage of, which is also the technology of most interest to the most sizable demographic, millennials.  

Personalization 

Personalization isn’t always as blatant as welcoming customers by name (although with your online shopping channels, this should be the case). It can also appear in the form of personal recommendations coming up on their account page or loyalty rewards that tailor rewards to customer needs. For example, if you find a certain customer seems to be earning points through buying skincare more than anything, then their rewards should be something they can redeem on skincare as well.  

Maybe you think your brand is already doing its bit for personalization, but that may not be reality. Eighty-five percent of brands think they offer a personalized experience, but only 60% of their customers agree. Another thing to consider is that personalization for your customers does come at a cost, and that is trust.  In fact, 30% of customers say they don’t even choose to share their data with brands and 40% don’t trust that it’s going to be used ethically. So, make sure you are using your customers’ data responsibly, storing it securely and aligned to relevant laws.  

Preparing for the peak of Gen Z 

Millennials may be the biggest cohort brands are desperate to appeal to, but they aren’t the young, hip things they were even five years ago. The oldest of the millennials are reaching 40, and the youngest are around 26, making the ‘cool’ generation now squarely in Gen Z territory. Born between 1995-2010, Gen Z was raised in a digital world where everything and everyone is in easy reach. That means for them it’s natural for their digital experiences to be effortless, and you need to make sure you can deliver on that. They are also the most diverse demographic ever, meaning brands will need to make content that is relatable, real and authentic by diversifying as well.  

Keeping it local 

Gen Z’s values play a big role in their shopping habits, almost half identify personally with a brand and are prepared to stay shopping with them for a long time. Add to that the fact that almost 100% still choose to shop in person some or most of the time, and you’ll want to make sure you can be as local as possible. That doesn’t mean miraculously funding an expansion plan of stores across the country, but it does mean you have to be easily discoverable to your local Gen Z (and all) customers. This might be the marketing trend wakeup call you need to update your brand’s technology. 

Consider things like geofencing to target certain locations with specified messages. This could be sending push notifications about a rainbow flash sale the week before a city’s pride parade, news of your brand’s pop-up to send to customers nearby, or as sophisticated as reminding customers of your latest offers if their geo-location lets you know they’re near your store or a distributor.  

Will affiliate marketing have a place in marketing trends for 2023? 

For the most part, the year ahead will build on trends that have already been well established. For affiliate marketing, this means there are just as many opportunities as ever before Get planning early to create content that includes plenty of visuals, and make sure you’re getting your whole team involved so it’s not a generic sales voice talking, but the true voice of your brand.  

Brands should reach out to influencers and publishers to help them create some important content for the 2023 marketing trend wave. For example, working with influencers to create live Instagram videos or with local content creators to make visual-led blog posts for your city. Creativity, collaboration and an authentic enthusiasm will continue to be as important as ever when it comes to marketing trends and your own personal efforts to grow your brand.  

How Awin can help 

Awin’s publisher base and advertiser tools give brands everything you need to acquire more customers and earn more revenue with affiliate marketing. Our experts can help brands discover new partnership opportunities and run campaigns you can trust are performing well, as well as identify what needs to be improved.