Another year, another article on marketing trends. As you may have noticed, the digital marketing world is moving fast.
It’s impossible to know what 2023 will bring. We can see trends in marketing that have been evident for a while and they are likely to continue.
Before we get into our 2023 marketing trends predictions, let’s go over the most important marketing developments of the past twelve months.
Marketing recap 2022
In 2022, there were some changes in the marketing world. There are some rumblings, though nothing is yet seismic.
challenger?
TikTok, a social media phenomenon, has evolved from a pandemic-era meme machine to a formidable force to be reckoned. Reports in 2022 indicated that TikTok was the dominant search engine worldwide, surpassing Google.
Google’s demise is near. We think that these headlines may be a bit exaggerated. Google is still the best place to find answers to most of our questions.
Google’s future looks like, but what does that mean?
Continue reading to learn more…
Be more productive
Google 2022 brought the useful content update to its users. This is a significant change for SEO professionals and something many SEO experts have been anticipating. Update promised that only useful content would be recognized and those who use outdated strategies (cough, keyword stuffing or crappy backlinks), could face penalties.
Bad times
The tech world is also experiencing its own upheavals, as if there were not enough headlines about global doom from climate change, recession, or nuclear war.
Elon Musk finally purchased Twitter. Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse gamble resulted in 11,000 employees being fired. Many professionals are left wondering what the next step is after thousands of tech layoffs in 2022.
Oh, and Donald Trump is back on Twitter. Take what you want from this.
Video ads are on the rise
Both Facebook and Google have focused on making video ads more prominent. Both Silicon Valley giants have noticed the rise of TikTok and their continued focus on short-form video since the 2020 pandemic.
Google has added an auto subtitle feature to video ads and offers holiday marketing templates. It also provides tools such as the Google Ads Reach Planner that can be used to build video ads.
Images from search results
Google first revealed the use of images in search results in 2019, and it became a reality by 2021. It’s now almost universal in 2022. It’s even more important to grab your audience’s attention using striking visuals.
Click fraud still exists
Fake ad clicks seem to be wasting more money than ever, as if the rising cost of living and impending recession weren’t enough. According to research by Cheq, fraud traffic costs will rise to $61 billion by 2022. This is a $20 billion increase in traffic for anyone who takes notes.
These ads are often clicked by bots and other non-converting traffic. The money goes to fraud publishers or business rivals who bump your ads off the top spot. Sneaky, right.
That was 2022. What direction is digital marketing taking in 2023?
Digital marketing predictions for 2023
AI Content is growing
These days, AI content generators are quite common. They are everywhere, from Jasper to Copy.ai. It was a little surprising that they exist just a few decades ago.
While Google claims that AI content is not in line with guidelines, the truth of the matter is that nobody uses AI-generated content. Bloggers and social media editors are delighted at the ease of creating blog outline templates now. However, this will likely become a major part of PPC marketing.
PPC marketers already see the benefits of AI content in writing headlines and generating clickable descriptions.
OpenAI has also launched GPT Chat (a new chat tool for AI content creation), at the time this article was written. It was launched December 2022 but already highlights the power and potential for AI content creation.
Summary: AI for content will increase in popularity, including the creation of PPC ads.
The metaverse is real (but do we really care enough?
Meta has invested a lot of money in building a metaverse. They’re so confident in its success, they changed their name to Meta from Facebook.
Does that mean that you will need to create ads in the metaverse by 2023?
It’s not possible, in all honesty.
Although it hasn’t taken the world by storm yet, the main metaverse worlds’ that receive traffic are Roblox, Roblox and Axie Infinity. They’re games, and their audience is largely Gen-Z gamers.
Facebook is betting on Horizon Worlds, but the number of regular users has been lower than expected and it doesn’t look like we’ll all live in the metaverse.
The metaverse will likely have an influence on the future software, despite this. In the coming years, expect to see more AR and software that utilizes the immersive elements from the metaverse to better engage us in activities like shopping.
You can try virtual clothes on with your avatar and then have the real thing delivered to your house.
Before you book, take a virtual tour of the vacation resort. Let’s face it, we don’t know of many applications for the metaverse.
Online fashion shows are an example of how fashion brands have already adopted the metaverse. Marketers are now focusing on Gen Z, so keep that in mind. Social media and digital natives are the next big thing.
Summary: While the metaverse as it exists today is unlikely to dominate by 2023, there will be elements that can be used to develop software and market.
Marketers will require more data
Since years, data ownership has been a major topic. This will likely be a central focus for 2023. Google has promised to eliminate third-party cookies by 2021. Apple has placed a heavy restriction on Meta’s ability track users across the internet. Ad blockers are increasing.
Not to mention that regulators are focused on how the tech industry handles data. More shakeups are expected in 2023 and beyond.
All this disruption in the marketing toolbox means that the best way to manage your marketing in 2023, is to collect and own all your data.
You can create more successful marketing campaigns on both search and social by having access to your marketing data. Retargeting your audience is especially important if you use Facebook Ads.
How can you farm your data for marketing in 2023, then?
Some old methods still work. For example, you can build email lists by free trials, downloading free files, or accessing webinars and other free resources.
You can also add your own tracking pixel to your website for great insight into your visitors’ online activities. Google Analytics makes it easy to do this.
A first party data strategy will be a major marketing trend for 2023. Don’t be left behind once third-party cookies are retired, which is likely to happen very soon.
Summary: Learn how to create your first party data strategy.
User generated content (UGC), is on the rise
It is not a new concept to use user generated content. Repurposing testimonials or reviews is a common method of marketing. Businesses will use user-generated content in 2023 for more than their marketing blurb.
UGC can be used in posts on social media or YouTube. Video reviews, blog posts, and unboxing are the most popular ways to incorporate positive feedback.
Gen-Z is the generation that creates content. We have podcasts and Twitch streams, TikTok accounts and live streaming on Instagram. And whatever else you’ll see in 2023.
People rely on reviews and social proof more than ever before. This is an opportunity for marketers to capitalize on the TikTok search feature for reviews.
To get their brand noticed in 2023, smart businesses will appeal to micro and mini influencers.
There are many ways to incorporate UGC into your content. This includes video ads, in-house webinars, and adding reviews extensions to PPC ads.
Summary: Social proof is more important than ever. As part of your 2023 marketing strategy, embrace user-generated content.
Video in short form continues to increase
If you haven’t noticed, the recurring theme throughout this article is the rise of websites like TikTok, and how Gen-Z uses internet. In 2020, during the pandemics, short-form video was consumed at a higher rate than ever. This is thanks to websites like TikTok or Instagram.
This trend will be huge for marketers who use Instagram Ads or Facebook. Hagar Refael, a Facebook expert, suggests that short form videos are one of the best ways to interact with users on social media platforms.
Google is still the most trusted source of information, despite TikTok’s threat.
You can embed short form videos into blogs and websites to summarize the subject.
YouTube ads are still a powerful channel for digital marketers. In 2023, you should include video in your content strategy to reinforce and build your brand message.
Summary: Short form video is being promoted by many platforms because it’s what users love and are most interested in. It’s a great addition to your marketing toolbox for 2023.
Fraud isn’t going anywhere, but up
ClickCease keeps an eye on bot traffic and fraud. Even though there is a recession coming, fraud continues to be a growing industry.
Since we began tracking them, click fraud and adfraud have grown year by year. This can partly be attributed to an increase in global advertising spend. Fraud is increasing as more money is spent on PPC ads.
But click fraud and ad scams continue to improve. Remote paid to click website service, to ad blocking tools that click on your ads to deliberately skew your data. Some marketers find tracking and blocking fraud a full-time job. ClickCease automates fraud prevention.
It’s more than click fraud.
Marketers must also be more aware of the dangers associated with data theft, payment fraud and spam injection. Fraud can occur at many borders.
Summary: Online fraud continues to increase and requires protection. You need a plan to protect your business from fraud online, whether it’s credit card fraud or click fraud.
Start 2023 right the first time
Fraud prevention should be a part of all your paid marketing plans for 2023. ClickCease will help you block:
Click fraud bots and ad fraud
ClickCease is the industry leader in fraud blocking for paid search marketers. ClickCease blocks bots, bad traffic and other fraudulent activity in real-time.
Our Bot Zapping tool now keeps bots out your organic or direct traffic funnels.
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ClickCease Blog published the post Digital marketing trends 2023.
