The digital market is a dynamic, expansive and, frankly, overwhelming landscape. With ever-evolving technologies and new trends on the rise, attentiveness and adaptability will be vital to the success of businesses. Your challenge, as a marketer, is to capitalise on these technological advances by devising lucrative marketing strategies around them – but you need to know where to look first.

That’s why our industry experts at Clarus have compiled a comprehensive list of all the important trends we’ve seen emerging in 2023, including our predictions for the future, to help you stay ahead of the curve.

Video Marketing is Changing

The rise of TikTok has seen a surge in short-form video content, which has also been translated across platforms – Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are similarly increasingly popular and, in line with the trends, YouTube has recently extended its ad revenue programme to include YouTube Shorts. Short-form video is an economical, attention-grabbing medium for product promotion and a surefire way to reach and identify with younger demographics in particular.

Due to the onrush of branded video content on social media platforms, there has also been a rising demand for authenticity. Consumers can appreciate unfiltered, humanised marketing content that stands out from the crowd, almost resembling a review. Your customers will have more faith in your products if they can both engage and resonate with your marketing content, so keep it brief and keep it real.

The Influencer Effect and the Creator Economy

The global influencer market size has more than doubled since 2019 and has, this year, been estimated to have hit 21.1 billion US dollars. Influencer marketing, it seems, has even supplanted organic social media marketing based on this year’s Google Trends data. So, why is influencer marketing such a big deal?

The reason influencer marketing is so effective is due to the trusting relationship influencers have built with their followers (potentially, your customers). When an admired, dependable content creator publicly advocates for a product, their social media followers are far more likely to purchase it. Influencers, to their fans, are a trusted source, as well as people to emulate.

The implementation of content creator funds on social media platforms has incentivised creators to promote products. For marketers seeking brand exposure, partnering up with an influencer whose content reaches the target demographic is an effective way to spread brand awareness.

Social Commerce Keeps Shopping Simple

The emergence of e-commerce within social media platforms has offered consumers an effortless, in-app shopping experience. TikTok Shop has become a huge success, showing the largest growth rate in recent years, and Facebook Marketplace boasts over half of the online market share for social commerce, earning a whopping $26 billion in gross revenue in 2021. These successes are hardly surprising – social commerce allows shoppers to browse and make purchases at the click of a button without even having to switch applications.

Social commerce is a fast-developing field within digital marketing that upcoming brands can and should explore in 2023. By applying reputable marketing strategies to your social media platforms and making your products more easily accessible to consumers by integrating social commerce, you can expect to see a significant increase in reach and sales.

Voice Search

Recent developments in smart speaker systems have drastically altered how people shop online. As of this year, there are 4.2 billion voice assistants in use, which is expected to double by 2024. With these trends in mind, it is essential that marketers optimise for voice search to make e-commerce simple for consumers.

To optimise for voice search, you need to tailor your marketing content to feel more conversational. It is worth paying close attention to the tone and precision of your writing. Content that is succinct and helpful while being tonally warm and natural will be much better received by voice search users.

The Future

So, where to next?

Developments in AI and automation are already affecting the way people consume. Chatbots, for example, have proved an effective tool for businesses with regard to customer feedback, and algorithms can anticipate trends and offer tailored content and advertisements.

In the future, we can also expect to see AR and VR technology advancements, which will open up a whole new world of immersive digital marketing. As we approach a new age of the internet, it benefits us all to familiarise ourselves with the new systems and potentially profitable opportunities that lie ahead.

The Bottom Line

The world of digital marketing is as complex as it is fruitful. At Clarus Digital, we’re committed to helping you navigate the world of online marketing, keeping you up to date on all the latest trends and helping you leverage them to gain a competitive edge in your business pursuits.