Marketing is a dynamic field. Automation, big data, artificial intelligence (and all that it enables), and even the ubiquitous nature of smartphones have all shaped the direction of what was formerly seen as a staid business function.
The industry's move toward more adoption of these technologies shows no indication of slowing. The trend is solidifying and even accelerating in some cases. These are our top marketing trends to follow and ensure your marketing strategy is up-to-date.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
Here's the thing—people trust people. And user-generated content offers companies an inexpensive way to do multiple things. Engagement on UGC is high (see comment about trust), and the company can use the content to show off social proof of the validity of their claims. And on top of that, it encourages new users to come on board by showing the product being used in the real world by people like you.
Social Messaging Apps
This one's a numbers game.
WhatsApp: Ranks number 1 in 63/100 countries. Retaining its top spot from 2022.
Facebook Messenger: Ranks number 1 in 16/100 countries. Stays steady in second place, the same as in 2022.
Telegram: Ranks number 1 in 10/100 countries. Retaining third place from 2022.
Add 1.3 billion from WeChat, and you have a massive global audience to target. Adoption is already commonplace, with users giving their business to a company that uses one of these social messaging apps to communicate with their customers. The key to successful messaging is to highlight content, interact with customers on their terms, and be able to respond in-channel to customer questions, comments, or issues.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
This entry is a blanket of sorts, seeing as how several of the other items on our list rely on an underlying use of AI to function. We'd like to highlight the ongoing and increasing use of algorithms and machine learning technology that powers these new technologies. Things like Chatbots powered by natural language processing (NLP) can learn how to answer the public's questions better the more questions are asked. ChatGPT gained one million users within less than a week after launch. Then there are the automation solutions being developed and deployed. Emails, social media posts, blog articles, and programmatic advertising are all AI-powered tech to watch and stay ahead of.
Personalization
One of the specific abilities of AI technology we're watching is the ability to perform data-driven Market segmentation and personalize nearly every aspect of your campaigns. From segmenting your contact lists to better target niches of your audience to tailoring offers for users based on their purchase or browsing history. The easy availability of data will continue to power innovations in this sphere, and savvy marketers will keep an eye out for new opportunities since 80% of consumers say they prefer a company that offers this personalized experience.
Video
We know. Video has been heralded as the next great marketing thing for several years. And that greatness just hasn't materialized for the most part. But the thing is, video is pretty great, and it is proving it’s staying power by not only not going away but steadily increasing its share of eyeballs. The proliferation of mobile computing has led to a decrease in long-form content consumption. In contrast, ubiquitous broadband connection speeds have led to an explosion of video content consumption and customers. To the point where 63% of consumers say their favored method of learning about a new product is via short videos.
Voice Search
Home smart speakers and mobile devices are behind this trend, along with what are “micro-moments.” These are when people decide they need information on a subject in the spur of the moment and whip out their phone or tablet or ask their home device to look it up. Semantic search optimization is the term given to the SEO segment that focuses on how people ask questions vocally instead of how they used to type questions into search boxes. This optimization is required for any business wishing to reach about half of the US population using voice search features daily [DemandSage] and more than one-third (34%) using them at least once a week.
Omni-Channel Marketing Strategies
Omni-channel refers to marketing strategies encompassing multiple outlets, such as blog posts, paid ads, social media offers, and TV spots, all in one campaign. This contrasts with campaigns with only one media type, say a billboard. Maintaining a consistent voice across channels boosts engagement and fosters trust among your audience.
Content Marketing Will Continue to Dominate SEO
About 80% of B2B marketers say content marketing and a solid inbound marketing strategy continue to generate trust and beneficial feelings among consumers by steadily increasing SEO pull. Content marketing isn't going anywhere but up, and the current content marketing trends will continue. The reduced costs involved and the additional lead-generating power it offers over traditional outbound techniques are behind the continued adoption of content marketing across sectors. In addition, there is a growing number of internet users who install ad-blocking extensions in their browsers, and this technology software effectively quashes your paid search ads.
The importance of organic SEO reach remains obvious. For ourselves, more than 80% of traffic at Aspiration Marketing websites comes from organic searches.
All the items on our list can be boiled down to one main focus—the customer experience. If not for your customers, what would be the point of all this investment of time and energy in marketing your product? Study after study has shown that the way to keep customers happy is to constantly improve their experience from the first time they see your content, through their research and learning phase, and through becoming that happy customer. Keep your eyes on these trends and implement the ones that fit your needs, and you’ll be well on your way toward cultivating an army of happy customers.
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