The top digital marketing trends for 2023 that really make a difference
The Energise team have been beavering away over the new year to discover what are the upcoming shiny digital ‘baubles’ for business – AKA the top digital marketing trends for 2023. There are always many, given the entrepreneurial spirit of our sector, however only a few are relative to you as a B2B business owner. Below we chat about our top picks – and as always, expect an honest assessment!
Artificial Intelligence – ChatGPT
You’ve probably heard about this new AI words wizard. ChatGPT, otherwise known as ‘Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer’, is a chatbot that was launched by OpenAI in November 2022. It is an artificial intelligence that allows the user to type in a question or to have a large chunk of text summarised quickly and apparently very human-ly! So we gave it a go and put it through its paces to create the opening paragraph for this very article. And here was the result:
“It can be difficult to predict specific digital marketing trends for the year ahead, as the field is constantly evolving and influenced by various factors. However, the Energise team have discussed some of the trends that are likely to continue gaining momentum in the coming years, and we’ve listed them below.”
The first thing that sticks out for us here is that it is devoid of any Energise brand personality, and that should make any business owner wary of using it for content marketing purposes. While this chatbot is being touted as the next big thing for marketers, we’re still not entirely convinced.
On the flip side, it seems great for specific types of content, or for brainstorming sessions to create a variety of ways to say something. But, and this is a big but, despite how flowing and human-like the text is generated, it doesn’t quite replace that very specific brand element which is integral for all companies, big and small. Building a strong and cohesive brand identity will help to deliver your values and message to the right audience, while allowing you to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Here’s a great article on why having a strong and unique brand is so important for B2B businesses.
Content – Delivering Real World Value
This is definitely by no means a new concept or trend, but the way content is being created, and then used, is changing. Gone are the days of blogs with subtle sales pitches, or written purely for SEO purposes. Without giving any value away in content, the user will most likely skip over it entirely and move onto another piece that does.
What does this mean? Make your content valuable. Genuinely give away your insights, your tips and tricks. Be smart with how you create your content, and then use it. Posting to a blog once a month is not enough, especially when spending time on a genuinely valuable piece. So make it work for you – publish it to your blog, use it as a resource, shape it into infographics, post chunks of it on social, re-purpose it as part of a lead magnet, place it into your newsletters, turn it into a reel. There are many ways to keep using your content once it’s created, so make sure you have a plan in place to continue dazzling your audience with it!
Check out the Energise LinkedIn page to see how we do this with our own content. In fact, you’ll note that one of our recent blogs on outsourcing digital marketing spanned three social posts, one email and one infographic (see below)
Social – Get In Front of the Camera
The growth of social media platforms, particularly those that focus on video content, such as TikTok and Instagram Reels continues to explode in popularity. What does that mean for B2B? Well, video content is still important regardless of its platform, and we also have a sneaky suspicion that LinkedIn is working on building the ways in which you can share video content – so watch this space.
While we agree that video content is quite different for B2B organisations, it is still incredibly valuable. When you think of who you are (i.e. your brand), there’s no better way of displaying this than through the use of video – it captures your audience immediately.
Another great way for B2B to use video content is through the use of testimonials and case studies. It’s great social proof, and authentically shows prospective clients what they can expect, partnering with your organisation. And just like the tip on re-purposing blogs discussed above, you can have a long-form video that works for you across many different platforms by editing it into smaller videos too.
Digital Customer Experience – How Users Interact With Your Business
Otherwise known as DCX, a digital user experience is essentially the way in which prospective clients interact with you online. With the rise of e-commerce, mobile devices, and digital channels, clients expect to be able to access and interact with businesses through a variety of digital channels – and they expect the experience to be seamless and consistent across all of them.
A positive DCX can lead to increased client loyalty, conversions, and advocacy, while a poor DCX can result in lost conversions and negative word-of-mouth. In a highly competitive digital landscape, providing a great DCX can be a key differentiator for a business and a crucial way to stay ahead of the competition. Clients expect brands to provide them with a multi-channel (such as social, email, website) experience that is frictionless and consistent from channel to channel.
A good example of this is to ensure that your website is mobile responsive. A website that functions well on a desktop deserves that big tick, but if its not performing seamlessly on mobile you have a big issue. Take a look at your Google Analytics and check out the devices used by your website visitors – we guess that at least a third of them are on mobile. What does this mean? If your website’s mobile responsiveness isn’t up to scratch, you’re potentially losing 30% of prospective clients due to an inadequate digital customer experience.
Staying informed and up to date with digital marketing trends is essential for organisations to stay relevant and competitive in today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving digital landscape however this can sometimes feel overwhelming. Luckily, that’s what the team here at Energise are trained to do. We take the complexity out of it all, delivering pragmatic digital solutions suited to your business to increase sales, customer engagement and ultimately better ROI.
Get in touch today to discuss how we can help your organisation to deliver a customised, up-to-date digital experience in 2023 for your clients, prospects and more.
