How to Keep Up with Marketing Trends
Digital Marketing Trends
1. As we enter the third year of the pandemic, web events will continue, but companies are projected to invest less. In 2021, 51% of marketers were investing in virtual events. However, 17% of these plan to decrease investments this year.
2. Inbound marketing is here to stay. Inbound marketing focuses on creating content that answers your audience's questions and solves their problems. It is less intrusive than pop up ads and educates them on issues that matter to them, providing content that they want to read.
3. More companies will try account-based marketing. Account-based marketing targets specific companies and professionals with certain job titles to ensure you deliver your messages to the audiences who matter most to your business. This can help you avoid wasting money targeting individuals who will never become customers.
Digital Display Advertising Trends
4. Video is running short. From six-second YouTube ads to the popularity of Tik Tok, brands have more options than ever to put short (less than 2.5 minutes) videos in front of their target audiences. This benefits brands by not producing content that audiences don't watch – after one minute, 45% of viewers stop watching videos. It also benefits your target audience as they can get answers to their questions and an introduction to your brand quickly, without extensive time investment.
5. Native ads that blend in will become more popular. Consumers view native ads over 50% more than banner ads. Example of native ads:
These ads look similar to posts within the platform and they can catch an audience's attention quickly because they don't look as ad-like.
6. Influencer marketing is likely to continue gaining prominence. For those in niche industries, microinfluencers may be a more cost-effective bet. In a HubSpot study, influencer marketing was the most popular digital marketing trend with the biggest ROI. This is significant because nearly nine out of ten consumers read reviews before purchasing.
CRM Marketing Trends
7. A B2B company of one is big enough for a customer relationship management tool (CRM). If you have customer data to track or need to nurture leads, you can benefit from a CRM. A CRM such as HubSpot allows you to integrate data and view a lead from first touchpoint to conversion.
8. CRMs will be increasingly used by all teams, not just customer-facing ones. Marketers can use CRMs to understand the contacts in their pipeline, see how they interact with your brand and monitor how calls-to-action convert. You should connect your CRM to every other part of a business. You can link your email workflows, social accounts and website, which helps you better analyze your marketing efforts, determine their effectiveness and reach your goals.
Social Media Marketing Trends
9. There's a shift away from ephemeral content. Ephemeral content, such as Instagram and Facebook stories, quickly disappears. These posts are the opposite of evergreen content, and many companies are finding it not worth the investment into creating multimedia content for it to simply vanish.
10. Tik Tok has proven its popularity. Video is popular on all platforms, and younger audiences are especially active on Tik Tok.
11. Showcasing social responsibility and a commitment to ESG is becoming increasingly important. Research shows that customers support brands that demonstrated values that match theirs and who treat their customers and employees well.
12. Brands are choosing to focus on three to five social platforms. It's impossible to be all things to all people, and many platforms might not reach your target audiences or showcase your offerings well. B2B brands may want to focus their social media marketing strategies on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram – shown to have the highest ROI for B2B businesses.
Enter 2023 With a Partner at Your Side
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