Digital Marketing Strategies for 2023

 

The digital world is continually evolving and expanding. Decades ago, your business could get by with a simple website and some PPC ads. Now, potential customers expect to engage with brands via email, social media, search, and apps.

What makes this more challenging is that consumers expect customized, immersive experiences. Their attention spans are also shorter than ever.

With so many channels and messages to coordinate, you may be wondering how to strategize your digital marketing best. The key is approaching each platform and campaign as an opportunity to provide value. Here’s how you can leverage your brand reputation and draw meaningful engagement across channels in 2023.

 

Create Helpful Content

 

Today’s consumers like to feel in charge, especially during these difficult times. They’ve become accustomed to researching products or solutions, connecting with others online, and customizing their buying experience.

By providing value through helpful content, you can (a) attract people who are primed to buy or inquire and (b) boost your brand reputation, digitally and otherwise.

On August 18, 2022, Google announced its algorithm’s Helpful Content update. Sites with a lot of low-quality content will likely drop in search engine rankings. These include blogs or pages meant to target certain keywords without providing value.

By the same token, sites with people-first, value-driven content are more likely to rank higher. Now is the time to begin planning and publishing blogs, articles, how-to pages, and other material that provides helpful information.

It’s also worth noting that part of being “helpful” is the ability to show up on any device. Voice search is on the rise as more people use apps or smart-home speakers to ask questions. When planning or crafting your content, be sure to optimize for voice search:

• Include common questions in your titles and/or headers. You can use a tool such as AnswerthePublic to generate a list of ideas.
• Create content pieces that reflect your target audience’s key interests and pain points.
• Use schema markup and a clear heading structure so bots can easily identify each piece of information on the page.
  

⠀

And don’t forget email marketing! Personalized, info-rich newsletters and goodies impact more than generic sales emails.

 

Grow Your Word-of-Mouth on Social

 

Social media marketing has been tricky for many businesses. After all, people want to connect with their friends, not salespeople. However, the tide is changing, and many consumers actively seek out brands on social media. They’re also using social networks to find product recommendations or reviews.

Thus, it’s critical to have a presence on social networks where your ideal customers spend time. Rather than posting nonstop promotions, join the community around key interests or pain points. Create value-driven posts and reshare relevant content.

For example, if you’re an outdoor sports retailer, you could post videos of people kayaking, tweet an article about the best hiking trails, and so on. People who enjoy your content are more likely to scope out your website — and potentially make a purchase. They may also share your posts, exposing new people to your brand.

You can further grow your following by encouraging customers to engage with you on social. That’s an excellent way to gain testimonials, boost your discoverability, and even get photos or videos you can share on your page.

Here are some ideas for your social media marketing strategy:

• Invite customers to take a photo of your product and tag you on social media.
• Run a contest where people post on a topic or theme relevant to your industry.

 

Influencer marketing is also on the rise. While today’s consumers want meaningful connections with brands, they’re often skeptical. To gain their confidence and extend your reach, partner with an influencer who’s already earned the trust of your target audience. They can feature your product in a video, demonstrate its benefits, and advocate for your brand.

Influencer marketing can be expensive, so ensure your partnership is a good fit. Look for strong alignment between your ideal customers and their follower base. The influencer post should dovetail with both their key messaging and your campaign.

 

Build Personalized Campaigns

 

Already, digital marketers have been shifting away from “email blasts” and other outbound, impersonal campaigns. But as consumers’ lives are increasingly digitized, they expect a personalized experience wherever they go.

That’s unfortunately about to become more complex as data privacy regulations restrict marketers’ ability to collect consumer data. The wave of cookie notices on websites was just the beginning. In 2023, Google Chrome will stop using third-party cookies, which have long been a user data source.

That simply means it’s time to shift to first-party data, such as remembering previous website visitors. Or better yet, marketers can collect zero-party data by inviting people to opt into brand communications. This also lets you categorize and nurture leads with greater personalization.

From there, you can deliver customized product recommendations, follow-ups, special offers, and other campaigns that are more likely to resonate with consumers, as opposed to the “spray and pray” approach. You can run paid advertising campaigns on social media that build upon users’ previous engagement with your page.

Especially as data-privacy regulations become stricter, sending marketing messages with the full consent of your prospects will become vital.

 

Create a Cross-Channel, Value-Driven Marketing Plan

 

Once you’ve identified your key tactics, decide how they will interact with each other. Today’s most effective digital marketing campaigns connect with people across channels. To give consumers the personalized experience they want, you’ll need a comprehensive view of their past actions and interests. That means drawing data from multiple touchpoints and crafting a consistent brand experience.

Thus, aligning your campaigns and building conduits among your various channels is critical. Otherwise, people may receive very different messages from your email marketing than your socials. Inconsistent experiences destroy consumers’ trust in your brand.

Then, set clear goals for each aspect of the strategy. Just as you’re gathering data on your prospects, you need reliable data on your campaigns, social following, etc.

How will you measure your success?

Which messages resonate best?

Are they any channels or topics that make a greater impact? Any that could be dropped without hurting your growth?

Make your goals specific and data-driven, gather the numbers you need to track your progress — and tweak your campaigns as necessary! Consumers are anything but static, so your marketing plan must grow and evolve as they do.

 

Conclusion: 2023 is the Year to Plan for Growth

 

With the current trends and shifts in our digital world, now is the moment to position your brand for a people-first, high-value experience. If you play your cards right, you’ll be poised for sustainable growth. Take the time to develop marketing plans that prioritize your ideal customers. The new emphasis on data privacy and integrated experiences may require you to adopt some new tools — or even break out of your internal silos. However, the payoff should be well worth the investment.

Need help with your 2023 marketing strategy?

Contact us to see how we can help you level up your marketing strategy.