Ever since their first day in the mainstream consciousness, it was very clear to everyone that the rise of online communication channels and social media will completely change how we market our brands to the audience. And keeping in mind that an average user spends six hours and 58 minutes (nearly all waking hours) online across some of the various devices, we can safely say that these expectations were met.
What no one could predict, however, is the pace at which the major disruptive digital trends will keep coming and the unexpected directions where these developments will lead us.
So, we, once again, found ourselves at the end of the year, rightfully asking what 2023 has in store in terms of digital tech and marketing strategies. Well, let us try to find out.
Expansion of continued connectivity
So, we have seen that consumers spend most of their waking hours using the web at least in some form or capacity. Well, this simple fact completely changes customer demands since people came to expect that their opinions, complaints, and demands can be sent 24/7 and answers received with as little delay as possible. Thanks to the development of AI, machine learning, but also IoT which drastically expands communication these things are now possible. All these ideas are culminating in chatbots that are becoming increasingly capable of handling more complex client interactions.
Augmented and virtual reality becoming a thing
Augmented and virtual reality have tremendous potential in making the retail experience far more immersive, fun, engaging, and informative. And in situations when on-site retail capacities are not available, these resources present the closest thing you get to genuine real-life purchases. Well, the global pandemic we had to deal with the last couple of years proved that such solutions are all but necessary while the certain AR-powered game where you catch small pocket monsters proved this can be pulled off on a wider scale. The next year could be the year when all these blocs will fall into place.
SEO undergoing transformation
Search engine optimization was and always will be one of the main pillars of the digital marketing sector. Well, at least as long as people keep using search engines to get around. The tectonic shifts in the tech and communication landscape will inevitably change the focus of these industries. Therefore, an experienced social media agency will, as time goes by, need to start putting far less focus on pure content-based SEO and take into consideration a wider set of parameters like technical SEO, local SEO, and voice search. All these smart speakers and Alexa-powered devices need something to work with.
Personalization of the customer experience
Personalization is one of the key components of marketing, no matter whether digital or traditional. Speaking in cold numbers, 66% of clients expect companies to understand their unique needs and offer some sort of personalized content, while 90% of marketers claim personalization contributes to the profitability of their companies. And keeping in mind the resources like AR, machine learning, and AI, the opportunities for understanding clients' needs and wishes (even when they are not aware of them) and catering to these needs through personalized offers will only keep multiplying as time goes by.
Integrated marketing communications
Strong brands are built on consistency. Consumers have become very apt at noticing any small discrepancies which they see as a sign of unreliable companies. The solution to these problems can be found in closer channel integration which keeps all the advertising platforms and messages more focused on the same guiding principles. It is good to know then that the present-day tech landscape is growing incredibly capable of dealing with these demands. And not only that, we are seeing more fully customized IMC tools that allow individual brands to tackle these issues with optimal efficiency.
The rise of zero-party data
As of lately, our society became very concerned with issues of online privacy and willing participation in data sharing. We might add, with a good reason, too. But the modern digital marketing landscape is incredibly reliant on big data and third-party data collection vendors. How will we feed the global marketing machine if all these things go away? The answer lies in taking a more proactive approach to collecting zero-party data. Therefore, expect to see all brands relying far more heavily on surveys, polls, focus groups, quizzes, and all other activities that help them uncover more info about their clients.
Holographic advertisements
Yeah, we know this sounds very out there and Blade Runner-esque but the world always had a good way of emulating the great works of sci-fi. The holographic advertisements are not an exception and we will not have to wait for dystopian 2049 to start seeing them around. As a matter of fact, popular tech brands like Samsung and Intel have been demonstrating fully capable holographic tech ever since 2017. But, just like any other technology going through growing pains and slightly ahead of its time this one will need to mature into the mainstream as well. However, we will not have to wait very long for that to happen.
So, there you have it – the top seven most promising new tech trends and the ways they will shape the digital marketing arena in 2023 and beyond. As we can see, this sector is blowing through the roof and becoming incredibly exciting if slightly too wild and unpredictable. On the one hand, that will pose a genuine problem for pundits and analysts trying to predict where marketing will keep moving in years to come. On the other, this creative chaos will bear countless exciting marketing solutions that will benefit all parties involved in the process.