Consumer behavior, expectations, desires and needs that change from year to year are the top points on the list of challenges that must be faced by business people. Increasingly fierce competition is also written on the list. However, every challenge can definitely be overcome.
Not only with good products, a brand must present relevance, innovation, and updates from the various business strategies implemented. One of them is in the marketing strategy, which is also a factor driving the success of a business.
What is the biggest trend in digital marketing?
In order to be able to present marketing activities that are fresh and useful for target customers, business people should monitor marketing trends that are on the rise every year. Here are some marketing trends that you can look at to initiate your business strategy.
1. Expand Video Formats
The growth of the TikTok and Instagram Reels platforms coupled with the YouTube Short feature which continues to increase makes social media dominated by video content in 2022. This is apparently still continuing and is predicted to increase in 2023. In accordance with Adelie Studios' statement, 88% of internet users spend their time to watch videos.
To stay relevant to the audience, being present on platforms that are widely used by target customers and using trending formats is a must for business people. Another positive impact is that the business will still exist, and can increase sales conversions. Reporting from Hubspot, the use of video is proven to increase or maintain investment for 90% of businesses.
So, it's a good idea to start looking for inspiration and determine the right strategy for producing video content for your business. You can start by creating content that tells your business journey on social media, considering that currently popular video formats are used for story telling content.
2. Live Streaming Becomes Favorite For Online Shopping
Even though online shopping has become a habit of today's society, it cannot be denied that there are still gaps that can be filled, namely regarding buyers' doubts about product quality because they cannot touch them directly.
Live streaming is a trending online selling method that is able to fill this gap. The research results of the Ipsos SEA Study 2021 state that 69% of consumers in Southeast Asia access live streaming and as many as 66% make transactions. The use of this method will continue to increase in 2022.
According to Data.ai, consumers spend around 548 billion hours streaming via mobile devices. Based on this data, it can be concluded that live streaming is still an idol for consumers and will continue to be a marketing trend that you can apply in 2023.
3. Implement Influencer Marketing
Reporting from the Influencer Marketing Hub, influencers or Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) can make 79% of consumers look for more information about a brand, drive 65% to visit the brand's website, and generate conversions to purchases of 40%.
This proves that influencer marketing plays an important role in influencing the value of Return on Investment (ROI) and customer purchasing decisions, and is effective for increasing brand awareness through their influence on their audience.
Based on these results, it is stated that influencer marketing is still an effective strategy in 2023. This trend must certainly be utilized by business people. If you are afraid that the budget spent is too expensive, then you can start by using nano and micro-influencers. Make sure the influencer audience used is in accordance with your business niche, okay!
4. Take advantage of Social Media As E-Commerce
Based on Datareportal, there are 191 million social media users in Indonesia in 2022. This number will certainly continue to grow every year. Referring to data, as well as consumer behavior that tends to want convenience and simplicity, the use of social media as e-commerce or what can be called social commerce is a trend that needs to be considered in 2023.
The Populix survey results revealed that 86% of respondents had shopped through social commerce. The platforms used are TikTok Shop (45%), Whatsapp (21%), Facebook Shop (10%), and Instagram Shopping (10%).
The majority of TikTok Shop users are women aged 18-25 years, while Instagram Shopping is dominated by upper SES consumers, and Whatsapp is widely used by the senior generation. Therefore, you can apply this strategy on various platforms or by choosing a platform that suits your target market.
Not only can you put a product catalog on the available marketplaces, you can also use the "tagging" feature which makes it possible to include your selling products in every content you create. That way, the customer journey process from getting to know your product to making purchases can be faster.
5. Required to Create Content Routinely
Yep! Content is still the "king" in the world of marketing. However, now is no longer the era of content only about products. You also need to focus on how to market your product by responding to customer concerns and needs, as well as producing content that relates to your audience. In 2023, you have to start "humanizing" your brand and creating content that describes your brand values.
In addition, user generated content (UGC) is also a trend in 2023. This type of content can be in the form of product reviews, testimonials, or photos with products, which can be done through challenges or affiliate marketing. Not only for business to customer (B2C) businesses, content is also still a hot trend in 2023 for business to business (B2B) businesses. However, the contents of the content presented are certainly different.
Apart from insightful content, content that is popular for B2B businesses is curated content or content that comes from outside the brand that is shared back on your social media. This content can be in the form of news from related industries, press releases, the latest research, in-depth features, to podcasts.
6. Hybrid Events and CSR
After the pandemic situation is under control and able to be overcome, it is predicted that offline events will revive again in 2023. Even so, the behavior of people who are used to doing activities online during the pandemic cannot be abandoned. Therefore, hybrid events are considered to be the right strategy to meet these two needs and will become a trend in 2023.
The events held are of course not only related to product introduction, you can also start initiating social activities or what is commonly known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Types of CSR activities range from education, healthy environmental programs, and others. This can attract customer sympathy and will affect the formation of your business image.
One thing that should not be forgotten besides paying attention to trends is consumer behavior that likes "instant gratification" or pleasure that can be obtained instantly. Reporting from Ecommerce Fastlane, consumers tend to want to get what they want instantly and quickly, especially when shopping online.
7. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology used in digital marketing, for example to study consumer search patterns, analyze marketing types and targets, create and distribute content and draw conclusions based on the data obtained. You can try several AI platforms such as HubSpot, Google Cloud AI, or Acquisio Turing, in your digital marketing strategy.
8. Using Metaverse
Metaverse is a virtual reality world where people who have accounts on platforms that are members of the metaverse can experience virtual experiences. Not only can you enter and see, but you can also touch, feel and buy digital goods.
The Asia Marketing Federation (AMF) believes that the metaverse is the successor to the mobile internet. Metaverse provides consumers with experiences in a virtual world without limits of place and time. That way, customers can experience unique experiences virtually from their favorite brands. In fact, businesses and brands can also release new products in the form of NFTs that their customers can collect or own.
9. Video Marketing
One of the popular 2022 digital marketing trends is video content, which can market products more effectively. Humans are basically visual creatures who find it easier to process data visually.
Video content is becoming popular because it is more interesting and interactive than reading written/static content. And video content is a strategic way to reach consumers on social media such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. This is why the video platform TikTok is so booming.
10. Content Marketing
Burning money for marketing campaigns of up to billions of rupiah and advertising on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google Ads or other media platforms will not necessarily produce targeted revenue. How come? Because it all comes back to content!
If the advertised content is boring and does not create emotional triggers for our audience, then we will make money in vain. So, make sure the content we produce is in line with our ideal buyer.
Conclusion
Digital Marketing is an effective way that can provide promising results, but this depends on the strategy and efforts made by each person. By studying and exploring digital marketing trends, you can find out what and what strategies are right for the products you have.
Those are some digital marketing trends that you should try. Next year will be full of challenges and opportunities to develop your startup even further. In order to continue to compete in this increasingly dynamic digital era, apply a strategic approach to digital marketing, optimize tactics and strategies, and choose technology that suits your business goals.