Digital Marketing has come a long way. The pandemic basically accelerated everything to becoming digital. Whether you’re a small or an already established business, adapting to Digital Marketing changes is always significant for your survivability. That’s why it’s important to know the latest trends and position your goals and objectives as early as now.
The Rise of AI in Content and Search
Artificial intelligence is not new. Apple’s Siri has been with us for more than a decade now. Recently though, artificial intelligence is making headlines yet again for answering inquiries with accuracy. ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by OpenAI in November 2022. The community has been abuzz ever since and there is a lot of talk over the future of content created by humans vs that of AI and how it will affect the overall search experience of users.
Experts in the field say that AI will be a big part of 2023 for its further development. Google issued a code red a month after the launch of ChatGPT with them realizing the threat of such technology. Google and Microsoft are also planning to launch their own Artificial Intelligence this year, and this is more reason for you to adapt and maximize the use of this technology.
Google Helpful Content Update
Google launched its helpful content update in the middle of last year which has ever since affected some websites. According to Google, this update incentivizes content that is written for humans instead of for the algorithm. This is in line with what they kept on reiterating that websites’ contents should focus on answering relevant questions instead of ranking in the SERP.
This pretty much changes the overall strategy. The challenge for marketers and SEO Specialists is now to write content for humans but optimized to rank in SERP.
Advertising
Pay-per-click advertising is still the most popular advertising technique for 2023. Google is still the most popular search engine, with 92% of the market share, so it’s a no-brainer to have your products and services advertised on their platform. For 2023 though, it’s not gonna hurt to take a look at Google Shopping and try to experiment with it, especially if you’re a retail business.
Mobile Optimization will still take the lead. The hard fact is, your website should be mobile optimized, or else you’re not ranking for any competitive keywords. Google has repeatedly reiterated that optimizing your website into a mobile friendly one is one of their ranking factors. This means that even if you get to rank through advertising on your target keywords, you will have a high bounce rate because people like a smooth customer journey and your target audience is most likely navigating your website on their mobile device.
Lastly, advertising on app stores, when done correctly, is profitable as well as awareness to your app. The mobile app industry generated $421 billion worldwide in 2022. Apple’s App Store, for example, connects 600 million people weekly and lets you try a campaign for $100 for free, with the iPhone still leading the most used product. The Google Play Store, on the other hand, has 111 billion app downloads in 2021.
Reels
TikTok has exploded in popularity ever since it came out. Its main selling point is that it allows users to create their own content with the help of its own editing features and share it with their followers. These videos are usually less than 1 minute long and are very addictive. It also maximizes the full space of modern smartphones with vertical videos.
TikTok is not new for Marketers. Many companies and businesses have already adapted their strategies since the pandemic started and uploaded content on TikTok already. But other social media platforms are following TikTok’s steps. Meta has implemented its own short videos via Instagram Reels, which was highly criticized. Facebook now suggests reels every now and then on your timeline when you keep on scrolling. Google also has YouTube Shorts for creators to use.
The good news is that these are all vertical short videos, so if you created one for a specific platform, you can also upload the said content to other ones. If you’re not maximizing this, then you’re missing out on a lot of potential eye views and engagement.
The most popular types of video content are funny or humorous, interactive, and behind-the-scenes.
Nano Influencers
Influencers are already affecting how Marketers prepare their strategies. Gone are the days when advertisers got the most famous celebrities to promote their products. Nowadays, the battlefield is in social media, with billions of users every day. This is where these influencers thrive, and you as a Marketer should be able to learn how to work with them.
In 2023, nano influencers will be the next big thing. These influencers are defined as having low-count followers, ranging from only 100 – 10,000. You might think you’d rather spend your budget on an influencer with a much higher follower count, but Nano Influencers have their own advantages:
- More engagement – Nano influencers are more engaged with their followers and will likely respond to comments and inquiries about the product they are promoting. Their followers trust them more and have a rather more personal relationship.
- Specific Audience – When you promote your products with Nano Influencers, you’re targeting a very specific audience. With the right strategy and product placement, these eye views and engagement will most likely lead to a sale compared to a more broad and general audience.
- Cheaper – They are cheaper compared to celebrity influencers. This allows small businesses to compete so strategically budgeting and choosing the right Nano influencer that will reach your target audience is crucial.
Content Writing
According to Brian Dean, CEO of Exploding Topics, the following are his tips to further improve your content in terms of writing it:
- Skipping commas and using periods
According to him, it is much better for writers to deliver the message they’re trying to send by not stuffing two ideas into one sentence. Using periods as much as possible will help with this.
- Specific > General when it comes to wording
Readers will likely click on your title and read the article if you use specific wordings. An example of this is “Be more productive by doing the Pomodoro Technique” which is better than “Productivity techniques you can try”.
- Optimize for skimmers
The reality is that people online don’t read; they skim. People nowadays have low attention spans and when they search for information or answers, most of the time they are looking for specific words. That’s why it’s important that your article has (1) a lot of subheadings; (2) short paragraphs; and (3) bold, important words. It will also not hurt to have a key takeaway section at the end of your article.
Google Analytics 4
Universal Analytics (UA) will be sunsetted by Google in July 2023. Google Analytics 4 will be the one to replace it, and Google gave users enough time to transition everything to this new tool. That’s why Google Analytics 4 is not only optional but a mandatory part of 2023 when it comes to Digital Marketing. You’re definitely losing a lot of valuable data and insights if you’re not using Google Analytics 4.
Google Analytics 4 can now cross-domain track a wide range of data and events relevant to your Marketing needs. This is especially useful if you have an app and a website that you want to track at the same time and combine or compare data. It also has a user journey report that you can use for your decision-making in terms of getting to know your target audience, among others.
Start your training here: Google Analytics 4 Training Guide
