Digital marketing for 2023

CONTENT MARKETING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

There is of course a lot of talk about ChatGPT, which was developed by the firm OpenAI . But this solution is not the only one, nor necessarily the best one. We are already seeing artificial intelligence applications create advertising campaigns, write content (example: Jarvis ) or even solve complex equations in various industries, from manufacturing to industry, including fashion and engineering.

Are you skeptical about artificial intelligence? It's normal. We are often promised THE next revolution. Let us think in particular of the metaverse, which is slow to take off. But the AI is already there. Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently declared that “  artificial intelligence will have more impact than fire and electricity on human civilization ”. Verbal swelling or true prognosis? We'll see.

AI at the service of content

Because there you have it, the real marketing trend for 2023 is that of content creation. However, more often than not, the main irritant mentioned by companies is the lack of time. When not the lack of resources. Whether it's updating the website, posting on social media or sending out newsletters, it's a job that requires time and some expertise.

To stand out from the competition or to promote our products and services, we know that a good content strategy must be deployed on the right platforms, those where our target customers are. However, it will be interesting to see if and how SMEs will make good use of artificial intelligence interfaces to generate content. And short-circuit several irritants that prevented you from being able to truly perform in the digital world!

DATA MARKETING – ESPECIALLY PRIMARY DATA!

Have you heard of the end of cookies ? We've been talking about it a lot since 2021, when Apple decided to crack down and stop tracking users in its platforms, on Safari or in iOS with iPhones. Google announced that it would do the same in 2022, to push everything back to 2023 and now to 2024. But what is it exactly?

Essentially, it is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to “track” a user across the various sites visited during an online session. Thanks to the cookie – a file placed by the browser on your computer when you surf the internet – we could retarget you with advertising. A very popular technique on social media, especially in the world of Meta (Facebook, Instagram and audience networks). It was data from third-party platforms, or third-party data in the language of Shakespeare!

With this retargeting becoming obsolete, marketing strategists will now want to focus on primary data, i.e. level zero or first level data (see table above).

I therefore expect to see companies put more emphasis than ever on data collection. Whether through loyalty or recognition programs, through contests or initiatives to get to know their customers better, SMEs that make this effort will see their efforts rewarded in the medium and long term. Because the collection of data, then its subsequent analysis, is a long-term exercise!

SEARCH MARKETING, FROM SEO TO SOCIAL SEARCH

Online research is also being disrupted these days. On the one hand, there is the phenomenon of Zero-Click Search which is gaining momentum – I told you about it in this article very recently. Thus, more and more users search on Google without necessarily going to your website. Almost one in two users, in fact!

For SMEs, this poses the challenge of ensuring a presence and dynamic management in their business profile on Google. Not to mention the third-party sites where your organization promotes its products and services, because we want to reach and convince the consumer where he is, which is not necessarily on your website.

That being said, you will want to continue working on the natural referencing (SEO) of your website so that it is as effective as possible, and as relevant as possible, vis-à-vis the requests made by users.

Research via social media

Then there is the rise of social search. Did you know that in 2021, TikTok was the platform that had the most traffic in the world, even more than Google? Even more, did you know that for 75% of Gen Z users (under the age of 25), TikTok is the place to learn about politics and social issues?

Social media are fabulous discoverability tools for your products and services, precisely via content marketing (see the first trend, mentioned above). But over the past two or three years, there has been a strong trend to enhance and improve the search experience – think in particular of the Explore functionality in Instagram.

Content published on social media is indexed by search engines, and we can now define the alt-image (descriptive text) of the visuals we use on Facebook, Instagram or Linkedin. In short, SEO also invites itself into social media, which was not the case a few years ago.

4. PRECEDENCE OF VIDEO FORMAT (SHORT)

I've been sharing the trends to watch in digital marketing for several years. And video invariably comes back as the preferred format, with the wind in the sails. It won't be different in 2023, except that the emphasis will be more than ever on short videos.

TikTok's influence is undeniable in this regard, with the 15-second format becoming the norm. We went to 60 seconds, then three minutes and now 10 minutes. But the fact remains: the shorter it is, the punchier it is and the more we meet the expectations of users whose attention span is getting shorter!

That being said, in 2023 I think we'll have to take a look at YouTube, with its YouTube Shorts . Launched in September 2020 during the pandemic, this platform now has more than 15 billion views PER DAY (in 2022). And since YouTube is part of the Google ecosystem, one can easily imagine the benefits of embedding content here, not only to get views but also to help your brand rank online.

And as TikTok remains in the crosshairs of American regulators, it is better not to put all your eggs in this basket, as interesting as it is.

HR MARKETING, AGAIN AND AGAIN

The last trend that we will have to look at is not a marketing trend in itself. Rather, it is a question of seeing how we can continue to use the principles of marketing, especially in the digital world, to contribute to the influence of the employer brand.

In a context where the labor shortage is set to continue, or even increase, companies must work on their strategies and tactics in order to integrate a “human resources” component into their online content. Because we not only want to attract new candidates, we also have to maintain the vital forces in place by means of publications emphasizing the values, mission and vision of the organization. This means putting your employees and other stakeholders first, recognizing successes and highlighting the advantages of a career with your company.

HR marketing is closely linked to an employer positioning approach which itself stems from an upstream reflection process. Your company will first have to analyze what makes it distinctive and unique, in order to then be able to communicate its attributes on the various online platforms: your website (with a career or jobs section), your newsletters and your social media presence.