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2023 must be a year of sharpened focus and planning. With the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainty, businesses need to plan now more than ever – and that’s where digital marketing comes in. With 4.62 billion people on social media users worldwide, companies must seize this opportunity to expand their reach online – or they risk falling behind in modern times.

Although the digital marketing landscape has always been in flux, this year sees some new trends emerging. To help your business gain clarity amidst uncertainty and move forward confidently, we will share some fresh digital marketing hacks.

Strategize a Media Plan That Is Inclusive For All Audiences

First, let’s define the meaning of inclusive marketing. Inclusive marketing recognizes the diversity of your audience. It embraces differences such as age, appearance, ethnicity, gender identity, language preferences/socio-economic status/religion or spirituality/and physicality, and cognitive ability. By acknowledging that all these different types of people interact with your content, you can deliver a more powerful message to each group.

The creative side of advertising has made significant strides in encompassing more inclusive representation over the past few years and is our first top digital marketing trend to highlight; however, this progress must also extend to media planning. Seeing and hearing people similar to oneself is important.

Brands must audit their media plan to ensure that the current mix of channels and publishers reaches the desired audience. It is also important to review any potential biases within keyword or topic exclusions.

Pro-Tip: Take positive steps with your business or brand to uplift and empower underrepresented voices and communities.

Advertise With an Objective in Mind

Consumers have grown mindful of sustainability and desire brands to assist them in making eco-friendly decisions easier. They anticipate businesses to create a profound difference and match their pledges with actions. We are seeing organizations shift from minimizing the environmental impact to embracing an essential mission. They become proactive by accentuating vital causes and inspiring people to action!

Pro-Tip: Brand marketers must be mindful to stay away from “purpose-washing” when they associate their advertising with a cause. This commitment must be genuine, sustained, and backed up by actions that are more than mere rhetoric.

Keep the Gen Z’s World in Mind

Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up fully connected to the internet and smartphones. Brands must approach this demographic differently than any other generation. Gen Zers are highly engaged online but can only gain interest if the content matches their values or current interests. They are quick to spot inauthentic messaging – so brands must be conscious of how they engage with them online.

Therefore, business owners must develop a “Gen Z-friendly” online presence to capture their attention. This means creating content with vibrant visuals, emotive language, and interactive elements. Gen Zers prefer mobile platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat over traditional forms of communication like television or newspaper ads.

Pro-Tip: Make sure to emphasize understanding their unmet needs, providing relevant and genuine content over one-size-fits-all tactics, and welcoming the varied landscape of visuals they live in.

Unlock a New World With Augmented Reality Experiences

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that superimposes computer-generated images and data onto real-world environments. It has already been used in retail for customers to visualize products in 3D, but its potential goes beyond providing digital information about an item. AR can help create unique, interactive experiences for users, something that can be a powerful marketing tool for businesses.

By integrating AR into the customer journey, brands can deepen customer relationships and increase engagement. This could include anything from interactive games or product demos to location-based experiences that shift depending on where the user is. By 2023, brands should have thought about using Augmented Reality to create memorable customer experiences and add value to online shopping.

Pro-Tip: Leverage the power of AI and machine learning to take AR to the next level. For example, you can use AI to study customer behavior and create more personalized AR experiences tailored to each user.

Take Advantage of Bite-Sized, Condensed Videos

People today prefer consuming content in shorter, more streamlined formats. This preference is expanding as viewers smoothly switch between screens and video lengths, each with their own requirements and expectations. 

Many creators have found success in creating shorter-form, bite-sized content that meets the needs of their viewers. YouTube Shorts now has an impressive 1.5 billion monthly active users and is racking up a whopping 30+ billion daily views – giving advertisers a huge opportunity to make waves on this platform. It is important to highlight the leader of this format, TikTok, which has the 30. 25% of the worldwide users. Companies should take advantage of this when creating content and ads.

Due to the short-form nature of these videos, it’s important to jump straight into the action without setting up a premise or establishing a storyline with extra context. Top creators have developed ways to successfully provide viewers with the information they require in only 10 to 60 seconds; it is now up to marketers to use storytelling best practices to develop engaging content for their audience.

Pro-Tip: Leverage influencers specializing in bite-sized videos and build authentic relationships with them to create content with high levels of engagement. You can also use social listening tools to track trends and gain insights into what your audience wants to see.

Takeaways

Gen Zers are highly engaged online, and brands must be conscious of how they engage with them. Augmented Reality can help create unique user experiences, while bite-sized videos such as TikToks, Reels, and Youtube Shorts give advertisers a great opportunity to grab their attention quickly. Business owners should emphasize understanding the unmet needs of Gen Zers and creating relevant, genuine content that speaks to their interests. 

By understanding these digital marketing hacks, brands can maximize their reach among this generation and maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace. To learn more about future digital marketing trends and tips, make sure you subscribe to our blog!