As customer behavior evolves, businesses of all sizes are adjusting their marketing methods.
Marketers are flocking to social media, but which platforms will be the most useful in the future years?
And where will customers go to learn about new brands?
Continue reading to learn more about 12 marketing trends that will disrupt the industry in the next years.
1. Businesses Make Use of TikTok
In the last five years, searches for “TikTok” have climbed by 9,500%.
Social media continues to play an important part in business marketing strategies.
More than 90% of US businesses spend money on social media marketing.
According to industry estimates, total social media marketing spending will exceed $56 billion by 2022.
Despite having a household name, TikTok is currently one of the most underutilized social sites.
According to statistics, only 4% of social media marketers are currently using the platform.
Many people dismiss TikTok as a platform for Generation Z or are unclear how to market their brand with the seemingly meaningless stuff that makes up a TikTok video.
In the coming months, expect experts to recommend that corporations prioritize TikTok based only on “the sheer number of active users on the platform.”
It has over 1 billion users globally and is one of the fastest-growing social platforms.
TikTok’s user base is still expanding rapidly.
TikTok also has extremely high levels of user engagement.
The average time spent each month on the platform increased by 415 minutes between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the end of the first quarter of 2020.
Recent developments indicate that TikTok is focusing on businesses and their marketing needs.
They didn’t even begin testing sponsored ads until early 2019, but they will provide a self-serve ad platform for businesses in July 2020.
In the last five years, searches for “TikTok ads” have surged by 9,800%.
They released Business Creative Hub in late April 2021, which highlights current material connected to the business user’s brand.
To get the most of TikTok commercials, look for huge, national businesses.
The platform’s “promoted hashtag challenge” advertising costs $150k, which is out of most small and medium-sized enterprises’ budgets.
Nonetheless, experts agree that any business has a possibility of going viral if they create the correct content or employ user-generated material.
Until January 2021, Grammarly, the online grammar checker, remained relatively idle on the platform.
A college student made a dance video utilizing the audio from one of the company’s YouTube adverts, and the company noticed a 481% increase in TikTok followers.
Texas Beeworks is a one-woman show, but her company has also gone viral.
Texas Beeworks is an example of a small business that has effectively employed TikTok.
When her business slowed due to the pandemic, founder Erika Thompson began filming more TikTok videos.
She now has almost 11 million followers.
2. Personalized Marketing with AI
Today’s marketing methods involve more data than ever before.
Many businesses are leveraging that data to create more tailored interactions between their brand and their target audience.
In fact, 80% of consumers are more inclined to purchase if the customer experience is personalized.
Over 36% of consumers prefer a more personalized purchasing experience, yet “data debt” is an issue.
And it appears that consumers are not lacking in trust.
According to one study, 90% of buyers are willing to disclose personal information in exchange for a cheaper or easier shopping experience.
On their website, Crate and Barrel offers a “view in my room” feature, which is an example of personalisation.
cb2-augmented-reality-furniture-min.png
View my space employs basic augmented reality technology to mimic how furniture would appear in a customer’s room.
Customers can scan a QR code to witness a piece of furniture come to life in their own house thanks to augmented reality.
Netflix is always pushing the boundaries of customization.
The company’s “recommended” algorithm is so accurate that it accounts for 80% of viewing options, with the remaining 20% coming from a subscriber’s search.
Netflix is one of many businesses that use artificial intelligence and big data to give highly personalized recommendations.
While there are numerous ways to personalize digital marketing efforts, just 10% of organizations apply any additional personalisation strategies.
According to McKinsey, a worldwide consulting group, “offline person-to-person experiences will be the next horizon for personalization.”
They believe that enhanced analytics and AI-enabled tools will drive the transformation.
Despite the fact that the full impact of AI-driven personalisation has yet to be realized, organizations that use the marketing strategy are having a significant influence.
According to the Rise of Personalized Commerce survey, 70% of organizations that adopted AI personalization saw a 200% ROI.
3. Instagram’s news features are driven by e-commerce.
In the last decade, searches for “Instagram shopping” have climbed by 186%.
Chris Messina, the creator of the hashtag, was recently cited as saying, “Instagram is set on colonizing the bleeding edge of where commerce is going.”
The platform has introduced various new e-commerce services, and the app continues to attract a large audience – a win-win situation for marketers in 2021 and beyond.
Instagram added more subscribers than any other social platform between July and September 2020.
There were around 1.28 billion active users as of May 2022.
According to experts, the platforms’ audience will continue to increase at a rate that exceeds pre-pandemic growth rates.
instagram-users-min.pngeMarketer’s prediction for global Instagram users shows the platform growing steadily.
Instagram’s millions of users are doing more than just sharing photographs with their friends.
According to one significant research, 36% of users follow brands and companies on the app.
According to Instagram, more than 200 million people view at least one business profile daily.
hootsuite-instagram-statistics-min.png
According to internal Instagram data, users connect with companies on the site on a regular basis.
Instagram has evolved into a one-stop shop for digital marketing in many ways.
Businesses can use the app to get followers, establish their brands, and sell their products.
In the words of one marketing firm, “[Instagram keeps] making it easier for brands to attract new audiences and move existing consumers down the sales funnel, all within one platform” .
This purchase method is used in a variety of ways, making it easier than ever for marketers to convert followers into sales.
Users can shop on Instagram through reels, live broadcasts, posts, and stories, as well as through a store link in a company’ bio.
Of course, most marketers use Instagram ads as well.
In the last five years, Google searches for “Instagram ads” have climbed by 75%.
According to one report, 29% of firms spend the majority of their social ad expenditure on Instagram.
More than 20% of respondents indicated Instagram has the highest ROAS.
According to projections, US firms would spend a total of $33.25 billion on Instagram ads by the end of 2022.
This represents a significant increase from $17.4 billion in 2020.
4. An Influencer for Every Company
Despite a recent decline in “influencer marketing” searches, the word has risen over the last decade.
Influencer marketing is projected to be a viable marketing tactic for businesses of all sizes in 2023 and beyond, from mega-influencers with a million followers to nano-influencers with only a thousand followers.
(This is especially true in B2C)
According to Mediakix, the influencer marketing sector will be worth $15 billion by 2022.
For context, that’s nearly quadruple what the industry was worth in 2019.
The high ROI of influencer marketing makes it an excellent alternative for many businesses.
According to one survey, 48% of marketers believe influencer marketing offers a better or significantly greater ROI than other marketing platforms.
According to another poll, influencer marketing generates $5.20 in value for every dollar spent.
Mega-influencers have recently helped large corporations achieve success.
For example, Dunkin’ Donuts’ collaboration with TikTok influencer Charli D’Amelio reportedly resulted in a 20% boost in cold brew sales and a 57% rise in app downloads.
Dukin’ recently teamed with multiple micro-influencers, demonstrating that organizations employing this marketing strategy employ a variety of influencers for a variety of goals.
Dunkin’ Donuts’ Instagram campaign reached over 1 million individuals and had a 5.2% interaction rate.
Over the previous decade, searches for “micro influencers” have increased 2,800%.
Given the recent social and political upheaval, marketing professionals anticipate a greater emphasis on authentic influencers in the coming years.
5. Marketers Value User-Generated Content
Over the last decade, search engine interest in “user generated content” has increased by 335%.
The emergence of user-generated content (UGC) is an important development that has accompanied the desire for authenticity on social media.
According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, 96% of consumers do not trust advertisements.
However, according to a recent survey, 93% of marketers believe that consumers trust content provided by actual people.
Several businesses, particularly in the early days of the epidemic, blended advertisements and UGC to produce excellent results.
Wayfair produced the hashtag #WayfairAtHome, which already has over 56,000 posts, while Buffalo Wild Wings created an ad showcasing its customers indulging in made-up sports.
Searches for “Wayfair” increased dramatically in the early months of the pandemic and have increased 120% in the last decade.
UGC may also be used by brands to support social causes and enhance engagement with their social following.
Aerie developed the #aeriereal hashtag to encourage their consumers to upload uncensored photos of themselves on Instagram.
The corporation donates $1 for every share to the National Eating Disorders Association.
6. Marketers Invest Vastly in Video
The term “video marketing” has grown in popularity during the previous decade.
According to HubSpot, video marketing is “one of, if not the, most important marketing trend today and for the next 5-10 years.”
You don’t need to look any further than YouTube to see video’s dominance.
According to the platform, more than 500 hours of content are posted every minute.
Since 2019, the percentage of businesses using video marketing has remained largely stable.
Visualization of the State of Video Marketing Survey (2021).
However, the pandemic has cemented video’s place in digital marketing and increased consumer engagement with video content.
According to Wyzowl, 91% of marketers believe video is more important for organizations in light of the epidemic.
And approximately 70% of customers think the pandemic has reduced the number of videos they watch.
The statistics on social media video content are really convincing.
According to SEMrush, posts with no video content receive 92% less traffic and 24% fewer shares than those with at least one video.
In one study of 500 marketers, 93% reported gaining a new customer as a result of a social media video post.
However, there is a sweet spot in video marketing.
According to data, short videos are the most popular, yet the definition of “short” is shrinking every year.
The average length in 2017 was 6.07 minutes. It was 4.07 minutes in 2018.
Marketing videos should be no longer than 2 minutes in length, according to industry standards.
Companies like Vidyard assist businesses that want to take their video marketing to the next level.
In the last five years, searches for “Vidyard” have increased 124%.
Companies can use this platform to tailor their material so that the individual names of their customers appear in videos.
Marketers should strive to generate on-brand and entertaining video content for their audience, from their homepage to their commercials, educational content, and social pages.
7. Visual Search is fueled by consumer demand.
Search interest in “Google lens” has steadily increased over the last five years, gaining 1,329%.
Since the late 2010s, users have been able to begin an internet search using real-world photographs captured by their smartphone’s camera.
Their search connects them to comparable photographs or gives them with helpful information thanks to AI.
Incorporating visual search into marketing strategy is a new marketing trend right now.
Advertisers have focused on it, but according to Raconteur, a London-based magazine, only 8% of speciality retail firms have integrated a photo search option into their apps.
By 2025, the image recognition market is anticipated to be worth $53 billion.
According to one study, 35% of marketers intend to optimize visual search in the near future.
Consumers have a strong preference for visual search.
According to one study, 74% of consumers believe text-based searches are “inefficient” for their needs.
Millennials, in particular, prefer visual search capabilities, with 62% saying they want to utilize it more than any other new technology.
Google Lens is one of the most widely used visual search tools.
Google Lens is rapidly expanding.
It will have 500 million downloads by January 2021 and can recognize over 1 billion things.
Pinterest Lens has the potential to be even more spectacular.
It can identify over 2.5 billion things.
Their platform can take customers from visual search to purchase.
Amazon has StyleSnap, which employs visual search and a variety of other characteristics to propose things to customers.
Snapchat’s visual search even recognizes food packages and wine labels.
techcrunch-snapchat-amazon-visual-sea…
Snapchat’s visual search functionality.
The fashion and furniture industries are particularly reliant on visual search marketing.
Users may take a photo with ASOS’s app, and the platform will either find the product or offer an alternative product that matches the style of the item in the image.
Visual search doesn’t stop there; NAPA Auto Parts stores employ it as well.
Their “Drop & Find” kiosk takes an image of a part, compares it to one in its AI system, and delivers real-time information on where a consumer may find that particular item in the store. The algorithm recognizes 5,000 parts and finds an exact match for the customer 90% of the time.
8. Marketers are turning to YouTube ads to increase reach and ROI.
Companies are shifting their advertising money away from traditional television as consumers abandon it.
YouTube is gradually becoming a marketing behemoth.
Over the last five years, the volume of searches for “youtube ads” has increased by 105%.
The platform’s global revenue increased by 46% from 2020 to over $29 billion in 2021.
Ad sales increased 49% in the first quarter of 2021, reaching $6 billion.
The platform’s ad income peaked at $8.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021.
YouTube’s global advertising revenue climbed smoothly through 2021, but then fell sharply in the first quarter of 2022.
According to the Social Media Examiner, 52% of marketers are presently using YouTube, and more than half want to learn more about YouTube ads.
Every month, digital marketers who employ YouTube advertisements have the ability to reach 1.7 billion unique viewers.
These advertising are likewise reasonably priced, ranging from $.03 to $.30 per impression.
Grammarly, a 30 million-user cloud-based typing helper, recently used YouTube’s full-funnel marketing approach with a dual focus on long-term brand growth and new client acquisition.
As a result, the ROI was 9% higher than with awareness advertising alone, and conversions increased by 13% with the same ad budget.
Grammarly-youtube-funnel-min.pngIn 2021, Grammarly witnessed an increase in conversion rates when advertising YouTube ads.
Kayak, a major vacation booking site, started a series of amusing adverts on YouTube in 2022. The idea was to encourage people to resume traveling after the pandemic. The advertisements aired on YouTube’s linked TV.
kayak-youtube-ad-min.pngKayak’s ad campaign targeted potential passengers in the United States by leveraging YouTube’s vast reach.
In just one month, the campaign reached one in every four US adults, and conversion rates increased by 7.5%.
9. Marketers’ Strategies Change Due to Data Privacy Concerns
Data is required for digital marketers to tailor content and target adverts to customers. However, that data may become difficult to obtain very soon.
Consumers are getting more concerned about their privacy.
The amount of searches for “data privacy” is increasing, increasing 88% in 5 years.
Almost three-quarters of Americans are “very concerned” or “extremely concerned” about their online privacy, and 42% are uncomfortable seeing tailored advertisements.
According to the Pew Research Center, more than 80% of Americans believe that the hazards of firms collecting data on them exceed the advantages.
According to a recent Google survey, 73% of consumers utilize online technologies to protect their privacy.
In response to consumer concerns, Apple and Google are phasing out third-party cookies, which are one of the primary ways firms collect data on customers.
Now, digital marketers are rethinking their data acquisition techniques in order to reestablish consumer confidence.
Advertisers who can provide the openness consumers desire should expect to see an increase in data willingly supplied by the customer.
If marketers are unable to shift quickly, this could have a detrimental impact on the bottom line.
According to McKinsey, organizations who fail to develop an effective data strategy may end up spending up to 20% more on marketing and sales to achieve the same results.
McKinsey’s growth marketing and sales report concludes that “a strong, trust-based relationship with customers may be the key to a sustainable, effective data strategy.”
First-party data is an option for marketers who previously relied on third-party cookies. That is information gathered directly from a company’s customers.
According to Search Engine Journal, 36% of marketers believe that data on customer purchase history will be the most important first-party data in the future. Social network profiles, website registrations, survey replies, and mobile app usage are all valuable data sources.
There are clear advantages to using first-party data.
It is inexpensive to collect. The corporation owns it. It is correct, and it may be used to build consumer connections.
First-party data collection and utilization can assist marketers in driving company value.
First-party data that is properly integrated has been shown to yield twice the income from a single ad placement or communication. Furthermore, it has the potential to result in a 1.5x increase in cost efficiency.
10. Brands Start Experimenting in the Metaverse
The metaverse has been defined as a “3D version of the Internet” in simple terms.
It is a location where people may live a digital life by using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Although it is still in its early stages, tech experts believe it will become a popular area to play, party, and mingle in the coming years.
The use of AR and VR is already increasing rapidly, particularly among younger people.
It is projected that 110 million individuals would use augmented reality at least once each month by 2023. This is an increase from 72.8 million in 2019.
Us-vr-users-min.pngThe number of people who utilize AR and VR is growing.
Consumers in Generation Z are already spending a significant amount of time in the metaverse.
According to statistics, people in this generation spend twice as much time socially interacting in the metaverse as they do in real life.
These customers expect brands to have an online presence in the metaverse.
One-third of this age wants brands to create virtual stores, while another 30% is receptive to brands selling avatar skins and clothes.
Many marketers, in fact, are already incorporating AR and VR into their plans.
According to Hubspot, 35% of marketers were employing AR and VR in 2021, while 42% planned to increase their investment in 2022.
More than a dozen well-known corporations are already utilizing metaverse marketing methods.
companies-active-in-the-metaverse-min…Many of users’ favorite brands can be found in the metaverse.
The majority of metaverse marketers are concentrating their efforts on creating immersive experiences, product placement, and the sale of NFTs. However, specialists in the IT business believe that direct-to-avatar sales have enormous potential.
Gucci is one of the most successful retailers in the metaverse.
The fashion shop released a limited-time-only Gucci Garden Archetypes on Roblox in 2021, a metaverse counterpart of the brand’s real-life Gucci Garden Archetypes in Italy.
People could interact with other avatars, explore the place, and purchase digital things at Gucci Gardens.
Over 19 million people visited the space station.
They could then buy Gucci accessories ranging in price from $1.20 to $9. Over 4.5 million units were sold.
According to one forecast, adverts in the metaverse promoting real-life objects or metaverse-related products might become a $586 billion market.
One business that is bringing classic billboard advertising to the world of AR and VR is Bidstack, a video game ad tech startup.
Bidstack-City-Ad-Example-min.pngBidstack places advertisements in virtual environments on cityscapes, billboards, branded vehicles, buildings, and other surfaces.
11. Marketing Executives Respond to Calls for Greater Diversity
Consumers are calling for more diversity, equality, and inclusion, and digital marketers are listening.
The recent search volume for “diversity” indicates rising interest.
According to an Abode poll, 61% of US customers value diversity in advertising.
According to Adobe, more than one-third of LGBTQ+, African American, and Millennial consumers believe that a brand’s efforts to demonstrate diversity have a significant impact on their probability to acquire items or services from that brand.
According to another study, brands with the highest diversity rankings have an 83% greater consumer preference.
In one survey of Gen Z consumers, 70% said they were more trusting of firms that represented diversity in their marketing.
Inclusionary advertising and marketing is very crucial to Generation Z.
However, only 29% of non-white people believe that their race is accurately represented in advertisements.
Most customers, in particular, believe that digital marketing initiatives are missing in diversity.
When asked which medium depicts the most diversity in advertising, 43% of consumers selected network television. Only 20% mentioned social media, and only 9% mentioned digital ads.
Leading digital marketers are working to guarantee that their companies meet diversity and inclusion objectives.
According to a recent survey, 93% of respondents believed that inclusion in marketing is vital.
When it comes to using diverse pictures in marketing initiatives, nearly 90% of marketers think that there is still space for improvement.
Digital marketers are adapting their methods in a variety of ways, including thorough study of the target audience, the use of inclusive language, and the use of diverse images. Many firms are also collaborating with minority-owned businesses to broaden their marketing reach.
Facebook-difference-diversity-makes-m…As they strive for inclusive representation, digital marketers are considering a path similar to this one.
Procter & Gamble is one example of a successful marketing diversity strategy.
The “Widen the Screen” video series from the corporation attempts to broaden and elevate Black voices. With the purpose of addressing discrimination, the program has formed relationships with Black producers in film, television, and advertising.
Oreo is another company that has been committed to LGBTQ+ inclusivity for many years.
They collaborated with PFLAG, an organization dedicated to pushing for LGBTQ+ rights, to launch the #proudparent campaign in 2021.
oreo-proud-parent-min.pngOreo’s marketing campaign told the tale of a parent’s connection with their LGBTQ+ child.
In their promotion, they used Instagram filters, Twitter advertisements, and a specialized website.
The campaign was a smashing success, particularly on social media. It generated 315 million impressions and 2 million interactions.
12. Chatbot App Integrations Increase
The employment of chatbots is one digital marketing approach that incorporates some of the trends already mentioned on this list.
The volume of searches for “chatbot” has increased by 240% in the last five years.
Chatbots powered by AI combine the customization that customers demand with cutting-edge technology.
According to a 2019 survey of US people, 40% of US consumers are interested in utilizing chatbots. It also stated that 80% of customers who engaged with a chatbot had a pleasant experience.
Chatbots are being used by digital marketers in a variety of ways, including moving people through the sales pipeline, answering queries, and directing them to specific items.
According to one B2B marketing poll, 82% believe AI chatbots are a highly important asset in their current sales and marketing strategy.
Chatbots can also help you create trust with your customers.
According to Facebook, 69% of Americans who have messaged a business say the opportunity to message them makes them feel more confident in the brand.
Insider Intelligence believes that this technology will be extremely valuable in the future.
They predict that by 2024, client retail expenditure via chatbots will reach $142 billion. This is up from $2.8 billion in 2019.
WhatsApp, which has 2 million global users, is one of the most popular platforms for businesses to use chatbots to fulfill their marketing objectives.
WhatsApp allows businesses to meet clients where they are and develop long-lasting customer relationships.
Marketers may use the app platform to send consumer reminders, capitalize on cross-selling opportunities, and give hyper-relevant promotions.
Tata Cliq, an Indian luxury ecommerce business, will begin a chatbot marketing and sales campaign via WhatsApp in October 2021.
During one month, they had a 57% clickthrough rate on their WhatsApp communications and credited $500k in sales to the app. Their ROI was ten times that of traditional marketing channels.
Facebook Messenger is still one of the most popular platforms for chatbots.
On Messenger, there are over 300,000 active chatbots, and over 8 billion messages are sent between businesses and customers each month.
Sharkey’s Cuts For Kids, a franchised children’s hair shop in Odessa, Texas, used a Facebook Messenger chatbot to generate buzz for its grand opening.
Sharkey-chatbot-min.pngUsing chatbots on Facebook Messenger can help local companies generate leads and conversions.
To enter a giveaway, Facebook users messaged Sharkey’s and supplied their information to the chatbot. In exchange, they received a coupon for the big opening. The chatbot might also push users to schedule appointments and sign up for reminders.
When compared to other franchise grand openings, Sharkey’s produced more than 100 appointments for opening day and cut their cost-per-acquisition by 58%.
Conclusion
That concludes the top marketing trends for 2023 and beyond.
Social media platforms continue to add services for businesses, but customers expect enterprises to be more authentic and personalized.
Brands who can strike the appropriate mix between paid promotion and direct digital word-of-mouth from customers will be the most successful in the future years.
