Top 10 marketing trends in 2023

Here today, gone tomorrow – that’s how the wonderful world of online marketing works. Marketing trends that raked in sales yesterday could be redundant tomorrow, and if you want to continue to see a healthy ROI from your marketing efforts, it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. To help you do that, we’re going to look at top 10 marketing trends in 2022 so far. Let’s get stuck in.

Continued digital transformation

What are the marketing trends for continued digital transformation?

Simply put, it’s about constant tweaking and testing when it comes to your digital marketing. Back in the golden ages, when all we had were newspapers, the radio or yellow pages as marketing platforms, it was a guessing game. You’d put out an ad, or a campaign, or a promotion. And you’d have to wait and see what the market had to say. It could also be costly, as monitoring success and finding out where things were going wrong was difficult and very time-consuming. Now, the power is in our own hands.

Continued digital transformation gives your business an edge

If we know where the problem lies, we can do something about it. Google analytics is the perfect example. We can see how many people we’re reaching, where our traffic is coming from, who’s buying, what they’re buying, how much they’re buying – the list is endless.

Everything we need to know is right in front of our eyes. Why does that help? Because we can use this data to map out our next move. Gone are the days when we’d sit with our fingers crossed and hope our campaign was a roaring success. Now, we can see what’s going right, what’s going wrong, and where we need to make adjustments. It’s A/B testing at its finest, and it helps us to breed predictable results from our online marketing efforts.

Need help making your continued digital transformation successful?

Keeping up with marketing trends can be a long ol’ slog – especially with so much on your plate already. At Red Thread Creative, our clients’ success lies with us taking care of their marketing, so they can take care of the day-to-day. Whether it’s the constant testing, analysing and tweaking we talked about a minute ago, or cutting-edge strategies driven by data, if you need an experienced team with proven results to help, we’d love to throw our hat in the ring.

Video marketing

What are the marketing trends for video?

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it a thousand times: marketing trends change like the weather. On today’s specials menu? Video content. Whether it’s Tik Tok videos, Instagram reels or something more meaty like Youtube or TV ads, consumers love video. In fact, 66% of us consume more video than any other form of content.

How can video marketing skyrocket your results?

Meeting people where they are is one of the best habits you can employ in your marketing. With our attention span shrinking and our thirst for knowledge increasing, video is ticking all the boxes. And for business owners, here’s a key stat that might prick your ears up – 87% of video marketers reported that video gives them a positive ROI. We’re always looking for ways to see a consistent return with marketing, and if so many others are enjoying results, there’s no reason why you can’t too!

Need help putting your video in the spotlight?

We have a dedicated in-house production team whose video experience is second-to-none. That wasn’t very humble, we know. But it’s true: their days are spent crafting ads and stories, as well as unique and scalable content that helps businesses capitalise on the growing demand for video. If that’s something you’d like help with too, find out more about our video services here.

Google Merchant Centre

What are the marketing trends for Google Merchant Centre?

Think of Google Merchant Centre as a dashboard to manage all-things-Google. It’s a hub to scan data, make changes and check out your competitors. There are so many tools and resources for you to use on the platform, which is why more and more marketers are turning to Google Merchant Centre to keep track of their Google presence. Never before has it been so easy to boost your results.

How can Google Merchant Centre spur growth?

Whether it’s Ads, data, campaigns or your online store, Google Merchant Centre helps you to be seen by the very people who want what you have. It gives you a detailed breakdown of who is looking for your products. On top of that, it gives you the keywords they’re searching for – plus things like how your products appear on the page, and what business information is shown to potential customers.

We love Google Merchant Centre because it means you’re not shooting in the dark with your marketing. You can see what’s working, and what’s not, then make the relevant changes based on the data.

Need help exploiting Google Merchant Centre?

Getting on Google’s good side is potentially the best marketing decision you can make. Seriously – it really is that important. We’ve got tons of experience helping businesses like yours make the most of Google Merchant Centre. Our aim is always the same: use our experience, strategies and understanding of Google as a platform to get your products in front of the right people and your website at the top of the big search engines. If that’s something you’d like help with, click here to learn more.

Programmatic advertising

What are the marketing trends for programmatic advertising?

Thankfully, we no longer have to trawl through advertising platforms hunting the best deals on the most relevant sites. Programmatic advertising lets the robots takeover: algorithms pour through the data to determine which ads you should be buying and how much you should pay for them. If you’d like a marketing trend that leans on data and saves you time and money, this is it.

Why is programmatic a shrewd marketing trend to bring in new customers?

Efficiency is programmatic advertising’s main selling point. That’s because it lets the data do the talking. That means it finds the most cost-effective ads, but it also tells you when an ad is performing. As well as the money and data, you can save a lot of time with programmatic advertising too. Software handles all of the details, so you can focus on running your business.

Watch your customer base soar with some help from Red Thread

If done right, you can actually make your advertising results predictable. Well, with a little help from your friend, machine learning that is. That’s what we do at Red Thread Creative: rely on data, statistical models and algorithms for your Google ads to make sure we’re targeting the people who want to buy what your business sells.

Direct mail

What are the marketing trends for direct mail?

We’re talking old-school marketing here! Don’t let that put you off though – direct mail is alive and well. It’s where you send promotions directly to potential customers’ home addresses. Often given the nasty nickname ‘junk mail,’ it continues to yield results for online marketers, even in 2022!

In a social media world, is direct mail still worthwhile?

As you might’ve guessed already, we’re big on numbers, data and stats at Red Thread Creative. Here’s one for you: for every £1 spent on direct mail, marketers see an average return of £3.22 – a whopping 222% ROI. It’s easy to think that because of how we shop these days, direct mail gets lost in a sea of bills, letters and other mail. The truth is, mail will always be looked at. You simply can’t help it when you pick up your mail. Consumers also like to take a break from the digital world sometimes, and as the numbers above tell us, promotional offers through the post are still bringing in positive results for marketers.

Need help with the fundamentals of this re-emerging trend?

It’s not easy to be successful in direct mail, that’s for sure. Having said that, you can make it work. Standing out from the crowd with relevant, personalised messages is key. So is targeting the right people, and making an offer that’s hard to turn down. Keeping things simple is important, too – which is why we’ve been using QR codes for customers to easily order online when they like your promotion. Mix all of these things together, and you can enjoy this marketing trend and it’s 222% ROI too. Click here to learn more about how we can help you with direct mail.

Conversational marketing

What are the marketing trends for conversational marketing?

Way back when, conducting business was a pretty formal endeavour. The customer was always right, there was little human interaction and it often felt more like dinner with the in-laws than a trip to buy your favourite products. It’s 2022 – times have changed, people have changed, and how we buy has changed. Enter: conversational marketing.

Why is conversational marketing so attractive to customers?

You’re a person, and people do business with people. We all want that interpersonal connection these days. People want to buy from people they know, like and trust. Gone are the days when we’d buy from the cheapest brands or the closest stores – our buying habits are shifting.

Make your customers feel special

Give off the feel of a one-to-one interaction, and your customers will feel like more than a cash-cow whose sole purpose is to fatten your bank balance. As a result of that, they’ll visit more often, tell their friends about how great you are and stay loyal through the ups and downs.

Quick marketing trends tip: use your customers’ names. To them, it’s the sweetest sound in the world, and shows that your customers are more than just a number. Remember their likes and dislikes, and have a genuine, vested interest in doing what’s right for them. Each individual customer is unique, and they should be treated as such.

Push notifications

What are the marketing trends for push notifications?

You know when you get an email and Google sends you a notification? That’s all a push notification is – a way of letting you know that a company or person has something to share that you may find interesting. More and more companies are using push notifications, and if you want to stay top of mind, you’ll follow suit with this marketing trend. Plus, they have a 7x higher open rate than email – a return not to be sniffed at!

How do push notifications keep you competitive?

We touched on it above, but just to reiterate: staying at the forefront of your customers mind is key. If we’re being honest, the online business world is a battle. This is because you’re fighting against goodness knows how many other companies for your customers’ attention. With that in mind, sending out regular notifications means you’re far less likely to fall into the “oh, I forgot about them” pile.

From your customer’s perspective, it’s a chance to stay in the loop. Have a sale on? Great – let them know! Change to delivery date? Brill – send them a push notification to keep them updated. Releasing a new product? Nice – shout it from the rooftops. Remember – it’s all about making your customers’ lives as hassle-free as possible, and push notifications are a marketing trend that allow you to do that.

Voice search

What are the marketing trends for voice search?

Voice search is when you ask your device to look up some information for you – using speech, rather than text. “Alexa, find me a cheap flight to the Maldives” is a common one in our office. Or, ”Okay Google, how do I make an authentic Lasagne that actually tastes Italian?” It’s quick and easy, and around 20% of all search online is now voice search – so it’s looking like this is a marketing trend that’s here to stay!

Voice search is an innovative SEO tool

Voice search is another marketing trend that puts your business on the map. If your content is conversational, informative and relevant, Google, Amazon and the other big voice search companies will connect you with customers in your niche. We’re constantly seeking out new information, and if your content answers the questions people are searching for, they’ll be sent directly to your site. Oh, and it doesn’t cost you a penny!

Stay on point

It’s worth bearing in mind that we speak differently to how we talk, so your content needs to reflect that if you want to capitalise on voice search. Keep things concise, and answer questions directly. On top of that, keep in mind that keywords will be different in Voice search: you’ll need plenty of long-tail keywords as they help to finish a question.

Filler words like ‘on the, to, for and I’ will need to be a part of your content for voice search, as will question keywords like ‘why, what, how, where, who?’ These tips and tricks will help to keep your content voice-search-friendly.

Virtual Reality marketing

What are the marketing trends for virtual reality marketing?

The virtual world is taking the real world by storm. More and more of us are shifting to this alternate form of reality, and it’s a brilliant opportunity to cash in on the millions of people visiting the virtual world.

The Metaverse is a big part of it, but there are plenty of other platforms and companies looking to cash in on this newfound way of living. More importantly, as popularity grows, it’s an opportunity to keep up with the times and meet your customers where they are.

Don’t be a victim of virtual reality marketing – profit from it.

It’s important to connect, communicate and collaborate with your audience, and if virtual reality is how people are spending their time, it makes sense to join them where they are. To add to this, it’s a chance to showcase your products, story and vision in a new, fun and inventive way.

It’s the future by the way

You’ll even be able to create ‘branded digital worlds’ that really highlight what you have to offer. Let’s say you have a clothing store and you sell vegan-friendly t-shirts with animal designs. In the virtual world, you could have a store that showcases your clothing line, and customers can dress their virtual characters in the clothes you sell. If they like what they see, you can direct them to your online store to buy the clothes for themselves. Customers can quite literally test-drive your products before buying them.

Quick marketing trends tip: As the virtual world evolves, so will your opportunities to take advantage of this marketing trend. Keep yourself updated with what’s happening in the virtual world, find out what your customers are using it for, and get creative with how it can help you put more of your product in front of the right people. Don’t be afraid to take inspiration from what other companies are doing too!

Influencer marketing

What is marketing trend for influencer marketing?

We buy from people we trust, and that’s why brands are leveraging big-names to spread the word about their products and services. That’s essentially influencer marketing in a nutshell: asking someone of status, importance or significant ‘following’ to promote your products. You’re borrowing their credibility, and boosting your sales as a result.

It’s a marketing trend that has been growing in recent years, and because of the results it’s been bringing in, it looks like influencer marketing is here to stay.

Reclaim lost customers with influencer marketing

Startling statistic: 89% of marketers say influencer marketing provides a comparable or higher ROI than other forms of marketing.

The first point worth mentioning – and we touched on it above – is credibility. In this crazy, social-media-obsessed world we live in, people want recommendations from people they like and trust. If you’re a big Johnny Depp fan, and he’s promoting a new brand of underwear, the knee-jerk reaction is to think that if it’s good enough for Johnny Depp, it’s good enough for me.

Another thing is the reach – some influencers have a significant following online. This means you’re tapping into a customer base you might not otherwise have access to.

Quick marketing trend tips:

1. Keep it relevant – if you sell cat food, use an influencer who knows, loves and posts content about cats. It keeps things credible, relevant and sales will roll in as a result.
2. Test – Test the products influencers promote on your behalf, test the content they use to do it, test posting times and test different influencers to see which breeds the best results. It’s all about finding the method that brings home the biggest results.
3. Give the influencer some control – this might be hard to do, but it’s worth your while. These influencers have loyal, adoring fans who often hang on their every word. They’ve grown to love the influencer and how they do things, so allow the influencer to promote in a way that feels natural to them and their audience.

Final thoughts on our top 10 marketing trends

And there it is! Our top 10 marketing trends of 2022 to help you stay ahead of the ever-changing marketing landscape. Remember – research and data is key. Crunch the numbers, see what’s working, eliminate what isn’t, and keep testing and tweaking until you see the results your business deserves.

If you need help with any of the methods we’ve talked about today, or just have some questions you want to send our way, here is the place to do it. We’ll see you on the next one.