All industry sectors adapt and evolve, but nothing takes those characteristics quite as seriously as digital marketing. That world never seems to stay still for more than five minutes. And while it would be wrong to say that methods that were relevant and effective a year ago are now obsolete, it’s also true that new factors have entered the game that digital marketers must be aware of. Spearheaded by AI and changing Google demands, it’s more important than ever that marketers stay up to date with all that’s going on to ensure their efforts remain effective.
AI Support
2023 is the year when artificial intelligence really made its presence known on the web. Up until the release of ChatGPT, AI played an important but relatively fringe role in digital marketing. Today, it’s an essential asset that all marketers must utilize.
Early indications suggest that it’s not advisable to have AI do all marketing tasks. Blog posts written by AI aren’t performing well on Google, for instance, which kind of undoes the point of having a blog in the first place. The correct way to use AI is to use it as a tool to support your marketing — for example, AI can take care of your keyword research and blog content ideas. While the promise of AI might be a little exaggerated, it’s undoubtedly true that it very much has its place in modern marketing.
The Rise of Pre-Recorded and Live Videos
You can engage with your audience by giving them the kind of content that they want to consume. And increasingly, that’s via video content. In fact, it might be incorrect to say “increasingly,” since video’s popularity has been well-established for some time. Did you know that around 80% of all internet traffic is due to video streaming? Studies have also shown that it offers an excellent return on investment, too, so while you will have to outlay some cash to produce videos, it should come back to you in the form of increased sales.
Voice Search Increases
Everyone knows that they need to tailor their content for Google. But it’s important to not only ensure that Google likes your website in relation to typed searches but also for voice searches, which are increasingly common. It took a long time for voice searches to take off. Even though the technology has been there for a while, people weren’t using it. But they are now. Web users tend to use voice searches for some types of content requests more than others, so it’s not absolutely essential for all businesses. But if you’re a local business, then you’ll want to optimize your site for voice search. The good news is that voice search optimization tends to have a positive impact on general SEO, too, so it’s not as if you need to pick between one or the other.
Authority is Key
People want valuable, authoritative content, and Google knows it. The tech company has long prioritized showing well-researched, trustworthy web pages on its front page. That’s another way of saying that if your website is filled with filler content, then it’ll be time to rethink your strategy. In many cases, it’s not enough just to write excellent content. You need to show the world that it’s authoritative. And how you do that is by investing in your off-page SEO, which refers to any digital marketing tactics that take place away from your website (e.g., on other websites). FatJoe, experts in digital marketing, suggest using all the different techniques for off-page SEO, which include link-building and digital PR campaigns. This will help grow your audience in two ways — you’ll get access to the readers of the websites where your content appears, and it’ll also bump you up the Google search results page.
Email Marketing is Here to Stay
All businesses know the importance of using social media as part of their digital marketing strategy. But not all businesses place as much importance on their email marketing. But this is a mistake — did you know that email marketing can be 40x as effective as social media marketing? That places it in the category of ‘indispensable.’ It takes time to build your email marketing list, but it’s worth investing in. As ever, it’s best to follow some all-important rules and best practices when sending marketing emails, including avoiding spamming your list, ensuring you’re offering value to your readers, and keeping your emails professional and on-brand.
And Influencers Are, Too
Many marketers scoffed at influencers when they first emerged. And back then, that view was largely justified, since the effectiveness of social media influencer marketing was questionable. But that view has been dispelled now. One study showed that $1 of influencer marketing spending brought a return of $5. Influencer marketing isn’t appropriate for all businesses, but if you need to reach, for example, a younger generation, then it can be highly effective. It’s best to focus on micro-influencers and macro-influencers for your marketing, which offer a higher ROI than influencers with millions of followers.
Information Galore
Customer standards have risen in recent years. This has been fuelled by an increase in the number of people using the internet to buy, and also the increased competition. Customers expect to get the information they need about a product quickly. Nobody wants to go through the process of emailing a business and waiting for a reply. As such, there’s value in building your information knowledge base on your website. That could come in the form of how-to guides, buying guides, FAQ sections, and live chatbot messaging.
Outsourcing Continues to Show Its Worth
There was once upon a time when small and medium businesses could handle their marketing requirements in-house. But those days are gone now. Digital marketing has simply become too complex and complicated for a small team to handle everything. For this reason, we can expect to see marketing outsourcing continue to play a vital supporting role for businesses, which will help them make the most of the many marketing opportunities.