Given how unpredictable and tumultuous 2022 has proven to be, it has never been more important for businesses to make the most of their marketing budgets through strategic campaigns as we move into the New Year.

With shifting consumer and business behaviours, it’s vital to keep up with evolving trends in the digital marketing space. Companies who stay on top have more opportunities to continue to reach their audience, while those that fall behind risk losing their competitive edge.

So, what trends can we expect to see as we move into 2023, and how can you make the most of them?

Prioritising privacy

There has been both a legal and cultural shift when it comes to consumer privacy.

Audiences are increasingly more informed and concerned about their data privacy, with companies beginning to respond to these concerns.

iOS updates around data privacy impacting the Facebook Pixel, along with the EU’s ruling on Google Analytics, are further evidence of this changing landscape around privacy, and both have the potential to contribute to inaccurate reporting for marketers.

First party data will become increasingly more important, and marketers must focus on new ways to acquire this, especially as Google are set to begin phasing out third party cookies from 2023.

Being transparent with your audience and focusing on offering value in exchange for personal data, such as through discount codes or other customer benefits, are just some of the ways you can continue to adapt to these new expectations around consumer privacy.

Helpful content

We all know how important good content is to an effective marketing strategy, but with Google tightening its guidelines, marketers must take note if they want their content to rise to the top of the search results and remain relevant.

Google wants to promote “helpful” content to users, and this means it is not enough to simply stuff content indiscriminately with keywords and hope for the best.

A thoughtful, considered approach is needed to really boost your content marketing, which entails providing genuinely helpful and insightful content. Laser-focused content that is tailored towards relevant audience segments will help add value for both your customers and your marketing strategy, while being incredibly important for SEO, audience engagement, as well as repurposing across multiple channels.

Making the most of your data

As new precedents for consumer privacy are set, companies must look to effectively using the data that they already have at their disposal.

There will be a growing need to not only capture data, but to also use it to divide audiences into relevant segments that allow for a greater degree of personalisation, ensuring highly strategic, targeted campaigns.

Companies should be looking to their CRMs to analyse and keep data on how users found them, and there are several platforms and tools to assist with this, such as Hubspot or Marketo.

It is also important to be aware that when it comes to analysing data, tracking digital marketing ROI accurately is nearly impossible. There are simply so many aspects that are not trackable, such as word of mouth, or link sharing across certain platforms, while cross-device tracking is increasingly difficult given the iOS updates. Instead, when analysing marketing channel ROI data, it should be seen as an indicator, rather than a complete picture of the total ROI.

Marketing automation

We have seen an explosion in new technologies and digital transformation, with nearly every sector looking for ways to streamline time-consuming tasks in the race to remain competitive, and marketing is certainly not exempt from this trend.

From generating reports, automating social media management across multiple platforms, and even spotting trends within content marketing, emerging technologies open up new possibilities for marketers.

While machine learning and AI are often given centre stage, marketers should also be testing more of the automations that are being launched by ad platforms such as Performance Max campaigns in Google Ads, as well as automated bidding. Not only do these automation technologies save an immense amount of time, but they offer a potential way to boost the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Final thoughts

There is an air of caution as we close out 2022, with businesses looking to maximise the efficacy of their marketing strategies while also staying one step ahead of a shifting landscape.

While marketing fads may come and go, identifying some of these over-arching trends that are set to take shape in 2023 is key for retaining a competitive edge, and creating campaigns that continue to deliver results.

Sam Martin-Ross is Founder and Director of digital marketing agency, Digital Uncut.