The Future of Digital Marketing: Trends to Watch in 2023 and Beyond

Digital marketing is an ever-evolving field, with new trends and technologies constantly emerging. As we move into 2023 and beyond, with all the changes we’re seeing every day, it’s more important than ever to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the industry. 

This current crop’s themes are all about the individual user: creating a connection with them as people and bringing that intimacy into the brand/buyer relationship. But that’s not everything; as you’ll see, it’s just the beginning. Let’s look at some key trends to watch in digital marketing over the next few years and how some can positively influence your next web design and development moves.

Voice Search

Smart speakers and voice assistants, like Alexa and Siri, are making voice search an increasingly important aspect of digital marketing. It’s estimated that by year’s end, there will be over 8 billion voice assistants worldwide. We’ll need to optimize our content for voice search and refocus our efforts on more conversational long-tail keywords.

New Kinds of Storytelling

Storytelling is at the heart of what we do. That’s why it’s so exciting when new technology lends itself to new ways of doing it! Here are some of the incoming styles to consider.

Interactive

One of the most exciting recent developments is the turn toward interactive storytelling. It brings the audience into the story, making it more engaging and immersive. You’ll see this approach through various means, such as video games, choose-your-own-adventure stories, and even virtual reality experiences.

Multimedia

Multimedia storytelling combines text, images, video, and audio to create a more complete and engaging experience for the audience. You can already see this becoming a new standard in the work of artists, filmmakers, and journalists.

At Big D Creative, we strive to utilize multimedia with all of the web development projects we take on. Adding the multimedia layer to your website lets you reach a wider audience as different forms of multimedia catch the eyes and ears of different individuals. 

The wider your site’s reach, the greater the results will become conversion time!

Personalized

Personalization has been a trend in digital marketing for several years now. Still, it will only become more critical as it expands beyond cookies and simple searches. Customers increasingly expect personalized experiences from brands, and marketers will use data and analytics to deliver highly targeted and relevant content to their audience.

Personalized storytelling uses data and analytics to create stories tailored to the individual audience member. You can accomplish personalization through various means, such as social media, targeted advertising, and even artificial intelligence (AI).

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is another trend that’s been boiling for years but we expect it to become more prevalent soon. With AR, we can create immersive experiences for customers that allow them to interact with products and services in new and exciting ways.

Some of the best examples of AR in the current technological landscape include the following:

• Meta
• Pokemon Go app
• IKEA’s mobile app
• The Conqueror marathon challenge app

Shopping

AR enhances the shopping experience by allowing customers to virtually try on clothes or view furniture in their homes before purchasing in the retail space or online.

Healthcare

AR improves healthcare by giving doctors and surgeons an interactive 3D view of their patient’s bodies during procedures, making it easier to identify and address medical issues.

Tourism and Navigation

AR enhances experiences by providing virtual tours of popular landmarks and attractions or by overlaying historical information and other interesting details onto real-world locations. AR can also create more immersive and engaging navigation experiences, allowing our users to explore their cities, new landmarks, or even the night sky more interactively.

Education

AR can create interactive learning experiences, letting students explore complex subjects in a more engaging and memorable way. We’re more likely to remember what we’ve enjoyed learning, and the interactivity of AR can easily bring fun and intrigue to any lesson.

Sports

More engaging sports broadcasts stem from AR technology. With AR, presenters let viewers see real-time stats and player information overlaid on the live action.

Marketing

AR can help us to create unique and engaging marketing campaigns, allowing brands to showcase their products and services in a more interactive way.

We can help you create AR-driven aspects of your site that let your audience fully explore the benefits of what you offer with your products and services.

Video Marketing

Video has been a popular form of content for many years, but it will only grow in importance. By 2023, 65% of all internet traffic was video, which is only going up as streaming services shift their business models. 

Marketers must create high-quality, engaging video content that captures their audience’s attention. Of course, that’s always been the goal, but the video “trend” isn’t going anywhere, and recognizing video as a powerful tool in your marketing tool is crucial.

AI in Marketing

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already dominating many areas of digital marketing, including chatbots and personalization. In the future, AI could play an even more significant role in the industry. 

Social media managers can use AI to laser-focus their targeting efforts by addressing micro personas and similarly thin “slices” of demographic data. Knowledge base and wiki makers have an entirely new, more inclusive audience for their work. Marketers can use AI to analyze data and automate many of their processes, freeing up time for more strategic work.

AI is also used throughout SEO in several ways, including:

Content Optimization

AI can analyze content, identify the most profitable keywords, and even help us optimize for search engines. Nothing can replace the hand of a gifted writer, and we’re already seeing an advantage in the ability to discern “real” work from untouched AI content.

Link Building

AI can identify and reach out to potential link partners, which of course improves a site’s authority and ranking in search engines.

Negative SEO

AI can also find and mitigate negative SEO attacks, which can damage a website’s ranking and traffic.

AI in Web Design 

Personalization

AI personalizes the user experience on a website by tracking user behavior and preferences. The intended effect is an individual relationship between the consumer and the brand that tells a unique story over time.

Content Generation

AI can generate rough draft content for websites, which content specialists then rebuild into excellent web copy and blogs. This can help save time and resources for businesses.

Chatbots

Chatbots that interact with users on websites help improve customer service and engagement. Again, the individual is interfacing with the brand one-on-one.

Data Security and Privacy 

All that personalization and intimacy have their careful side, too. As more and more entities collect data and use it in digital marketing, privacy, and data security will become increasingly important. Marketers must ensure they comply with regulations like GDPR and CCPA and are transparent with customers about how they use the data they collect.

Interactive Content

Finally, interactive content types like quizzes, polls, and surveys are becoming increasingly popular among consumers. This type of content allows customers to engage with brands fun and meaningfully, while also providing valuable data for marketers. 

In the future, we can expect to see even more interactive content as marketing continues to become not simply a presentation of value but a conversation between brand and user.

Call on Big D Creative, Today and Tomorrow

Digital marketing’s future is full of exciting opportunities and challenges, but keeping up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies means you stay ahead of the curve and deliver meaningful and engaging customer experiences.

If you need a reliable and creative team to bring your brand to life, look no further than Big D Creative! Our experts love helping businesses achieve their branding and marketing goals. We’ve got website design, social media management, and more. Contact us today to learn about these new technologies and see how we can use them to grow your business.