Marketing Trends For 2023 And How To Take Advantage Of Them
We’re getting closer to the end of the year, which means it’s time to take a peek into the future. What does 2023 look like for marketing strategy, content strategy, lead generation, and high-ticket sales for online entrepreneurs and small business owners?
Since I’m not only obsessed but also actively work and run a successful business in the marketing industry, I’ve spotted some trends that all my business entrepreneur and marketer readers won’t want to miss. But I want to do more than just share those with you (which I will in just a moment). I’m also going to let you in on the strategies you should implement to take advantage of these trends.
I talked about them in this Instagram Live replay if you want to watch
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I won’t lie to you: to take advantage of these trends, you may need to change the way you think about content creation and the offers you’re creating for clients. Buyer behavior and business priorities are changing, and I’m seeing a big shift in how people are currently consuming content, especially with Gen Z coming up to participate in the marketplace.
Without further ado, let’s dive into 7 marketing and business trends for 2023.
1. TikTok Is Trading Short Trendy Videos For Serious Longer Form Videos
Not so long ago, the shorter and trendier the video on social media platforms like TikTok, the more successful it was. For example, when TikTok first started, it only allowed videos that were 15 seconds long.
But if you’re an avid or even just an occasional TikTok user, you’ve probably noticed that the length of videos has gradually increased. Now, you’re more likely to see videos on your For You Page that are 3 minutes or even 10 minutes long.
Crazy, right? But what this tells us is that TikTok is trying to be taken more seriously. They don’t just want to be known as the fun, silly, trendy video app. They want to push out informative, authoritative videos, and that’s what more and more people want to watch, too.
Going into 2023, if you have a presence on TikTok, you need to start posting longer-form videos that are more focused on spreading information rather than capitalizing on trends. For trendy, short-form videos, Youtube Shorts is the place to be. Youtube already had the long-form content, so now that TikTok is advancing into that arena, Youtube said, “hold my beer.”
2. Instagram And TikTok Are Focusing More On SEO
One thing that both Instagram and TikTok have in common now is that they are focusing more on search engine optimization (SEO). Here’s why.
Last year, Instagram started talking about how they didn’t want users to put hashtags in the first comment. We were all doing that so that we could capitalize on more of our caption space. But last year, Instagram started changing their search capabilities. They wanted to make sure that whatever was in your profile description, your caption, the name of your business, and whatever else you were saying in your content is what showed up in keyword searches.
TikTok is doing the same thing. That’s because Instagram and TikTok both want to be known as search engine alternatives to Google. The only difference is TikTok actually did it and will easily outperform Youtube as the top search engine (as far as social media channels are concerned).
So, when you’re making your Instagram and TikTok posts going forward, be sure to include SEO keywords in your profile description, photo and video captions, and business name. Move away from the strategy of filling your first comment with hashtags on Instagram.
3. TikTok Will Be The Next Most Popular Search Engine
In 2021, TikTok was the most visited web domain, even beating out Google.
Think about that for a second. Think about how often you get on Google to perform keyword searches and look up information. The fact that people are visiting TikTok more than Google indicates that the video app is gradually overtaking the search engine game.
As are other social media platforms like Instagram and SnapChat. People aren’t just opening Google to search for information anymore.
That’s why I recommend that you start prioritizing SEO in TikTok and Instagram right away. Every time one of the major social media apps makes a change, it affects your whole business, especially if it’s where you get a lot of your leads. As an increasing number of people use them to search for keywords, you’ll already be a few steps ahead.
4. Multi-Channel Marketing Is The Key To Success
In 2023, you’re going to have to diversify your marketing into multiple channels. If you’ve been a part of my coaching program or joined any of my workshops in the past, you know that I’ve already been pushing my audience to do this. A lot of other marketing experts are doing the same. It’s because the more funnels you have, the more types of audiences you’ll reach.
Before we start the new year, establish owned (email, website, podcast) and SEO-based channels on YouTube, Tiktok, and Pinterest whichever platforms speak to you and your target audience. The first 2 social channels prioritize video content, so if you’re immersed in video marketing, those are the platforms you want to be on.
5. Authenticity Is Trumping Trends
Another interesting trend I’m seeing is that consumers – particularly Gen Z – are more invested in authenticity than they are in trends.
Let me show you what I mean by this. When you look at the pictures that Gen Zers publish on social media, there’s a big difference between them and millennials and Gen Xers. I remember how when I was younger, I curated my pictures, so I only looked cute. Gen Z, on the other hand, will post the weirdest pictures of themselves, and they will be blurry, and they don’t care to fake how they look at the moment. They post it anyway and are proud of it. That’s not how our generation was when it came to creating content and marketing ourselves a few years ago.
That says something. It means that authenticity is going to take precedence over any other format of content, including current trends. Make your content genuine, raw, and informative.
6. Shorter One-On-One Coaching Is More Popular Than Months-Long Group Programs
This trend is going to be game-changing for my readers who offer workshops and coaching sessions. What I’ve been finding is that shorter one-on-one coaching is becoming more popular than group programs the last few months.
As I see it, there are three reasons for this trend.
One is that the marketing industry changes so fast, that many people discover that by the time they finish their long-ass program, the information they were taught is no longer relevant or current. Another reason is that people want expert information quickly, so they can turn around and monetize what they’ve learned as soon as possible.
Finally, people nowadays simply don’t have time to dedicate a big portion of their year to learning new skills in business. People want to be able to take fast action and have access to the expert to ask questions. They are not trying to get a degree in what you’re teaching, they just want to comprehend it enough to implement it and see results. If they did want to feel like they were getting a full-on degree, they would go back to college.
I’m not saying that you should scrap your long-term programs if you offer a five months-long coaching program or something like that. But I do recommend developing shorter pathways to the information you’re offering in the longer program. For example, you could offer a short Bootcamp or a series of smaller courses with narrower focuses so your clients can choose what they want to learn and then move on.
7. Knowledgeable And Clear Communication Will Be A Big Priority
We’ve talked a lot so far about how 2023 is going to be a big year for longer-form, informative, authentic content. A key element that will help you generate engagement and leads using this type of marketing style is knowledgeable and clear communication.
What do I mean by that? I mean that however you choose to produce content – videos, podcasts, articles, social media posts – make sure you’re communicating effectively. Effective communication encompasses a broad spectrum, from grammar and spelling to honesty and integrity. To achieve this, make sure that whatever you’re saying (or writing) is factually accurate and that your ducks are all in a row. This way, your audience will view you as a knowledgeable and respected authority in your industry.
8. Marketing Strategies To Take Advantage Of 2023 Trends
Now that you know what marketing trends to expect in 2023, here are 4 strategies I recommend you use to help you meet them.
1. Ask Your Clients Where And How They Want To Consume Your Content
There are so many different ways to consume content these days – social media, videos, blogs, and emails are the chief ones. But more than likely, not every single one is going to bring you an equal amount of engagement from your audience.
To help you narrow and intensify your marketing focus, send out polls and surveys to your clients, asking them where and how they want to consume your content. Maybe they enjoy reading emails and would prefer to get your latest news and information from their inbox. Or maybe they get on TikTok a lot.
Get your clients’ input and then adapt your marketing style from there.
2. Make Your Content Intentional
I can’t emphasize this enough: everything you create needs to be extremely intentional. This is because people don’t want to waste their time following accounts that aren’t talking about anything important or watching long-ass videos that don’t offer any information of real substance. They’re no longer searching for vapid creators who do dumb dances and act crazy, or whatever the latest personality trend is.
Tap into your expertise and don’t be afraid to share it and educate your audience. Oh, and if you’re a good dancer then, by all means, dance boo! But don’t feel obligated to.
3. Align Your Offers With Where You Are In Life
Another thing I want you to think about coming into the next year is, are your offers aligned with the season of life that you’re in right now. Does your business align with that season that you’re in, or are you still building your business around the situation that you were in a year and a half ago?
When you start your journey as a business owner and entrepreneur, you’re going to discover that your life situation is constantly in motion. Wherever you are, the offers that you make to your clients should align with that.
For example, I discovered that I no longer wanted to offer VIP Days. My VIP clients loved the service, but the extra stress of managing a team to run that offer is not something I wanted in my business. So, I eliminated the VIP Experience altogether. I changed what I was willing to offer people.
If an aspect of marketing is stressing you out or you no longer feel any love for it, change your offers to clients to align with your new priorities. There are a lot of trends to watch out for, but you don’t have to jump on board all of them with both feet. Do what speaks to you, and, if you follow the next step, you’ll find success even if you’re not juggling as many balls at the same time.
4. Get More Creative
Finally, you must become more creative. All marketers and business owners need to get creative with how, where, and when we’re marketing, and what types of offers we’re willing to give our clients.
Let’s take the VIP service I eliminated as an example. By removing it from my revenue streams, I was losing out on $16K. I had to find a way to make that up, and I did it by thinking creatively. I had a bundle of courses that I wanted to sell, but in order to sell them, I needed reviews. I decided to offer the bundle and then tag on an Accelerator option, where I would cover how to implement the lessons my clients learned in the course in live workshop sessions.
Not only was I able to get more reviews this way, but the course launched with a revenue of $23K.
This is what I mean by being creative. You need to take what you have and think outside the box for ways to capitalize on it.
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