2023 Marketing Trends

With 2023 only one month away, it’s time to look at the upcoming trends for the coming year. 2022 has brought some exciting changes in the marketing world, and those trends will likely carry forward into the new year. From prioritizing user-generated content (UGC) over influencers to virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and interactive content taking center stage, there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming year. 

Plus, marketing is more critical in the current economic landscape than ever. Choosing the right marketing strategy for the new year may help keep your business afloat in the coming recession, which is why studying upcoming marketing trends is more important than ever. So let’s look at the projected marketing trends for 2023 and some trends from 2022 that we expect to fall by the wayside. 

2023 Marketing Trends at a Glance

• User-Generated Content (UGC)
• A Switch to More Valuable Content
• Interactive Content, Experiential Marketing, Virtual Reality (VR), and Better AI
• Social Responsibility, Inclusivity, and Brand Voice
• Gathering Data without Cookies

User-Generated Content (UGC)

While 2022 saw a focus on influencer marketing, finding a reputable influencer is challenging with how overwhelmed the influencer scene has become. Although influencers come with their following, many influencers make copy-and-paste statements about the brands they represent, leading to less engagement and poor marketability to their followers. 

Heading into 2023, there’s likely to be a marketing shift toward user-generated content (UGC). Some good examples of UGC are user product images, genuine video reviews, and content that doesn’t appear to be ‘over-produced’. UGC can include almost anything that provides for your customers in your marketing strategy.  UGC takes the heart of influencer marketing and brings it back to its core by using real customers to share insights into your products and business. 

With UGC, you’re not looking for polished photo shoots and organized videos; you want the actual, flawed, down-to-earth content produced by users. Not only does this make your brand feel approachable, it keeps your marketing in the realm of relatable content. This relatable marketing keeps your advertising from feeling like advertising, creating a sense of trust in your brand identity and products. 

A Switch to More Educational Content

With the thin blade the U.S. economy rests on; marketing will likely take a hit. Even if we avoid a recession, marketing is likely to fall lower on the priority list regarding investments. Not only is marketing key to supporting your business through a recession, but narrowing down your marketing plan to educational content can help laser-target your customers and reduce your overhead costs. 

Educational content focuses on providing a service or information instead of directly marketing to your customers. Things like life hacks, product guides, decorating hacks, etc., all fall into “educational content” as they provide something to your customers in exchange for them following your brand. 2023 is likely about answering questions and educating, not advertising and promoting. 

Switching your focus to educational content over direct marketing can help support your business through a tough time without cutting marketing out entirely. Things like blog series, video content, or articles can all be valuable content that gives something to your customers in exchange for their time, likes, and follows. 

Interactive Content, Experiential Marketing, Virtual Reality (VR), and Better AI

2023 will be all about thinking outside the box with your marketing content. Experiential marketing includes interactive content and associating your brand and products with a positive experience. BY providing an entertaining event and fully immersing your consumer into the brand, your customers can generate positive market attention for your brand.

Similarly to interactive and experiential marketing, virtual reality (VR) will likely increase in popularity in 2023. Integrating your brand into VR spaces is more challenging than creating other forms of content, but with the increase in the popularity of VR, it’s worth looking into for 2023. VR marketing can be as simple as building a brand located in a popular game or working with VR artists to create a new logo for your brand. VR is a great way to get customers excited about your brand if you’re willing to think outside the traditional marketing box. 

Finally, with how much artificial intelligence (AI) has grown in the past year, AI will likely become more useful for marketing than ever before. Thanks to AI advances, countless programs can tailor social media algorithms to our tastes, meaning that working with AI will be more important than ever to target specific niches. For example, Google Search updates will likely shift the SEO landscape, and working within evolving algorithms that use AI (like TikTok) will be crucial to getting your brand noticed. 

Social Responsibility, Inclusivity, and Brand Voice

The rise of social responsibility and brands as a platform is nothing new in 2022, but we predict this will become even more prevalent in 2023. With Gen Z and Millennials as the most extensive customer base since the Baby Boomers, it’s no surprise that this socially-conscious generation cares about the brands they invest in. Social justice, sustainability, and inclusivity are all critical to this generation and, in turn, essential to your business. 

Partnering your brand with a cause can be a wise marketing decision if you maintain this commitment to the cause. Nothing tanks a business’s reputation faster than a false commitment to a reason, and with the speed of social media, a single post can make or break your business. In addition, sustainability, social justice, and inclusivity are essential to support. Committing to these things in your brand can benefit your employees (and the world) and act as a marketing angle.

Gathering Data without Cookies

With Google announcing it will stop using cookies, data gathering will evolve in 2023. While this means a complete overhaul to data gathering, there are some strategies that you can still employ to target your audience without the use of cookies. For example, using behavioral analysis to track customers can help bridge the gap where cookies used to be. 

While this is only viable for some businesses, creating your own data analysis and gathering platforms can help you in 2023. Without cookies as a data-gathering backup, companies will have to refocus on building direct relationships with their customers to help increase awareness about their brand. 

Things like IP addresses and device IDs can supplement user information, allowing you to continue finding out the kinds of customers you attract to your website. In 2023, we’re likely to see a change in how customer data is gathered and branching out of methods to try and continue to analyze customer interactions. 

In general, 2023 sees a shift toward newer, innovative forms of marketing, with the removal of the cookie system changing how we analyze customer data. Influencer marketing has shifted to prioritize amateur content and USG over paid influencers making high-quality product videos and recommendations. Marketing as a whole will most likely see a shift toward interactive, experiential marketing that combines the evolving world of VR with AI algorithms. 

If the coming marketing landscape seems overwhelming, or you need help figuring out where to head with your small business, check out our other articles or send us a message. We use our years of experience at Planted Marketing to craft a customized marketing plan for your business. If you’d like to find out more, contact us today. 

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Planted Marketing is dedicated to the growth of small businesses and woman-owned brands. Each month, we share trend reports to help journalists and small business owners get ahead of the game.

We are always looking for new brands to promote. Send us a message for a free brand feature – info@plantedmarketing.com