Strategy

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By Will

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March 2022

Discover the Digital Marketing Trends in 2023 for Your Startup

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As the world becomes increasingly more digital, the need for effective digital marketing strategies has never been more critical. Startups in particular need to stay on top of the latest trends and techniques to stand out in a crowded market. And in 2023, we expect several digital marketing trends to significantly impact the landscape. 

The Digital Marketing Trends in 2023 for Your Startup.

Intelligent Chat.

Intelligent Chat, also known as conversational marketing, is a digital marketing trend that involves using chatbots and other AI-powered tools to engage with customers in a more personalised and interactive way. By leveraging the power of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, intelligent chat can provide a more human-like conversation that enables startups to build stronger relationships with their customers.

Startups can utilise intelligent chat in several ways to improve their digital marketing efforts:

  1. Customer support: Intelligent chat can be used to provide 24/7 customer support, answering frequently asked questions and resolving simple issues. By utilising chatbots to handle routine inquiries, startups can free up their human customer service agents to focus on more complex issues. 
  2. Lead generation: Intelligent chat can also be used to generate leads by engaging website visitors and guiding them through the sales funnel. By using chatbots to ask questions and provide personalised recommendations, startups can provide a more tailored experience that helps convert more leads into customers.
  3. Personalisation: As I mentioned earlier, personalisation is becoming increasingly crucial in digital marketing. Intelligent chat can be used to provide a personalised experience for each customer by analysing data from previous interactions and tailoring the conversation to their needs and preferences. 
  4. Engagement: Finally, intelligent chat can increase engagement by providing a more interactive and engaging experience for users. By utilising chatbots to ask questions, provide recommendations, and gather feedback, startups can create an engaging and memorable experience that helps build brand loyalty. 

To get started with intelligent chat, startups can use platforms like Chatfuel, ManyChat, or Tars to build and deploy chatbots. These platforms typically use a drag-and-drop interface that makes creating chatbots easy without coding skills. Startups can also leverage open-source chatbot frameworks like Rasa or Dialogflow to create more advanced chatbots that can handle more complex interactions.

By utilising chatbots and other AI-powered tools to create a more personalised and interactive experience, startups can build stronger relationships with their customers and drive growth and success.

Content Personalisation.

Back in 2019 this was really evolving and becoming more desired for users of websites and applications. Now, in 2021, content personalisation is being taken to new heights as a way to attract customers and encourage them to stay in a brands ecosystem for longer.

Content personalisation is an umbrella term that allows shoppers, users and online customers to choose how to some degree how their browsing experience looks and functions. This could be as simple as a very common light or dark theme for a website all the way up the content they're shown and features available.

It's a hugely interesting field to research and implement as it essentially helps marketers dive into the human psyche to understand what appeals to them. It allows brands to capture more people and create an appeal factor never before possible.

I would say this is still a developing trend more than mainstream, but certain factors of content personalisation are implemented far more often than we saw back in 2019 - for example, light and dark mode!

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning.

Over the last few years, we've seen the popularity of AI steadily increase. It is only now that we are witnessing exponential growth, and startups are trying to incorporate this innovative technology into their businesses. And in 2023 we can only expect to see businesses of all industries utilising this technology. 

AI and machine learning technologies are rapidly advancing and becoming more accessible to businesses of all sizes. Platforms such as ChatGPT can be incredibly useful for aiding marketing efforts by generating high-quality content, personalising messaging, providing customer support and analysing data. By leveraging these capabilities, startups can create more effective and efficient marketing campaigns that drive growth and success.

Over 2023, we can expect to see more startups using AI to automate marketing processes, personalise customer experiences and analyse data to inform marketing strategies. If you're curious about how AI can benefit your startup then you can read out AI blog here where we share valuable insights and expert advice on how leveraging AI can help your business stay ahead of the competition. From improved experiences to improving online marketing, AI has the power to transform the way startups do business. 

Voice Search Optimisation.

Voice search optimisation is the process of optimising your website and content to appear in voice search results. With the rise of smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod, more and more people are using voice search to find information online. In fact, it's estimated that by 2023, half of all searches will be conducted by voice and that 55% of households will own a smart speaker.

To capitalise on this trend, startups should focus on the following strategies:

  1. Use Conversational Language: When people use voice search, they tend to ask questions in a conversational way. Therefore, it's important to use conversational language on your website and in your content. This means using natural language, speaking in complete sentences, and avoiding technical jargon.
  2. Long-Tail Keywords: People tend to use longer and more specific search terms when using voice search, as they ask questions in a conversational tone. This means that startups should focus on using long-tail keywords that are more specific to their business and target audience.
  3. Optimise for Local Searches: Voice search is often used for local searches, such as finding nearby restaurants or stores. Startups should ensure that their website and content are optimised for local search by including their address, phone number, and other relevant information.
  4. Use Structured Data: Structured data is a standardised format for providing information about a page and its content. By using structured data, startups can provide more detailed information about their website and content to search engines, which can improve their chances of appearing in voice search results.
  5. Improve Website Speed: Voice search users expect fast results, so startups should focus on improving their website speed to ensure that their website and content load quickly.

By implementing these strategies, startups can improve their chances of appearing in voice search results, which can drive more traffic to their website and increase their chances of converting leads into customers.

Augmented Reality.

Augmented reality is the integration of digital information with the physical world, and it's becoming more accessible to startups through tools like AR-enabled smartphones and smart glasses. 

In 2023, we can expect to see more startups utilising AR technologies to create more immersive experiences for their customers. If you'd like to learn more about how augmented reality can create better customer experiences and benefit your business, then check out our article on leveraging AR for startups here to learn more. Our experts provide valuable insights and tips on how startups can integrate AR into their marketing strategies to stand out in a crowded market. 

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Video Marketing.

Video continues to be one of the most engaging and effective forms of content marketing and in 2023, we can expect to see more startups using video content to showcase their products and services, tell their brand story and connect with customers on a deeper level. 

Live interactions are also becoming more popular, allowing businesses to engage with their audience in real time and build trust and loyalty. 

With the global pandemic back in 2020, we've seen a rise in live interactions with customers and users appearing more and more. Whether that's through live streams, drop-in audio chats or video calls - we've seen a huge increase.

On Facebook, live viewings have grown by over 50% during global lockdown periods, while viewings on Instagram grew by an incredible 70%. TikTok also reports an increase in live use and there’s a good chance we’ll see this upward trajectory continue to develop past 2021. 

We believe that the reason live interactions with users and customers has seen such an increase, especially in personality-driven content like influencer live streams is that they drive trust, and tap into the "in-the-moment" connection that consumers love.

If you're not thinking about how you can add "live" to your startup marketing arsenal, you should be.

Personalisation.

Consumers expect personalised experiences from the brands they interact with, and startups that can deliver on these expectations will have a competitive edge. In 2023, we can expect to see more startups utilising data and analytics to personalise their marketing efforts, from email campaigns to product recommendations. Personalisation can also extend to the customer experience with startups utilising AI and machine learning to create personalised websites and chatbots that adapt to each user's unique needs and preferences.

Goodwill, Authenticity & Purpose.

The idea of classic, automated "corporations" has steadily declined over the last few years with customers preferring authentic, purpose-driven brands that want to make the world a better place.

With this in mind, we're seeing a trend suggesting that startups want to fit into consumers' lives more than just offering a product. They want to become a movement, a community and be part of something bigger to improve the world. This in turn creates conversations around them in more aspects than just what they sell, which, therefore, increases market share and sales.

At the core of this is the need for authenticity and transparency

Nowadays, we're seeing that it's harder and harder for customers to connect with brands that they see as insincere. Why would they want to invest in something that they can’t trust or don’t believe in? This is why we seeing connection being hugely pivotal for brands that want to grow in 2021 and beyond.

We live in a world where the average consumer doesn't trust big corporations, so smaller, up-and-coming brands have the chance to take back a bigger market share by ensuring their image is transparent, and authentic and showing off the desire to participate in purpose-driven missions, not just generate profit.

We’re no strangers to seeing brands doing good things, but I want to make brands and businesses aware of just how important this is becoming.

User-Generated Content.

On the flip side of local, independent and small businesses being preferred over large corporations is the trust factor...

Your customers will always want and desire enjoyable experiences with brands that are easy. Not only that, but they want proof and reassurance before they buy - after all, no one wants to make the wrong decision.

User-generated content is the king of connective mediums to convince, include and provide reassurance to new customers via:

  • Building a community inclusive of your audience.
  • Being relatable!
  • Starting conversations between customers and brands.
  • Providing content to brands to share on socials.

User-generated content has long been an effective way for brands to build relationships with their customers and provide social proof but this we'll definitely see as we move through the remainder of 2021.

Our Final Thoughts.

Startups that stay on top of these digital marketing trends in 2023 will be well-positioned to stand out in a crowded market and connect with customers on a deeper level. By leveraging the power of AI and machine learning, optimising for voice search, utilising video marketing, personalising their marketing efforts and embracing AR, startups can create memorable and effective digital marketing campaigns that drive growth and success.

Are you interested in leveraging these technologies within your startup to drive growth and success? Our team of experts collaborates with startups across all industries to build custom tech solutions that help businesses thrive. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can help your startup leverage the latest digital marketing trends and technologies.