It used to be much simpler just a few years back. Allocate some funds for advertising. Publish quality blog posts regularly. Use keywords across all your content. And then – boom! Your website is optimized and attracts more leads and people are happy with what you get.
Oh, how things have changed since. The marketing strategies that worked before don’t have an impact now, or they need some serious reconstruction to yield some results.
These days, promoting a brand is a more challenging process. The technologies are different and so are the marketing platforms. Let’s not even get started on consumer expectations and user behaviors – they hardly even resemble what was in demand before.
Third-party data and cookies are very close to becoming wrapped up in the past. Keywords are right there, too, with more and more marketers erasing them from their campaigns. Customers appreciate transparency over cost, and 80% of them would now pay more for a more personalized experience.
What worked then doesn’t even stand a chance today. This is why you need to change your marketing strategies and adapt to the trends of today. In this article, we’ll let you in on the best digital marketing strategies that will help you grow your business in 2023.
1. Demand generation
Demand generation is a strategy that is changing marketing as we know it. The idea behind it is to drive interest in a product and service, and generate more awareness for the brand. The final result? You will create a predictable pipeline that, in time, will help you grow your business.
Demand generation covers all sales and marketing initiatives and goes through the entire customer journey – every touchpoint of it.
It’s not an easy strategy, but with some help, you can optimize it and grow your business fast. Skale is a demand generation agency that works with world-class experts specializing in demand generation, as well as digital marketing, lead generation, and SEO.
If done right, demand generation marketing can do the following for you – and more:
- Increase product signups
- Fuel your buyer journey with informed leads
- Convert leads
- Increase your Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
What’s the difference between demand and lead generation
In the last couple of years, marketers have been focused on lead generation. This remains one of the trending strategies but combined with demand generation, it can do wonders for business success these days.
To help you understand how the two complement each other, we should define their differences.
Demand generation is all about bringing high-quality leads into your funnel.
Lead generation, on the other hand, is about convincing the people who are already in your funnel to get to the point where they make a sale.
So, basically, you need demand generation to get the target audience and turn them into leads. And, you need lead generation to turn the leads you just got into customers.
2. First-party data
Ever since Firefox removed cookies and Google announced it, it became evident that third-party data won’t stay with us much longer. In the last decade or so, the majority of marketers were focused on collecting and using third-party data obtained via cookies to form better marketing campaigns.
In 2021, 86% of marketing decisions were based on cookies to some extent.
Now that we’re close to the cookieless digital life, you should start preparing for the change. Google rescheduled the cancellation of cookies to the beginning of 2024, which leaves you with some time to prepare. But, how do you change the base of your marketing campaign?
According to McKinsey, the answer lies in first-party data.
First-party data is the data you collect directly from the consumer. This data is of high value, more accurate, and comes with minimal privacy issues. Not only will it help you enrich your marketing strategies, but it will also help you be compliant with data privacy regulations.
To stay ahead of the competition, focus on collecting first-party data as soon as possible. Here are some good practices for it:
- User registration. If you aren’t getting people to register on your site, do it. Don’t make it obligatory, but try to tempt your target audience with some perks such as freebies, discounts, etc. Adding this option is a subtle way to generate tons of first-party data and form your customer profiles based on it.
- Single Sign-on. Internet users don’t like to waste their time typing usernames and passwords on every website. Offer them SSO to give them the option to sign up instantly with their Google or Facebook account. In return, you’ll gain first-party data such as their social profile information, ID, interests, location, etc.
- Progressive profiling. Let’s say that you collected some information from users that registered. You don’t have to stop here. Do progressive profiling to obtain more information with follow-up emails and small questions spread across repeat account logins. Don’t overdo it though!
- Polls and surveys. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t ask the customer directly! Run some short surveys or do some pools to get information for your marketing campaign. You might want to throw in some perks as an incentive for completing the surveys.
- Content sharing. If your content is great, people might want to share it. Give them the option to share your content. This won’t just spread awareness of your brand, but it will also help you stockpile first-party data. When the recipient of the content that was shared views your website, you get more leads and more data.
First-party data is easier to find than you think. Over the years, we got too accustomed to cookies gathering data that we failed to notice how much information we already get firsthand.
Go through customer messages, check online for their reviews and feedback, and simply chat with your audience – there’s a lot to learn by doing this.
3. Video marketing
Videos have grown into the biggest marketing trend in just a few years. Video content is the primary source of information for 66% of people these days. On average, a person will spend 6 hours and 48 minutes watching videos every week.
As a result, 86% of businesses are already using it as a marketing tool. Videos allow them to reach the audience more effectively, especially now when the majority prefer it over written content.
This type of content has shown amazing results in the last couple of years. These days, 84% of consumers get to the conversion point after watching a video.
But, how do you use videos to improve your marketing strategy?
After all, you can’t just post any video on any platform and expect to see these results. You need diverse, quality content in the right places for it to work. Here are some video types to enrich your content marketing:
- Live videos
- Product demo videos
- Testimonial videos
- Explainer videos
- Short videos on social media
- Behind-the-scenes videos
4. Influencer marketing
At first, marketers were hesitant about paying influencers to promote brands. We should have anticipated that this will become one of the most successful forms of marketing, really. Word of mouth has always been the strongest way to establish trust, and that’s exactly what influencers offer brands.
Based on the results so far, influencer marketing is set to thrive in the years that follow. As of now, this form of marketing brings $5.20 for every dollar spent. That places it with the most effective marketing strategies based on ROI.
What was once only practiced by a handful of brands is now used by most businesses with an online presence. If you haven’t done so already, you should catch up. Find the right influencers for your brand for the best results.
5. Email marketing
We cannot possibly mention ROI in combination with marketing strategies and fail to talk about email marketing. This strategy has worked wonders for a long time and its power doesn’t seem to go away. It has a potential ROI of $42 for every dollar spent.
The majority of marketers have been using email to generate leads and keep in touch with their existing customers. You can also use it for product launches, updates about your company, discounts, special offers, etc.
6. Responsible consumerism
Today’s consumer is very aware of the environment and society. Many of your target buyers will think twice before buying from a brand that isn’t environmentally conscious. They believe that brands are 33% responsible for the future of our environment.
What can you do to show social responsibility?
For starters, you can implement sustainable practices to reduce your company’s impact on the environment. There’s no shame in bragging about being ‘green’. As a matter of fact, it is encouraged because it prompts others to take action, too.
Social responsibility doesn’t end there. Your consumers expect you to be active in society and fight injustice. They want brands to support the rightful causes they believe in and stop supporting harmful practices.
Are you ready for 2023?
The end of 2022 is coming fast and now is the time to start working on a new, updated 2023 marketing strategy. If you haven’t tackled these points already, start as soon as possible to get yourself a competitive edge at the beginning of the new year.
Provided by Straight North
Author bio
Nadica Metuleva is a freelance writer who’s passionate about creating quality, original content. She holds a Master’s degree in English teaching and a Bachelor’s degree in translation. With 8 years of experience in the freelance writing industry, Nadica has become proficient in creating content that captivates the audience, drives growth, and educates. You can find her on LinkedIn.
