In a world where businesses are constantly vying for consumer’s attention, it’s becoming increasingly important for your brand to stand for something beyond just your product or service. The upcoming generations are no longer content with simply being sold to.
Instead, consumers want to know that the brands they support share their values and are committed to making a positive impact in the world. This is especially true to younger consumers, who are quick to turn away from brands that fall short of their expectations.
Understanding the shift in consumer behaviour is crucial to forging and maintaining customer relationships stronger. Your business activity and marketing tactics should focus on using your platforms to advocate what consumers believe in, to create a more meaningful experience through your marketing efforts.
This is a heartening trend, and one that is sure to continue as potential customers become ever more discerning about the brands they choose. Besides that, we’ve put together some of the most important digital marketing trends in Partnership Marketing and not only that you should keep an eye on for a more complex marketing strategy that could actually increase brand awareness, customer retention and increase sales.
Trends in Digital marketing and strategic collaboration
As technology advances, what was considered cutting-edge past few years ago may now be seen as outdated, and what is popular today may be forgotten tomorrow. As such, it is essential for many businesses to stay abreast of the top digital marketing trends.
A key part to do this is for your brand to opt out of the usual marketing tools and shift your focus to searching for potential partners in order to seal marketing campaigns with one company that shares your values.
When two or more businesses team up, they can pool their resources and knowledge to stay ahead of the curve and solidify the brand image. Strategic partnership will also help to build relationships, audience engagement and more opportunities for future growth.
Top 5 Trends in digital marketing
2023 is shaping up to be an eventful year in the digital world, and businesses need to be prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Here are 5 trends in digital marketing and partnerships that you should pay attention to:
- Sustainability & holistic commitment to a purpose
- Inclusive marketing approaches
- Long-term influencer marketing partnership
- Going mobile: a critical digital touchpoint
- Dynamic customer experience with AI
Let’s just dive into each digital trend to see how can your brand unfold it!
Sustainability & holistic commitment to a purpose
Today’s marketplace and social platforms abound in marketing messages that strive to catch on consumer’s attention, leading brands to find new ways to draw a clear line between what they have to offer and how they differ from other businesses.
While price and quality are two important factors in social commerce, your target audience is no longer interested in just that. Therefore, these two dimensions are no longer enough to differentiate your brand from competitors. Instead, to reach new markets and shape the customer journey in your favour, you need to focus on purpose-related factors.
This could include anything from social responsibility to environmental sustainability. By aligning themselves with a broader purpose, brands can connect with consumers on a deeper level and become more than just a provider of goods or services.
Inclusive marketing approaches
Social Media and all the other marketing channels made the world a much more connected place than ever before. Multiple channels give brands access to a vast array of consumers from all corners of the globe. In order to remain relevant, it is imperative for brands to reflect the diversity of their customer base in their online content portrayal.
When consumers see themselves represented by the brands they purchase from and the engaging content they see, they are more likely to form a meaningful connection that will reflect in the purchase history.
Forward-thinking brands understand that in order to stay ahead of the curve, they must be inclusive in their messaging and appeal to a wide range of consumers. By reflecting the world around them, brands can stay relevant and connect with customers on a deeper level.
Rihanna’s approach on an inclusive marketing strategy
Instead of projecting the perfect social media image of a white, thin, unattainable presence of a woman, Rihanna’s Fenty brand has become the number one example of how to do diversity and inclusion right.
From using plus sized models to creating gender neutral products, the brand has resonated with consumers because it feels authentic. Rihanna understands the wants and needs of her customers, and she is using her platform to make sure that everyone, especially potential new customers feel included. This commitment to diversity and inclusion is not only admirable, but it’s also good business.
Long-term influencer marketing partnership
Yet another digital trend that’s here to stay for a while is no other than partnering up with influencers. Forging alliances with influential people, celebrities and making them key opinion leaders still has the capacity to be a stable form of income revenue within digital and traditional advertising.
However many marketers and therefore brands believe that switching from one influencer to another based on their followers is the key to raise awareness faster and connect with new potential clients. There’s no doubt that first impressions are important. But when it comes to making an impact that lasts, repetition is key.
While short-term influencer partnerships can be a great way to test the waters and see what kind of content strategy performs well with your audience, it’s vital that your content partnership will build trust and foster meaningful relationships with influential members of your community. And you can only achieve that by forging long-term partnerships.
George Clooney’s history with Nespresso
Maybe one of the best examples out there is the Nespresso x Clooney partnership. One long-term deal that increased sales and secured the company’s place as a leading coffee brand with the helping hand (or face) of Clooney’s easygoing charm and quick wit.
The partnership between Clooney and Nespresso debuted in 2006 and since then the actor expressed his excitement to work with a brand that lets him combine his philantropic and commercial attempts.
Clooney has appeared in a variety of advertisements ranging from social media posts, print ads, and TV commercials. While the long-term deal boosted Nespresso’s reach and audience, it has also netted Clooney millions of dollars.
The arrangement has been beneficial for both parties, with Clooney becoming the public face of Nespresso and helping to raise awareness of the brand. Thanks to Clooney’s involvement, Nespresso has become one of the most recognizable names in the coffee industry.
Going mobile: a critical digital touchpoint
With people using their phones for almost anything, it is important that businesses make sure their personalized messaging formats are up to par with the current standards. In order to keep up with the competition and continue to draw in consumers, brands need to be aware of the importance of mobile marketing and make sure they are investing in it.
Consequently, another emerging trend for 2023 is the supreme reign of mobile apps and the new critical digital touchpoint: tailoring and formatting the content to fit for mobile screen. Additionally, it is important to make sure that all advertising elements are easily accessible and visible on a small screen. If advertisers can do this, then they will be well on their way to success in the years to come.
Dynamic customer experience with Artificial Intelligence
Brands have always sought to help customers make purchase decisions, but the rise of digital channels and hybrid online-offline journeys, along with heightened customer expectations, have made it difficult to create and deliver a dynamic experience that provides customers with the right information and incentives when they need it most.
Which is why our one last stop for today will most certainly be in the AI department. AI is currently gaining popularity and it is still viewed as one of the emerging technological trends that brands should be aware of. Using machine learning software and predictive analytics for relevant data collection enables brands to assist customers throughout their decision making process.
In doing so, not only will brands be able to provide a dynamic experience for customers, but they will also be able to predict customer behaviour and deliver whatever they want whenever and wherever they want it.
That’s a wrap!
What are your thoughts of these 5 digital trends that we are about to face in the upcoming months? For more insightful news, join our partnership marketing platform and get yourself signed up for our weekly newsletter to keep getting updates that can help your brand to break into new markets.