New year, new digital marketing trends! Each new year provides organizations, and marketers in particular, with brand new opportunities to optimize and revamp their promotional strategies. And let’s be clear, today’s marketers are no stranger to adapting to changes in their industry or pivoting their tactics to win over customers and beat out the competition. According to HubSpot, approximately 80% of marketers report their industry has changed more in the last three years than it has in 50 years. Would you agree? No doubt, this rapid innovation and change stems from the pandemic and the ever-evolving need to keep up with growing customer demands. 

But which digital marketing trends will have the greatest impact on your top line revenue? Let’s explore the top 7 trends we expect to reign supreme this year.

1. Google's Launch of Multisearch will Change the Way We Search

Google’s algorithm changed! Shocker… 

But this time, it’s actually pretty cool and, in our opinion, changed the search engine for the better, benefiting both consumers and marketers. In April 2022, Google announced its feature, multisearch. This feature offers a new way to search, helping consumers with intricate or confusing search queries find exactly what they need by leveraging text and images at the same time. 

Here’s how it works—consumers can use Google Lens, a tool that compares objects in a picture to other images, to explore every ornate detail, item, or text within the image. Plus, using artificial intelligence, Google will provide the consumer with similar products, providing the most relevant search results at increased speed. According to Google, “With multisearch in Lens, you can go beyond the search box and ask questions about what you see.”

This not only helps consumers find the products or answers they’re looking for in an easier, faster fashion, but it also helps marketers broaden their digital reach. We expect marketers in 2023 to leverage tools like Google Vision API, various marketing assets, including images, PDFs, videos, and more to maximize their ranking in multisearch engine results—leading us to believe that multisearch is one of the top digital marketing trends this year.

➡️ Check out multisearch and its capabilities here.

2. Short Videos will Continue Taking Over Social Media

The HubSpot Blog's 2023 Marketing Strategy & Trends Report finds that 90% of marketers already using short-form video will increase or maintain their investment in 2023. For those who aren’t currently using short-from video, 1 in 5 plan to do so this year.

Short videos, as seen on TikTok or Reels on Instagram, are taking over social media platforms. And the good news is, videos attract people of all industries and demographics. Don’t even try to lie to yourself and say you haven’t been swept away from reality at one point or another, endlessly scrolling through social media videos for way longer than you’d probably care to admit. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there! 

And that’s why short videos are high on our list of digital marketing trends to be aware of—because they keep audiences engaged. Not to mention, videos in general lead to higher conversions. In fact, 84% of buyers report that watching a brand’s product video motivated them to make a purchase. It’s a win all around! But if you fail to prioritize short videos in your marketing strategy this year, your brand is likely to fall by the wayside to competitors. 

➡️ Check out our article on the 5 Reasons B2B Organizations Should Prioritize Video Marketing to learn more.

3. Consumers' Attention Spans are Dropping… It's Time for Short, Clear, and Concise Messaging

The average human’s attention span is just 8.25 seconds. That being said, the days of writing white papers that are dozens of pages long are over. Just like we’re seeing with videos, today’s buyers want short-form content that gets straight to the point. 

Think about it, when you make a Google search for something like “Best ways to navigate data privacy regulations in 2023” do you read the resulting articles from top to bottom? Or do you skim the blog in search of a subheading that’s most relevant to you? Yeah, we thought so. To accommodate this fast-paced mindset today’s buyers have, it’s important to curate content that’s short, concise and meaningful. We recommend:

• Keeping marketing emails shorter than 180 words
• Writing blogs with approximately 800 words (unless otherwise necessary)
• Ensure your blog’s subheadings are clear and offer valuable context to a visitor skimming the page
• Focus your time creating more short-form content (i.e. blogs, social networking posts, emails, etc.)

➡️ Explore ways to prevent digitally overloading your customers with high-quality content—read the blog.

4. Employee Advocacy will be a Marketing Priority

There are few marketing tactics that beat word-of-mouth advocacy, especially when it comes from the company’s employees. And this is why employee advocacy is one of our favorite digital marketing trends. Think about it, B2B employees have massive networks of people in your industry who could likely benefit from your product. By sharing promotional content on behalf of the company, employees are empowered to bring in new business, boost brand exposure, and drive engagement.

Here’s how you can do it. Enable employees with the materials and assets they need to promote the business through their professional LinkedIn accounts. If it’s within budget, set up an incentive program that encourages and awards employees when they hit advocacy milestones such as: 

• Creating 5+ social media posts about the company
• Making 2+ new connections through their advocacy efforts
• Acquiring a lead through their advocacy

There are even tools you can use to automatically post content on behalf of your employees (with their permission, of course) such as SocialHP. This platform allows you to create and schedule posts to your employees’ provided social media accounts. The best part is, you can create a multitude of post variations so that no one is sharing the same messaging. Plus, employees can even edit their own post to personalize it to their liking. Pretty cool, huh? 

➡️ For other tips for effective social media outreach, take a look at our blog, How to Optimize Your Marketing Strategies for Social Media Algorithms.

5. Data Privacy Laws will Change the Way We Gather Data

Due to the recent onset of data privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the fact that brands like Apple are changing their privacy policies, plus many data scandals, consumers have become increasingly aware (and worried) about their data privacy. Who can blame them? That’s why we expect data privacy laws in 2023 will alter the way we gather data forever.

Today’s business leaders are rethinking how to best collect, store and access consumer data in a safe and secure way—all the while keeping customer’s worries and concerns at bay. In fact, 97% of organizations have already increased their spending on data privacy, with an average increase of 50%. 

To gain the most value from your customers, despite these new data privacy regulations, it’s important to prioritize transparency and first-party data. Being transparent and sharing with customers what data you’re looking to collect and why is a great first step. Zero-party data allows the customer to proactively and intentionally share information with your business. It’s the ultimate form of customer consent, since providing information like communication preferences and purchase intentions is explicitly voluntary.

➡️ For more information on how to prepare your marketing initiatives to navigate data privacy in 2023, check out our recent article.

6. Optimizing for Mobile will be a Must-Do

More than half of all website traffic comes from mobile devices. If you’re not already, the time to optimize your site, your blog, your content, etc. for mobile is now. Not to mention, Google’s algorithm now prioritizes mobile content. That means even when you’re searching on a desktop, the result you get is based on mobile rankings. Which is why it’s hardly surprising that 64% of SEO experts believe mobile optimization is effective and worthwhile.

As a top digital marketing trend for 2023, it’s important that you make it a priority to optimize your site for mobile. According to HubSpot, 33% of marketers around the world already invest in mobile web design. Don’t let your business fall behind the competition just because your site isn’t responsive to all screen sizes.

➡️Take a look at all of our recommendations, in addition to optimizing your site for mobile, to augment your tech stack and maximize your growth potential.

7. Paid Search will Remain a Top Marketing Initiative

Are you surprised to see paid search as one of the digital marketing trends for 2023? Of course not. Pay-per-click ads generate 2x as much web traffic as SEO alone. Not only do they boost web traffic, but they can increase brand awareness by up to 80%.

And when the Google advertising network reaches 90% of internet users, a killer Google Ads campaign is clearly one of the best ways for digital marketers to extend their reach and generate best-fit leads. In fact, consumers are four times more likely to click ads on Google than any other advertisement network. And with users who visit a website through Google Ads being 50% more likely to make a purchase, Google Ads campaigns can even boost your business’s revenue. 

But that’s not to say that social media advertising isn’t worthwhile. As a matter of fact, LinkedIn ads enable you to directly target high-value prospects with account-based marketing opportunities—providing you with advanced targeting capabilities.

➡️ Google Ads vs. LinkedIn Ads. Which is right for your business? Find out in our blog.