Are you on top of all the recent trends in digital marketing? There's so much to keep track of, from the growth of AI to new developments in SEO, social media marketing, and much more.
We've done the research to help you understand all the important 2023 digital marketing trends and to see how you can use them in your work. We'll be updating this page every Wednesday, so keep checking back to see what's new.
Check out the latest digital marketing trends for each week:
September 2023 Digital Marketing Trends
Things change fast in the world of digital marketing, so it pays to stay up to date. Here are the latest digital marketing trends in September 2023, updated weekly.
September 27, 2023
Do you know what conversational ads are? Or what consumers are saying they want from brands on social media? If not, read on to discover the most important news and trends from the digital marketing world this week.
Advertising Gets Conversational
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the face of digital marketing, and Microsoft's new announcements could be another game-changer.
Bing Chat will soon offer Conversational Ads in which users can ask questions about the pros and cons of a product and get answers generated by artificial intelligence, along with a series of relevant products. And Snapchat is using Microsoft's Ads for Chat API to offer a similar experience in its app:
Want to Engage Customers on Social Media? Answer Their Queries!
Most brands now routinely use social media for digital marketing, but a new survey suggests that many companies are doing it wrong. Instead of producing clever content and broadcasting to customers, it might be more productive to listen to customers and respond promptly.
About three-quarters of consumers value how quickly a brand can respond to their concerns, and a growing number expect faster responses—sometimes within minutes.
Many marketers are turning to AI to help them provide quicker responses, but proceed with caution: a separate survey found that consumers would have less trust for brands making wider use of AI.
September 20, 2023
A new survey shows social media marketers are in danger of burnout. Will TikTok's major new product launch make their jobs easier? Read on to find out what's new in digital marketing this week.
TikTok Launches an Online Shop
If you're using TikTok for online digital marketing, you now have a powerful new option. TikTok has launched an online shop, so users in the US can now buy your products directly from the TikTok app.
We all know that simplifying the sales process can improve conversion, so the TikTok Shop could be a useful product for digital marketers to play with. Instead of sending users to a separate site, you can now sell to them directly within TikTok.
You can add shopping links to your videos, set up special TikTok Shop Ads, use affiliate programs, integrate with other eCommerce providers, and even have TikTok handle order fulfilment. So you have lots of new options to explore.
Social Media Marketers Grapple With Burnout
Hootsuite's new Social Media Career Report comes to mixed conclusions. The good news is that 77% of social marketers are happy in their jobs. But the bad news is that many also feel overwhelmed:
- 66% say they have too many different responsibilities.
- 51% don’t have enough time to do their job well.
- 47% don’t think they’re paid fairly.
- 56% say their bosses don’t understand social.
The result is that 41% of respondents say their work has a negative impact on their mental health, and a quarter plan to quit working in social media in the next year.
September 13, 2023
Several surveys announced this week revealed some surprising new trends in digital marketing. Here are the details of the new data and how you can use it.
TikTok Overtakes Google Among Gen Z Women
TikTok isn't just about bite-size entertainment—a growing number of young people are now using it as their search engine of choice.
In a new survey by Her Campus Media, 51% of Gen Z women chose TikTok over Google as their search engine. The reasons?
- results in video format (69%)
- more relatable answers (65%)
- personalized answers (47%)
A separate survey also released last week showed that brands are increasing their spending on influencer marketing faster than their spending on traditional advertising. And TikTok is showing the fastest growth in both categories:
Creativity and Humor Are Key
Meanwhile, another new survey shows that after years of decline, the use of humor in advertising has stayed steady this year, being used in about one-third of all ads. But it varies by medium, with humor used much more in radio and TV ads than in digital and print.
With surveys showing that consumers want humor in their ads, perhaps this is a missed opportunity for digital marketers.
Finally, if you're wondering what contributes the most to a sales lift from advertising, the answer is the creative work that goes into designing the ads themselves. That's the conclusion of new research from NCSolutions, highlighted on MarketingCharts.com. As you can see, creative wins by a wide margin, a result that's consistent in both 2017 and 2023.
September 6, 2023
With new features announced by both Google and YouTube, it was a busy week in digital marketing. Here's what you need to know.
A New Linking Feature for YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts are a great way to reach new viewers with quick videos of under a minute. But have you struggled to get those viewers to take the next step and click through to see more of your content? If so, YouTube just announced a new feature to help with that.
It's called "Related Links", and it's designed to help you convert viewers of Shorts into more engaged subscribers by providing a very visible link to a related long-form video:
You'll be able to add the link in YouTube Studio on your desktop, using a new menu in the Details tab on the right sidebar. You can link to any other YouTube content: a long-form video, a live video, or another Short.
Related links are coming to all YouTubers in September, so watch out for this new feature and give it a try.
Google Adds Links to Webpages in AI-Generated Search Results
Google has been experimenting with using AI in its search results for a while now, but has come under fire in the past for failing to link to its sources. This could be disastrous for digital marketers: you put all the effort into producing great content and get zero reward.
The good news is that Google is now including prominent links to relevant webpages within its AI-powered answers, according to Search Engine Land.
Next to a fact in an AI-powered overview, there will be an arrow that users can click to see one of the webpages that provided the underlying information.
Google's AI-powered results are currently available to users of its experimental Search Labs, but they're likely to come to the regular Google search soon, so digital marketers need to be aware of what's on the horizon.
August 2023 Digital Marketing Trends
What's new this month? Stay in touch with the latest digital marketing trends each week in August 2023.
August 30, 2023
Here are the latest digital marketing trends this week, including new EU rules for online platforms and a new advertising feature on TikTok.
TikTok Launches Ads in Search Results
It just became even easier for advertisers to reach potential customers on TikTok. The company has now launched TikTok Search Ads, a new feature that allows you to buy a spot in TikTok search results.
If you already have an ad campaign running on TikTok, the process will be seamless. All you have to do is toggle on "Include search results" in your settings:
TikTok will then automatically start showing your existing ad content to users who enter relevant search queries.
A new study shows that Gen Z consumers overwhelmingly use TikTok to discover new products. So, this new feature is a great way for companies to reach those consumers easily. Over time, TikTok could start to challenge the dominance of Google Ads in search advertising.
EU's Digital Services Act Goes Into Effect
The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) went into effect on August 25. Like GDPR, the new rules apply to Europe but are expected to have a wide impact on digital marketing trends around the world in the coming years.
Unlike GDPR, which applies to all websites, the DSA specifically targets large online platforms (those with over 45 million monthly users in the EU). Think Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, etc. But with so many advertisers using those platforms, it's important for all of us to pay attention to the new rules and to see how they will change the way the platforms operate. Here are the key points from the EU announcement:
- Advertisements must be clearly identified.
- Users will be able to know why they are seeing an ad and who is promoting it.
- Platforms must give users the ability to opt out of targeted ads.
- Targeted advertising towards children is banned.
- Advertising based on sensitive data, such as racial/ethnic origin or political opinions, is also banned.
- The platforms must do more to limit disinformation and illegal content.
August 23, 2023
From the success of the Women's World Cup to waning interest in Threads, here are some trends in digital marketing to be aware of this week.
Marketers Benefit From Women's World Cup
This year's FIFA Women's World Cup wrapped up with the final on Sunday, and marketers are looking back on a very successful tournament. Viewership broke new records, and a bevy of creative ad campaigns proved popular with fans both on TV and online.
Adidas, for example, hit the right note with its "Play Until They Can't Look Away" video:
But perhaps the most creative approach was this video by French company Orange. It seemed to be showing amazing skills by stars of the men's game, only to reveal halfway through that the video had been digitally manipulated. The impressive footage was really from women's football.
It's a clever way to challenge stereotypes, and the video achieved millions of views and was shared widely on social media.
Threads Struggles to Gain Traction
Planning to use Threads for your digital marketing? It's always a good idea to try a new platform, but proceed with caution: a recent Ipsos poll shows that US consumers have little to no interest in it.
Threads enjoyed an impressive start last month, signing up 100 million users in its first week. But this poll suggests that although many people tried it out, they may not all stick around. Indeed, separate data from SimilarWeb shows a dramatic drop in daily active users since the early peak in July.
Instead, keep your marketing efforts spread across the more established social media platforms. But monitor the latest digital marketing trends for Threads to see if it's worth investing more. Read our social media marketing tutorials for more ideas.
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Use the Newest Digital Marketing Trends and Top Digital Assets
The world of online digital marketing changes fast. Be sure to stay up-to-date by coming back to this page and checking for all the very latest news and trends in digital marketing. We'll keep it updated week by week.
And if you want to boost your marketing skills in the meantime, check out these free marketing tutorials from Envato Tuts+.
