It’s always fun to look at what’s been going on in the landscape of our industry at the turn of the new year. Past and current trends help us predict the future and craft short- and long-term strategies.

​Additionally, looking at trends helps us best meet our customers where they are. That includes how and where to place messaging so it's best received. Let’s identify upcoming trends shaping the future of marketing.

People are on the go and use their smartphones to stay connected with work, family, friends, and even their favorite online shops. Businesses must prioritize the mobile-friendliness of their sites to optimize their marketing funnels.

​Since most customers interact with businesses on handheld devices, entrepreneurs must maintain responsive websites that adapt to various screen sizes. That requires a focus on mobile-friendly email marketing and investment in mobile app development as much as possible.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, helping marketers achieve more significant outcomes for clients at scale. AI takes over time-consuming and repetitive tasks, like data collection and analysis, marketing personalization, content crafting, and budget optimization.

AI collects and extracts insights from big data. Marketers use that vast collection to predict consumer behaviors. It uncovers consumer preferences and patterns to spot emerging trends marketers can leverage.

The user experience gets a boost, too. Customers receive prompt support from AI-powered chat boxes, finding more value in a company due to their user experience. Even though they may be communicating with a robot, their experiences feel personal and well attended to. Meanwhile, marketers and business owners gain more time to take care of value-added tasks.

Machine-learning algorithms utilized by programs like ChatGPT allow marketers to quickly personalize ad copy, search engine optimization (SEO) content, messages, and images at scale. However, these technologies are still in their infancy. It’s up to marketers and business owners to input good quality data and parameters and determine the quality of the output.

​With many duties taken on by AI, marketers gain more time to focus on creative marketing strategies.

Stories and hyper-personalized messaging are where it’s at. With virtual and augmented reality technologies (like the Metaverse) coming onto the scene, marketers can share stories and personalized campaigns that fully immerse the audience in a “sense”sational, value-driven message.

​Imagine potential customers experiencing how an outfit will look on them as they shop from the comfort of anywhere. Picture them choosing home interior design elements from a host of possibilities their interior designer sends them.

Video content will increasingly become the best way to attract and keep the audience’s ever-waning attention. Videos provide visual appeal and quickly disperse information in easily digestible chunks. Videos will become the go-to method of storytelling, advertising, and anticipation-building for product launches.

Users will increasingly interact with sellers and purchase through their social media platforms. Businesses must continue honing their marketing funnels to improve user experiences.

Purchasing options must be seamless and uncomplicated by distractions. Social e-commerce is a convenience for consumers and a dynamic opportunity for businesses to reach new customer bases and boost sales.

​With advanced ad-blockers, marketers must discover new and creative methods of engaging with audiences. This lends itself to creative commerce via social media platforms. Some innovative techniques might involve influencers or native advertising, where marketers can seamlessly integrate ads and product placement. Marketers must stealthily create and place educational, entertaining, and engaging ads that evade blocking technology.

Voice search capabilities and smart devices present challenges for marketers. People increasingly turn to voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri for solutions. As they do, businesses must optimize their online content for use with voice search queries. SEO writers and marketers will shift keyword strategies to focus on conversational and long-tail keywords.

Ad purchase and placement are cumbersome and a multi-step process. Automated (a.k.a. programmatic) advertising minimizes the time it takes to complete the process and maximizes the value of these duties.

Technology and strategy come together to streamline the process of buying and selling. Marketers can get access to algorithms and real-time bidding capabilities to automate their ad sales and purchases.

​Marketers gain additional targeting capabilities as technology collects info on a customer’s past purchasing decisions, browsing habits, and demographics. Marketers can target consumer needs with pinpoint timing and accuracy–virtually unheard of until now.

AI and robots will increasingly play more prominent roles in digital marketing this year. Machine learning and AI will improve the efficiency of internal marketing tasks.

Emerging tech will certainly not replace marketers–there’s a lot humans must do. The magic lies in creativity and implementation, the tasks no robot can replace. AI will assist with specific tasks, but the value lies in the freedom marketers gain to get creative and provide a unique human touch.

Stay updated on the latest technology has to offer so that you don’t get left behind. It’s essential to stay relevant and become a voracious learner in an ever-changing market.

​Marketers have opportunities to set themselves and their clients apart. Hyper-personalization will become the new bar set by AI, virtual reality, and augmented reality technologies.