When you're working on your 2023 marketing strategy, you naturally want to know what trends are relevant. This way, you know which approach will (most likely) bring you success and you can use the trends to support your strategy. The marketing trends are based on the developments of the past year. In this blog, I'll discuss the three most important marketing trends of 2023.
The importance of storytelling continues to grow in 2023, this goes hand in hand with personification. Giving a b2b organization a face or character is becoming increasingly important and is therefore an indispensable marketing trend for 2023, but it is important to stay consistent. Choosing an archetype can help with that. This way, you ensure that you remain recognisable and reliable for the target group.
Every year, PwC conducts large-scale research into the expectations gap between consumers, employees and managers. This year, 2022, the survey was a lot about trust. 71% of consumers say they won't buy if they lose trust in an organization. What's remarkable about this report is that 87% of executives think their customers have a lot of trust in the organization, while in reality, that's only 30%.
So you can't blindly assume that your customers (and even your employees) trust you. So include gaining trust as a goal in your marketing plan. You can do this in many ways. Transparency, for example, is an effective way to achieve this.
33% of consumers also say they trust organizations if they treat their employees well. This makes this one of the marketing trends that is not only good for the numerals, but also helps improve and/or maintain a healthy work environment for your employees. Therefore, implement this trend mainly in your social media. marketing strategy from 2023!
Social selling is a strategic method. Here, organizations use digital platforms to approach (potential) customers and to develop relationships with the target group. This method is used as part of the (potential) customer's sales process, or the buyer journey.
Nowadays, around 75% of B2B consumers include social media in their buyer journey. Social selling is therefore a must for most b2b organizations. What's also important to realize is that 50% of b2b consumers LinkedIn sees you as a reliable source. LinkedIn is therefore one of the best, whether or not the best, channel to be b2b organization to use it for the use of social selling.
There are four social selling pillars that you can use for each platform.
As an organization, you don't want to come across as intrusive and commercial. You then only build up little trust with your target group. By you as thought leader By positioning, you do build trust with your target group. You also want to be known not only for your service or product, but also for who you are as an organization. For the sake of knowledge, expertise and professionalism that controls you. This shows your (potential) customers that you really contribute value. This is the first step in social selling, it's the first impression.
Specific targeting leads to greater success when it comes to social selling. You know who your target group is and what desires that group has. Based on that, create specific personas and find out exactly what they're looking for. For example, consider which sector your persona works in and what position they hold. This way, you can target specifically and in a targeted manner.
So social selling is not just about expanding your network, but really about building valuable relationships with the right people. You do this, among other things, by targeting them with your content marketing strategy.
By sharing your knowledge and expertise, as you've read above, you build trust. The way you share that knowledge and expertise is the third pillar of successful social selling. Namely: be authentic and find the tone of voice that matches the persona you're approaching. So it's better not to just copy and paste a standard message when you approach the (potential) customer. Make it personal and appropriate for the customer. You first name their needs and only come back to sales later.
Tip: Emphasize what you have in common with the customer or name an article about a topic that is relevant to both of you.
Consistency is a must. Hold on, social selling takes time. Like all other marketing methods, you plant seeds with your target group. The people you approach may not be ready for what you offer at the moment, but they may soon!
Therefore, maintain your liaising good. Emphasize the importance of your relationship and remember: not every moment of contact is a time to sell. When you maintain consistent contacts, they'll think of you as soon as they're ready. By using social selling, trust will grow and they will be more likely to give it to you. Your efforts won't always be rewarded equally, but the persistence wins.
So far, the three most important marketing trends for 2023. If you want to know more about social media, you can continue reading my blog about the social media trends for 2023. In this blog, I'll talk about the trends you can implement in your social media strategy. You can also include the marketing trends mentioned in this blog. Good luck creating your New Year's marketing plans.
