5 Marketing Trends and Tactics for 2023

There's no denying 2023 is going to bring more challenges for businesses.

Continuing to invest in your marketing has never been more crucial, but it's so important to get it right and avoid wasting time and effort.

To help point you in the right direction, here's our Top 5 Marketing Trends and Tactics for 2023.

1. Think Local

Achieve higher and faster market penetration while avoiding getting lost in the overcrowded digital marketing space by concentratating your efforts locally. One thing the lockdowns have given us is that consumers have never felt a bigger sense of community and loyalty to local businesses.

This method is obviously not for national or international e-commerce websites, but for businesses looking to attract an audience in a specific geographic location, save yourself time and money by defining where your ideal audience are and target your campaigns accordingly; be that search engine optimisation, social media marketing and advertising, email marketing, online advertising, you name it - all of these you can do on a local level and there is less competition and a much higher return on investment.

2. Don't be fooled in to thinking you need to spend a fortune on Search Engine Optimisation

Almost 80% of local searches on mobile lead to conversions. Local SEO strategies can help you attract these searchers who are often ready to buy. Even if most of your business comes from word of mouth, people will go on to Google you to check you out. If they can't easily find you it will affect your credibility and may well lose you a potential customer.

And the great news is, you don't necessarily need to be spending a fortune or using an SEO Agency especially if you're just looking to rank for local terms, it will just cost you in your time.

You can make a difference with just a few steps: Google My Business Profile Listing - if you don't have one yet you can quickly create one and we urge you to do so asap. If you already have one, make sure it's up to date and fully optimised - there's pointers on your page so just take a look at the tips on there and implement.

Website/on page SEO - make sure you have relevant, unique urls for every page, Meta Title's and Meta Descriptions. It's simple but we see many website's without the basic search engine requirements. Make it easy for Google to find you.

Link Building - When websites link to your website, search algorithms determine that you have "authority" in your industry because other brands are referring to you. And websites with high traffic and authority that link to you will give your website even bigger clout! You can register to list your website on industry and local websites. Many are free but those with a higher domain authority and traffic will charge a small fee but it's worth it and will save you money in the long run. You can have a profile listing with links to your sites and socials on the Total Guide to sites for just £10+VAT per month. You can upload your listing to Total Guide to Swindon in just a few minutes here.

3. Don't get carried away with using all social media channels

There are so many platforms out there, but don't be tempted to use them all. Understand where most of your target audience are looking and concentrate on those. It's better to do a few well than to do them all badly. Social Media Trends develop quickly, consider attending training events (we run regular workshops), and listening regularly to the Social Media Marketing Podcast by Michael Stelzner.

Whatever channel you choose, just remember that short form video content remains supreme and if you're going to advertise on social media keep your audience local to lower costs and raise engagement and response rates.

4. Tap into the power of Micro-Influencers

8 out of 10 consumers purchased something after seeing it recommended by an Influencer. Influencer marketing works for a breadth of business sectors, not just fashion, fitness and beauty. We have filtered down the best micro influencers in our Total Guide to locations and have great preferential rates. Just let us know if you would like to explore influencer marketing and we can select the right influencer for you and your target audience and organise a written website review and Instagram reel for as little at £199+VAT!

5. Tell stories through Email Marketing

One of the top email marketing trends for 2023 is a boost in using story telling. Just like your other marketing methods you need to provide content that connects your customers to your brand. Do this by telling your story by communicating team and client wins and share your values. Don't overtly try and sell, build a trusting relationship and they will come!

So many of our clients have really strong databases of loyal customers but aren't reaching out to them. Your customers and potential clients want to find out about you but people's lives are busier than ever so you need to constantly remind them you're there and email marketing is a very effective way of doing this. There are many Email Marketing providers out there many of which providing free trials. The likes of MailChimp and Dotdigital are really easy to use - even if you're a novice, there are plenty of templates and user guides.

We know that many businesses are nervous about next year but you don't need to spend a lot to make sure you are being seen. The fantastic thing about digital marketing is that it's tangible so you will quickly know which methods are working best for you and what you need to focus on.

I hope these tips help guide you in the right direction but please feel free to email or call me on 07814080119 if you would like any or all of these fleshed out for you.

All the best for 2023.