As we approach the end of 2022, we may find ourselves looking back on challenges brought on in the past year, but it’s best to keep looking ahead, right? Besides, we can’t exactly press pause on 2023 planning and expect to be successful next year. As business leaders, we need to put strategies in place right now, and digital marketing has a major role to play in our plans. WiredViews and a couple of our closest partners put together a list of the latest trends and tactics we think businesses should focus on for a successful 2023.
Damien Pierce
WiredViews
Here Comes Google Analytics 4
In July 2023, Google will say goodbye to its current version of Google Analytics and transition everyone to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
That means you’ve only got a few months left to get comfortable with GA4.
We recommend that you get a head start by activating your GA4 account to begin collecting data and customizing reports. The analytics platform features reporting templates that are similar to what you might find in Google Data Studio, making it easier to build reports around the metrics that matter most to you.
Getting started early will also allow you to evaluate how conversions are tracked in GA4. If you’re comfortable with sessions and pageviews, you’ll need time to adjust to an event-based tracking model that emphasizes interactions and the customer journey over visits.
Then there’s the matter of your historical data. Google won’t erase your historical data in July 2023, but it won’t migrate that data to GA4. In fact, by the end of the year, the plan is to wipe away all that data from the current version of Google Analytics. One of the most powerful aspects of analytics is to identify trends against your previous performance. So from that angle, it’s important to determine how you’re going to retain that historical data, even if the plan is as simple as downloading it and preserving it in spreadsheets.
If you need help getting started, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Katie Lawton
WiredViews
Leverage User-Generated Content
You’ve probably seen it before: videos, images, reviews, and even podcasts focused on brand-specific content, created by consumers. Whether you recognize it or not, this is user-generated content (UGC) and is defined as content created by users rather than brands.
Consumer-centric content can be used not only on social media platforms, but also in emails, landing pages, videos, and more. UGC serves as a modern-day, word-of-mouth marketing tool and can reach a larger audience than traditional marketing. Plus, consumers are 2.4x more likely to trust user-generated content over content created by brands. UGC acts as a trust signal; more like a personal recommendation that can influence a buying decision.
Did I mention it’s cost-effective? Other campaigns may involve flashy creative or expensive influencers, but asking your customers to share how your product or service helps them costs you nothing.
Before you begin asking for UGC, make sure you review your marketing strategy and determine how it can help you reach your goals. Lastly, be sure you’re tracking the success of your campaign, which can be measured using analytics and social media listening tools, so you can assess valuable metrics and make any necessary adjustments.
Sean Wright
WiredViews
Low-code, No-code Solutions for Businesses
The demand for experienced software developers continues to grow, outpacing the number of available candidates for positions.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that “overall employment of web developers and digital designers is projected to grow 23 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.”
This high demand will continue into the foreseeable future since every company is now a software company, and as a result, organizations are looking to adopt low-code and no-code software solutions.
Low-code and no-code products focus on building tools and solutions visually or through simple rules systems rather than with programming language code. This opens the door for citizen developers or members of non-IT departments to create value for an organization through software.
Not all solutions can be delivered with low-code or no-code products, and those products still need software development teams to build and maintain them. However, low-code and no-code solutions can help non-coders get more done with less. Unfortunately, these solutions often cater to the lowest common denominator of functionality and can have difficulty modeling requirements and workflows unique to each business.
WiredViews helps accelerate digital transformations on the web with Kentico Xperience, a feature-rich DXP (digital experience platform) that can deliver effective digital experiences, built and governed through a low-code or no-code user interface. At the same time, WiredViews fills in the missing piece in low-code and no-code solutions by adapting and modeling our clients processes through customizations to their Kentico Xperience site, delivering solutions that truly work for them and achieving the best of both worlds.
Cynthia Rieger
WiredViews
Integrating Sales & Marketing
With all the changes in communication and technology of late, the days of siloed sales and marketing departments are over. To be truly successful, businesses need to consider that both departments work toward the same goals–bringing in new customers and increasing revenue–and function more as puzzle pieces than square pegs and round holes. With the sales funnel becoming more of a flywheel, a continuous cycle of attracting, engaging, and delighting both new and existing customers, it behooves the two teams to work closely together to recognize opportunities for positive customer engagement, leading to increased profit.
Bringing the sales and marketing teams together over common information and actions is a good beginning. For example, understanding the customer personas and journeys benefits both sales and marketing, since knowing who you’re speaking to can only make your message stronger. Communicating the basics of what marketing campaigns look like so sales is aware of what offers are bringing new people in, salespeople sharing common customer questions that marketing can answer on social media, bringing the company together under a CRM so lead names, scores, concerns, and data are available to all are a few ways of collaborating that decreases friction for the consumer, leading to increased earnings and long-term brand loyalty.
Utilize Curated Content
Most companies know the importance of creating original content. Not only does this help with SEO, but also it positions your company as a thought leader in your industry. However, oftentimes it can be difficult to find the time to create this content or find employees who are willing to write something when writing may not be an accessible skill. As a result, companies throw up their hands and do nothing. A better alternative? Try utilizing curated content.
Sharing industry knowledge that’s written by others is certainly acceptable; if it’s informative and insightful, others will appreciate the fact that you chose to share it with your audience. In addition, sharing this information demonstrates to others that you remain in-the-know and can add value to their lives.
Put your personal spin on it by beginning the blog with your own reflection of the article before linking to it. Or, if it’s a social media post, start the post with a quick thought of why you found this content useful. Be sure to tag the resource; you never know when you could be reposted!
Brian Silver
Sterling Digital
PPC Trends: Automation
Automation is not a new trend, but as we turn the calendar to 2023, the influence that automation has on SEM is outpacing any other performance factor. Many functions of PPC management are already automated, the efficiencies of which allow PPC practitioners to focus more on strategy, data, and the audience experience.
The acceleration into automation is highlighted by Google’s Performance Max product, but AI solutions aren’t limited to just Google. Meta’s Advantage Plus and Bing’s multi-platform Smart Campaigns are two more examples of platforms promoting products that let the algorithms do the heavy lifting on critical elements like budgets and placements.
Naturally, innovation brings disruption. Machine learning, AI, and automation are no different. You’ll lose insight on details you’ve been accustomed to having control over, such as search queries and ad unit placement. However, the potential of interacting with your audience through multiple touch points should be embraced.
Sure, the loss of transparency and control may be frustrating, but it will free up practitioners to focus on other meaningful areas like your audience and their need states. This offers you an opportunity to put your audience first so you can deliver the right message at the right time to produce the right result.
Be prepared to adopt a flexible PPC structure in 2023 to be sure you can maximize and balance machine learning with thoughtful strategy to execute successful campaigns. Additionally, learn to leverage the complete digital marketing ecosystem as the lines between PPC, SEO, CRO, Analytics and Content continue to blur.
In Summary...
To summarize, here are some key points from each section to help you plan your marketing strategy in the upcoming year:
- Get a head start by transitioning your Google Analytics account to a GA4 account to begin collecting data and customizing reports before Google Analytics goes away in July 2023.
- User-generated content (UGC) can be used in multiple channels and serves as modern word-of-mouth marketing, reaching a larger audience than traditional marketing.
- Sharing curated content on the web and social media platforms can save you time and help your audience see you as an industry expert who stays in the know. Just be sure to tag your resources!
- Adopting a flexible PPC structure in 2023 can help you to maximize and balance machine learning with thoughtful strategy to execute successful campaigns.
- Low-code and no-code products offer laymen drag-and-drop options for building and testing applications, easing—in a limited way—a need created by a shortage of software developers.
- To be truly successful, sales and marketing teams need to work toward the same goals and function together in order to increase revenue and long-term brand loyalty.
Need more help planning your digital marketing strategy for 2023? Our experienced team would be delighted to assist you in executing some of these trends in the coming year, including others not listed above. Just reach out to us to schedule a quick call when it’s convenient for you.
