10 Tech Trends That Will Influence Your Marketing Strategies
Updated: Apr 5
It will be a year of continued change in the digital marketing space. Here are 10 trends to leverage for your business.
Digital marketing is core to many businesses’ strategies, and the technology that supports these efforts is continually evolving.
Some existing trends will continue, including the growing importance of long-form educational content, chatbots and live chat, and voice search.
New emerging trends include Google’s push for a cookieless future.
This article is for business owners, digital marketers and marketing managers who want to know about major trends and what to focus on in their marketing efforts.
While many principles of marketing remain the same each year, the tools businesses use to achieve marketing success vary greatly over time. Newspaper advertising was once commonplace. Now, digital advertising and artificial intelligence play critical roles in the marketing tactics of businesses.
Every year, there are more technological trends for entrepreneurs to keep an eye on. Business owners who stay ahead of the curve might even find new heights of marketing success. Here are 10 trends we believe small businesses should take advantage of this year.
Let’s take a deeper dive into these trends and how they can benefit your business.
1. Authentic long-form content remains king
In content marketing, the trend has been toward long-form, educational content that aims to help users rather than sell to them. That trend will only continue, with developments like Google’s Helpful Content Update, which rolled out late last year. The content that will perform the best is content that thoroughly answers the questions people have and guides them toward the right decision for their circumstances.
Sharing about topics that interest your customers is a great way to build brand awareness and customer loyalty. You can build trust by showing you care about more than just a sale. Whether your content takes the form of a social media post, a blog or an email blast, ensure a balance between highlighting your products and providing valuable, actionable advice.
2. Short-form video content is coming for the crown
Although long-form educational content remains potent for blogging or podcasting, short-form video content is increasingly popular. Thanks to the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels, users are increasingly attuned to short snippets of entertaining or informative video content. Brands can use this trend to speak to their audience quickly and effectively amid a sea of other video content.
As users’ attention is pulled in many directions at once and attention spans shorten, clever short-form video content can get a brand’s message across in a matter of seconds. To capture the widest swath of your audience, deploy long-form content for users who want to dive deep and educate themselves, but create short-form video content for users who are scrolling to kill time.
3. Adoption of chatbots and conversational AI will increase
Chatbots, as well as more sophisticated conversational AI, will continue to make their way into the market and become increasingly accessible for small businesses. These tools can answer customers’ basic questions at all hours of the day or night, even if you’re focused on different tasks.
The emergence of ChatGPT, for example, shows that the era of AI-driven marketing is already here. Expect more small businesses to take advantage of accessible tools that can help generate marketing copy or connect with their customers around the clock.
“AI-powered chatbots can be used for customer support, expanding contact strategy dramatically with a controlled message,” said Joey Penick, former vice president of marketing at Lumen Technologies. “These chatbots have become so lifelike that many customers don’t even know the difference, but they offer the added benefit of being able to gather, analyze and provide actionable data that can be used to improve the customer experience.”
According to revenue acceleration platform Drift’s State of Conversational Marketing report, almost 42% of consumers use conversational AI and chatbots for purchases. Yet most small business owners surveyed said they didn’t use the technology.
4. Voice search will remain a critical focus
With mobile devices and voice services like Microsoft Cortana and Google Assistant increasing in popularity, voice search is one area where your small business can stand out among your competitors. If your busin