The Smart Lab: These Will Be the Big Digital Marketing Trends in 2023
Live chat, influencers and video are just a few of the elements that need to be part of your digital marketing plan, Emmanuel Raheb writes.

Today’s hot new digital marketing strategy can become obsolete by tomorrow.
The pandemic forced rapid evolution across industries. What would have taken decades in the past has happened within a few short years.
The marketing rules have fundamentally changed and to continue to be successful, you need to adapt and grow.
Here are the top digital marketing trends you should be aware of in 2023.
1) Outsourcing Digital Marketing Will Be a Needed Change
With old social media platforms dying and fresh ones taking their place, it’s hard to keep up with every new development.
Algorithms change constantly, and content that was popular in the past may get little traction when posted now.
New types of advertising are always being created by Google, Facebook, and Instagram, with each one becoming more aggressive as they compete for your marketing dollars. You could easily waste your marketing budget on ads that are ineffective.
The most successful jewelers stick to what they know best—selling jewelry! They leave the challenges and difficulties of digital marketing to the experts, outsourcing whenever possible.
2) Real-Time Messaging Will Play an Important Role
Consumers (especially those people under 30) live in an age of instant gratification. If they have a question, they want an answer now; they won’t wait.
Mobile phones and the internet have made everything quickly accessible at our fingertips and have trained consumers to expect an immediate response.
Having live chat (or SMS texting) available on your website is an absolute must.
The effectiveness of real-time messaging will only grow over time as more people contact you this way.
Also, you want to make sure that your jewelry store’s phone number is visible on all key areas of your website. Most younger customers will prefer to message you, but some will call.
Any method that a consumer wants to use should be available. With your competition only a click away, doesn’t it make sense to be the jeweler the customer contacts first?
3) Influencer Marketing Will Continue to Grow
There are millions of influencers out there today. A few years ago, there were just thousands.
Everyone is competing for the same eyeballs, and those influencers with the biggest followings will garner the most attention. You need to know which influencers interest your audience the most!
Investigate your audience. Look at who follows you and take notice of who they follow. You can learn a lot about your customers when you dig a little into the details to see who’s “influencing” them.
As traditional media continues to fragment and go out of business, the importance of influencer marketing will only continue to grow.
4) Video Content Will Play a Greater Role
You may have noticed much more video content in your Instagram and TikTok feeds. That’s because videos have been given priority in the algorithms.
Posting photos is out and posting videos is in.
Video content is much more engaging; it’s what keeps people on the site longer. This means more dwell time and more eyeballs to sell advertising space to.
As competition increases, you can expect videos to be the predominant media promoted online.
5) Social Responsibility Will Be a Deciding Factor
Values change over time. What was important to one generation isn’t important to another.
In the past, people may have wanted the cheapest price for an item, but now are willing to pay just a little bit more if it means having a clear conscience and making them feel good about their purchase.
Issues such as responsible mining practices and “blood diamonds” are part of the decision-making process for many consumers.
To them, social responsibility and living up to their values is more important than saving money. It’s part of who they are and how they define themselves.
Offering a choice and carrying jewelry that is socially responsible can help you not only attract new customers but also build your brand equity.
Your jewelry store benefits from the goodwill of being a caring and responsible business with values. Good deeds pay unexpected dividends.
The most successful jewelers learn from their past, but always keep an eye on the future. They not only anticipate what changes may impact their sales but embrace them.
The trend train is meant to be ridden and to succeed you need to be firmly in the driver’s seat.
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