2023 Digital Marketing Strategy: 5 BIG Changes I'm Making
I’ve been talking about how important it is for your (and my!) small business to be found + noticed + remembered online for quite some time now. In fact, it is the foundation of everything I do and everything I recommend for a digital marketing strategy for my clients. This part of the strategy isn’t changing.
So what is changing this year? I’m making 5 big changes to my strategy … including leaning into AI and embracing conscious consumerism.
But, before I dive into that – who the rubber duck 🐥 am I? If we haven't met before, I’m Shaz and I run Elmtree Digital Marketing. I’m a Squarespace designer and educator and have been building websites for eons. I’m a solopreneur since (ahem … let’s just say a long time ago). I’ve seen lots of good design and lots of not-so-good design and now I help small business owners get seen + noticed + remembered online with great design on easy-to-maintain squarespace websites. If that’s of interest to you …
👇read on …
Foundational Strategy
Getting FOUND OnLine
First and foremost your small business needs to be seen. This means:
getting in front of potential clients and customers through multi-platform (sometimes called omnichannel) marketing
being consistent in your activity online
optimizing your activity with the current best practices for small business marketing
Being seen means getting more eyes on you, your business, your website, and ultimately your products and services.
Getting NOTICED Online
Once you have the eyes on you - you want to be noticed.
There is an awful lot of noise out there in the world of social media and you want to be sure your brand stands out.
Creative content that’s unique and interesting and compelling is the key here.
Strong hooks in social media captions, compelling subject lines in email marketing, eye-catching graphics all continue to be important to help you stand out.
And everything needs to fit within your brand visuals.
Getting REMEMBERED Online
But the real key to successful social media and online digital marketing is getting remembered.
I will continue to be focused on content that is valuable to my ideal client and you should be too.
My goal is to figure out exactly what my clients (and potential clients need) and then deliver it and consistently exceed their expectations.
So what’s NEW in my 2023 Digital Marketing Strategy?
Authenticity and relatability are at the 💗 of my strategy
It’s not exactly new, as I have always tried to be both authentic and relatable, but rather, it just that I will be focusing a whole lot more on both.
Underlying every part of the foundation of the strategy is that your online digital presence needs to be and feel authentically you - your voice, your values, your brand, you.
At the heart of your marketing strategy is trust, because human connection is the single most important part of your marketing strategy in 2023.
Strategy 1: Build Human Connection
We’ve all heard before that people buy from people, not corporations … and in 2023, it is even more true. We are all craving honest, relatable, authentic connection. So in 2023, it is time to be more open, more vulnerable, more personal in your marketing. No matter how good your product or service is, it’s just another product. YOU are the Unique Differentiator.
3 Actions You Can Take to Build Connection in Your Online Marketing
Revisit Your Brand Values
Go back to your brand values, brand voice, and brand visuals and make sure they are authentic, real, and resonate with you and that you are sharing them consistently through your messaging and communications. People want to know what you stand for and they want to hear it in your words, your tone of voice.
Learn to be a storyteller.
It used to be enough in your online messaging to simply educate and inspire your audience. But now more than ever, people want to see behind the curtain (at least a little bit) … share your opinions, hot takes, and personal stories. Provide context from your own business and life experiences. Share your business intention, and philosophy and give people a glimpse behind the scenes of how your business runs.
Shoot Short Form Video
Strong graphics have always been important in our foundational strategy and that continues in 2023. But part of building human connection is original imagery and video featuring … you. Short-form video will DOMINATE in 2023 but it is becoming less “trend” driven and more authentic - more speaking videos, more how to’s, more behind-the-scenes with you.
Strategy 2: Get Them Off Social
So this one might sound crazy for a Social Media Manager to say, but as a small biz owner, your goal shouldn’t be “likes” or “loves” and “comments” on your social. It shouldn’t even be “views” on your social (although views are important to being seen - so don’t give up on that completely).
Your goal is actually to get your audience off social and onto your website - the real home of your online biz. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do social - it is still fundamental to your online presence. But it does means don’t get too tied up in vanity metrics. Rather, focus on moving your potential clients and customers off of your social media platforms and onto your website.
We’ve seen lots of changes on the social platforms in the past year to support this - for example, Instagram introduced the link sticker in stories to allow you to link to outside websites (this was a HUGE philosophical change for IG).
You should expect more changes on all of the platforms including:
the ongoing growth of Tik Tok (and the aging up of this platform)
growth in Pinterest as a visual search engine
Instagram groups (similar to Facebook groups) to build connectivity
The Top Two Actions You can take to Move Your Audience from Social to Your Website
Get Your Website Up to Snuff
If you don’t have a website - build one. And if you do have one, revisit it to make sure that it reflects your brand vision, voice and values (think about that human connection up top.)
There are lots of options for website builders - including Canva, Wordpress, Wix, and my personal recommendation Squarespace.
Here’s a playlist on Squarespace Website tips.
Build and Nurture Your Email List
An email list allows you to communicate directly with your target audience in a deeper and more meaningful way that social media ever will. You increase engagement and customer loyalty.
With an email list, you can can easily send targeted marketing messages, such as product updates, discounts, or special offers that are tailored to the interests and needs of each individual subscriber.
An email list can be used to create a sense of exclusivity among subscribers and create an online community around your brand or service.
Finally, email lists are an invaluable asset when it comes to building relationships with customers over time by providing value in terms of content and resources that build trust.
All in all, building and nurturing an email list is essential for any successful online marketing campaign. My favourite email tool is Convertkit, but Mailchimp and the built-in function in Squarespace are both good as well.
Strategy 3: Learn About Conscious Consumerism
Conscious consumerism is on the rise. You have probably noticed it in your own buying behaviour - after all, have you ever chosen one product over another because of the packaging? Do you try and shop local and support small businesses in your community? Do you look for businesses that have a commitment to sustainability and ethical manufacturing?
More and more consumers are making informed, ethical choices when buying goods and services, in order to support sustainable businesses. Conscious consumers will often research companies or products before making a purchase to ensure that their purchase isn't contributing to any negative environmental or social issues.
My friend (and client), Deb Alcadinho over at Business 4 Social Good has put together some amazing research on the impact of Social Purpose on Purchasing Decisions.
How to Share Your Business’ Social Purpose
Find Your Cause and Embed it into Your Business
Business 4 Social Good has a free download to help you Find the Cause Your Business Can Champion. It’s an easy-to-work-through guidebook that will lead you through the 4 steps to help define a cause and get clear on the specific parts of the problem you can champion. Get ready to be a changemaker!
Talk About Your Vision, Your Values, Your Why
Sharing business values with customers is essential for building customer trust and today’s consumers want to know who you are, what you stand for, and what your personal and business values are.
Simon Sinek has been saying it for a long long time … Start With Why.
When your customers understand what your business stands for and what your core beliefs are, they are more likely to be loyal and devoted customers. By communicating your values, you create transparency which can lead to increased loyalty from your customers.
Knowing what a company values, such as safety, respect, integrity, or sustainability, helps customers feel more secure in their decision to purchase from you. Additionally, by understanding your company's values it can help customers identify with their brand on a deeper level and build long-term relationships with that business.
Customers will be more likely to trust a company when they know that its core beliefs align with their own.
PS - want to learn more about my vision, values and social impact - it’s all right here.
The Social Good Academy, hosted by Business 4 Social Good, has made me more aware of the impact my business can have.
Learn more about the Social Good Academy here.
Strategy 4: Get to Know the Robots. AI is here.
As the digital landscape continues to evolve and consumer expectations become more complex, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an essential tool to ensure businesses across industries stay ahead of the competition. AI is now a central part of success in digital marketing strategies, as this technology allows marketers to gain deeper insights into customer behavior, automate repetitive tasks, and drive better results. In 2023, AI will be even more critical to successful digital marketing efforts; its predictive capabilities will provide unprecedented opportunities to increase ROI and deliver superior customer experiences.
An example of AI is Jasper, a powerful content writing tool that can help speed up the process of creating compelling, high-quality content. It uses AI-powered technology to analyze user input and automatically generate targeted content that is optimized for search engine rankings. With its advanced features, Jasper can help writers create effective content faster than ever before, allowing them to focus on other aspects of their job. Additionally, it helps reduce the amount of manual labour involved in content writing by automating tedious tasks such as keyword research and copywriting. With Jasper, users can create captivating blog posts, web pages and even social media posts with minimal effort, helping them save time and energy while still producing great results.
The robots really are here. The above two paragraphs were both written by an AI writing tool. The release of AI to the general public means good quality content has suddenly become the minimum baseline. Your focus needs to be adding unique perspective and your own personal flair.
And AI isn’t just for copy-writing - it’s available for art, photography and soon to be audio and video production. Your brand personality is more important than ever!
What Do I Do About AI?
Lean into it. It’s here, it’s not going away. Nothing to be scared of. So use it to propel you forward but don’t rely on it. Circle all the way back to the top of this post - human connection remains critical.
Strategy 5: Experiment
My last new strategy for Digital Marketing in 2023 is to experiment.
The online landscape is constantly changing and evolving. And the only way to truly know what will work for you and your small business is to experiment and then follow the data.
So this year, I’ve already added Pinterest to my own strategy. I’m working with clients who are starting up podcasting both through traditional platforms and on YouTube. I’m using AI for blogging and SEO. I’ll be looking more at YouTube shorts. And I’m constantly revisiting my home page to make sure it is as engaging and captivating to my potential clients as possible.
If there is an online digital marketing strategy that you have been thinking about trying … why not implement it in 2023?
