When we think about digital marketing trends for 2023, it’s almost impossible not to head straight for AI and stop there, but that wouldn’t get us very far on our quest. In fact, a writer over at Search Engine Journal decided to put his trend theories to the test by going head-to-head with ChatGPT – to see if it could out-predict him. Let’s take a closer look.
How the Experiment Worked
The author in question typed in a ChatGPT prompt to write an article about the top 10 digital marketing trends for 2023 in the style of Greg Jarboe (the author’s name). From here, things got interesting. He had to change the original wording from story to article because ChatGPT adopted a storytelling approach in its output – in a manner you might reserve for school children. Lesson learned.
One: AI and Machine Learning – Top Trend Alert
Jarboe chose to lead with AI and machine learning for one very good reason – it’s getting all the attention and is destined to make a huge splash in digital marketing in 2023 and well beyond. When the CEO of Google drops everything to focus on AI development, it’s time to take notice.
ChatGPT was right there with him, writing that AI and ML are transforming the way businesses operate, and they’re also revolutionizing the way we approach digital marketing. The bottom line is that AI can help free up time and resources to focus on those initiatives that require a more human touch.
Two: Voice Search Optimization
The second trend that ChatGPT landed on was voice search optimization, and our human writer concurred. The takeaway here is that, as a business, you need to be optimizing for voice search – in response to this search mechanism’s rising popularity. So far, so good, AI.
Three: Content that’s Interactive
ChatGPT is rather insistent in its belief that interactive content, such as quizzes, surveys, and games, is becoming increasingly popular as a way for businesses to engage with their customers and gain valuable insights into their audience. Our writer would beg to differ just a bit. While interactive content can certainly up your online game, it’s not necessarily at the top of the heap, so you might want to put a pin in this one – especially if your time and resources are limited, which they almost certainly are.
Four: Micro-Moments
ChatGPT took a step back in time to suggest micro-moments as an important digital marketing trend for 2023. Our human author went so far as calling the choice baffling – given that it’s been on the scene for more than a decade. His take on the matter is that ChatGPT’s knowledge base beyond 2021 is limited, and at the time, we were just coming up for air after lockdown – and many of us were on the hunt for vaccines near me.
To put things into better perspective, however, Jarboe points out that Google has published a wide range of articles that mention micro-moments in the last year, which could mean something.
Five: Influencers Influencing
Influencers are going to influence, and both ChatGPT and the human at the heart of this study are behind them. Both are in complete agreement that Influencer marketing is a top trend in 2023. Consider the following 2023 statistics shared:
- More than 82% of brand marketers have a planned budget for influencer marketing.
- About 67% of marketers are gearing up to increase their influencer marketing budget.
- About 83% of marketers consider influencer marketing effective.
Six: Video Marketing
Jarboe tells us that video marketing remains an important element of digital marketing, but he wasn’t sure why ChatGPT identified it as an emerging trend for 2023. Then he did some investigating and found that Google’s CEO reported way back in February of 2023 that YouTube Shorts were hitting 50 billion daily views, which was quite a jump from the 30 billion a day of last year. Just a day prior to this announcement, YouTube allowed short-form video creators to share advertising revenue, which makes refocusing on video marketing a solid choice – move over TikTok and Instagram Reels?
Seven: Chatbots?
Jarboe called this one a bit of shameless self-promotion on ChatGPT’s part. Nevertheless, he’s not calling it a liar. Chatbots? Yes, a trend you should be keeping your eye on in 2023. In fact, many businesses are already investing in creating brand-specific chatbots that handle customer interactions.
Eight: Let’s Not Get Personal
ChatGPT puts it this way – With data becoming increasingly accessible, businesses are leveraging this information to deliver personalized experiences to their customers. Further, it reports that personalization is key to delivering a unique and engaging customer experience. Our fearless leader, however, couldn’t disagree more – and the vast majority of consumers would also like to take umbrage. There’s something inherently creepy about all that personalization, and it boils down to privacy issues, intrusiveness, and mind-numbing repetition. Instead, our real-life author encourages us to focus on predictive audiences.
Nine: Advertising on the Socials
Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT identified social media as a channel that marketers shouild continue to focus on, saying that social media advertising is continuing to grow, with businesses leveraging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to reach their target audience and drive conversions.
Jarboe is in near total agreement. He does, however, suggest shifting some of your ad budget away from the big guys – Facebook and Twitter – and leaning a bit more heavily on the likes of LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest.
Ten: Virtual and Augmented Reality
Here, Jarboe disagreed with ChatGPT’s assessment. Our intrepid guide reports that this is going way too far. His view is that virtual and augmented reality are decidedly not an up-and-coming digital marketing trend in 2023, and they won’t be for at least several years, in his estimation.
Put 2023’s Digital Marketing Trends to the Test with a Pro in the Field
The digital marketing whizzes at The Web Guys have the savvy and insight to help you implement the 2023 marketing trends that make sense for your business and your budget. You’ve got marketing goals, and we’re here to help you reach them. Learn more by contacting or calling us at 317-805-4933 today.
