Inbound marketing, if done right, can unlock a flood of new customers and potential growth for your business. But the strategies are always changing. Like anything else, it’s always smart to adapt and combine known marketing skills with new developments and trends to keep up with the changing times.
While some tried-and-true strategies may no longer be as effective, the good news is that new ones are always on the horizon. So, in this article, we’ll talk about six inbound marketing strategies that may be game-changers for your business in 2023. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
1. Short-Form Video Marketing is All the Buzz
Video marketing continues to be a reliable avenue to promote your business across the board. But in 2023, not just any video performs the same – it’s the short-form videos that are taking the spotlight.
Gone are the days when you had to create lengthy commercials to get your message across. Well, you still can (and arguably should), just don’t expect the same results across all platforms and audiences!
Today, social media apps and platforms (like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram) are leading the way with short-form video content. This has proven to be a reliable tool to instantly capture viewer attention and make audiences get excited about your brand or product.
And the best part? These platforms even give you built-in tools and features, like video filters, animated effects, and music, to edit your content in ways that mirror what professional video companies do.
For example, Chipotle uses TikTok to showcase its food in a fun and creative way, using popular music and hashtags. That’s a great way to promote their products and stay relevant amongst their specific audience.
2. Treat Your Social Profiles As Landing Pages
Social media usage is only growing in 2023, with platforms continually adding new features to keep their growing user bases hooked. This is great news for businesses, as it provides even more opportunities to attract and connect with potential customers in many different ways.
In that context, you need to treat your social profiles as landing pages. Think of your social media profiles as hubs to nurture first impressions for your brand. Make sure they are optimized with updated information, attention-grabbing content, and high-quality images and headlines that draw people in.
Moreover, include links to your website and your other branded online presence, paired with clear calls to action to have people visit them. Also, keep your messaging consistent across all these platforms to ensure a cohesive brand image.
For example, have a look at oVertone’s Instagram page. They’ve got everything we talked about just right!
3. Artificial Intelligence For Marketing Automation
Marketing automation through AI is like having a superhero sidekick for your marketing efforts. Artificial intelligence technology is now being used to streamline and automate repetitive marketing tasks so that you can focus on the creative and strategic side of things.
While it’s not strictly new, AI is likely to become even more prevalent in 2023 because of its increased ability to help businesses become more productive and efficient.
AI can be smarter and faster than human marketers in many ways, and it never tires. Analyzing large amounts of data in seconds, identifying patterns, and providing insights that would take humans hours – if not days – to uncover and correlate.
That makes it possible to optimize and adapt campaigns in real-time and make data-driven decisions that can increase the impact of your marketing efforts. In short, AI can help you do your mundane tasks quickly, freeing up your team to focus on high-level strategy and creativity.
For example, I asked ChatGPT to write a funny welcome email for an animated video studio – and it did a fantastic job!
While we are still some time away from having these AI-powered tools to be able to do all the heavy lifting for you, you can certainly already start leveraging their potential to make things easier!
4. Nurture Transparency and Humanize Your Brand
People are becoming increasingly wary of faceless brands. With technology being accessible to everyone today, anyone can start a business and sell anything, and because of that customers are more skeptical than ever before.
Customers today want to know who they’re buying from, what they’re buying, and how it’s being made. Brands that don’t offer this level of transparency risk being overlooked in favor of ones that do. In a sea of indistinguishable companies, it’s the brands that are open and honest about their operations that will stand out and attract customers.
Also, people are seeking out more profound connections with the brands they support – they want to feel like they are a part of something bigger. Brands that don’t show their human side, or provide a behind-the-scenes look, are missing out on the opportunity to connect with their audience on a deeper level.
For example, the clothing brand Patagonia has made a name for itself due to its transparent approach to business, offering full visibility into sourcing and manufacturing. This openness has helped the brand build trust with its customers and cement its commitment to sustainability and ethical practices.
5. Use Interactive Content To Build Permanent Relationships
Interactive content has the potential to be a game-changer in the world of inbound marketing. While traditional methods, such as eye-catching posts, may still hold some value, engaging audiences with surface-level content is becoming increasingly challenging.
So, if you’re looking to stand out, it’s high time you give memorable experiences and build lasting relationships with your customers. Do this by going live on streams, providing VR experiences, running giveaways, hosting webinars, or starting fun challenges that keep people interested in what your brand has to say.
For example, the luxury perfume brand Lancome allows its customers to virtually analyze their skin type and discover products that are a perfect match:
6. SEO is Still Relevant, But Will Soon Change
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has been a part of inbound marketing for as long as we can remember. Millions of businesses still rely on it to attract people to the content they worked so hard to produce. In 2023, lots of things are happening that promise to radically change the way you’ll want to approach SEO.
Microsoft Bing is coming back into action by integrating AI language learning models like ChatGPT into its search engine, making it super efficient. Hearing that, Google also just introduced Bard, a ChatGPT-like AI bot, and is looking to deepen AI tech implementations into their search engine.
With AI, SEO will be even fairer and more neutral. This opens up new opportunities for businesses to get creative with their SEO efforts and reach new heights.
No matter what sector you are in, just know that SEO still rules the inbound marketing world.
Final Thoughts
The world of inbound marketing is a constantly changing landscape, and staying ahead of the game requires a practical approach. In this article, we’ve discussed some of the latest effective inbound marketing strategies for 2023 you’ll want to keep an eye on.
From utilizing the power of short videos to harnessing new AI technologies, these strategies offer real-world solutions for businesses looking to drive growth and success. It’s time to leverage them early on to stay ahead of the curve. Good luck!