The restoration of the world economy after the pandemic has been marked by a boom in Е-commerce in all its forms, as well as a significant increase in the time spent in front of the screen of one or more connected devices. (screen time)

Brands devotе more and more effort, time and budgets to have relevant presence and gain the attention of the audience. The high competition to engage people’s attention leads to an improvement in the quality of advertising content and focus on user’s experience and added value.

During the dynamic, post-pandemic 2022, some trends began to stand out, which we expect to develop in 2023:

• Social media is the favorite field for advertising of brands. Even traditionally conservative companies bravely step into Instagram and TikTok.

However, this coin has another side – it becomes difficult for users to find and consume content on interesting topics from their loved ones and acquaintances, and they often become a subject to a overflow of inadequately targeted campaigns.

• People want to control the content and who is allowed to “enter” their feed and how.
• “Content is the king!” – the favorite phrase of the last decade of digital marketers. In a sea of all kinds of content, however, Context is the king!

Proper targeting of quality and true content is the key to successful online presence.

• Influencers – loved by some, disliked by many. Their importance for brands remains essential.

The trend is to focus more and more on creating value-added video content – training, analysis, reviews and product tests. Advertising of products and services becomes more indirect – first the need is created, and then the solution is offered.

• Short formats dominate – TikTok, Reels, Stories, Shorts – all major platforms now give a leading place to short video formats.

Marketing Automation and Data Analytics – in a sea of information, analytics and automation are the way to efficiency and ROI.

• Data Science (DS), Big Data Analytics (BDA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are the key trends in today’s increasingly fast-paced market.

These are tools for automated selection, storage, processing and analysis of data, without which global business will find it difficult to exist. This is why the data analytics industry has tremendous growth.

• Chatbots and shopping assistants (automated messages) – increasingly preferred for communication with customers. With their help, for example, you can very quickly order a product, return it, refund an amount to a dissatisfied customer; a client can be advised on fashion and financial topics, etc.

The tendency is chat bots to develop, to become shopping assistants, consultants or customer support. Leading global companies are already seeing outstanding results: Amazon; Kmart; Etsy; eBay; Walmart. Even local (Bulgarian) banks and utility companies are using these solutions more and more successfully.

• Email marketing is making a triumphant return! Platforms develop very dynamically and provide excellent opportunities for automation and personalization of messages.

Nearly 90% of marketers use email marketing to generate leads and sales. This is a trend that will continue to flourish in 2023.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to drive business value. Forecasting customer demand in order to increase sales; better management of warehouse stocks and corresponding acceleration of delivery times, etc.

The right use of AI leads to better customer satisfaction. A good AI system can be highly adaptable, protect personal information, be faster and provide a higher return on investment.

Artificial intelligence is also the basis of social networks, online advertising platforms, email marketing, etc.

Through the API, you can connect machine learning models directly to your data source and analyze the information in real time.

• Virtual reality and the Metaverse enter in digital marketing in full force. It can provide an experience similar to what the customer has in physical stores. Experts estimate that implementing augmented reality (AR) in an online store can increase sales by up to 70%.

Tools and technologies evolvе more and more dynamically, and using them correctly will be very important. Knowledge of technological capabilities, combined with information about users and their profiles, are increasingly important for success.

An interesting and exciting year 2023 is ahead, with even stronger technological achievements, but also with marketing that puts human needs and preferences in the center of its marketing strategy.