With the digital world moving at breakneck speed and the growing number of participants in the digital media ecosystem, it is a constant challenge for brands to understand where to focus their digital marketing efforts to achieve a relevant impact on their audiences of value; hence the importance of understanding the key trends and how to adapt them to the different needs of each brand, this will be essential to not only stay ahead, but also to achieve growth in digital.

Before rushing to take action, the first thing to do is to understand the context of what is happening in digital, how media is being consumed and what consumers are looking for.

Here are two key issues:

1. Digital will rebound its investment in 2024 with 58% of the media share, while Offline would have a 42% share. According to Dentsu’s most recent report on media consumption, it is estimated that channels such as Digital, Out of Home, Audio and Cinema will set a growth trend, while Offline media will increasingly lose share in the media investment ecosystem.
2. When focusing actions on digital, another point to consider is the challenge of capturing the attention of users during their digital navigation. To do so, it will be enough to think from the user’s perspective: how much of the content they receive daily really generates recall and impact? Users are increasingly critical and selective with the information they consume, as a result of this, their browsing time decreased by 4.8% over the last year, browsing on average 6 hours and 37 minutes on the screen per day.

Considering this context, it is time to delve into the 10 Digital Marketing trends that in 2023 continue to impact digital media and could determine the success of strategies:

1. Artificial Intelligence: In addition to changing the way we produce content, generative AI has another front that is very relevant when thinking about digital media: Machine Learning or machine learning. This is responsible for facilitating processes of optimization, segmentation, purchase and measurement of the actions that are carried out through different advertising platforms such as Facebook Ads, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Ads and the different DSPs. Understanding the contribution of Machine Learning is key to analyze and understand the results of campaigns and achieve successful digital budget approaches from optimization.
2. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality: This is one of the trends that generates a greater transformation in the user experience, facilitating through sensory immersion a greater visual impact, brand recall and differentiation from the competition. The use of more interactive and immersive pieces and Rich Media formats in Programmatic could be a first approach to maximize the communication experience for users.
3. Video, the king of content: Audiovisual content continues to be a powerful tool for generating reach and relevance in the digital environment, not only because advertising platforms are increasingly developing advertising spaces with this approach, but also because it is the online format most consumed by users at different moments of navigation in the purchase funnel. This versatile format is a great ally when it comes to highlighting and generating recall and effectiveness of the message.
4. Personalization: Offering experiences, products or services adapted to the individual needs of the audience will allow connecting with them in a closer way and generating links from the personalization of the offer.
5. User-generated content: Users who consume, connect and trust a brand will be its best recommenders. Currently, it is estimated that around 80% of consumers are more likely to buy if an online store includes photos of real users and 60% of consumers find new products on Instagram thanks to content generated by other users; this affirms the importance of building bonds of trust with audiences through transparency, authenticity and emotional connection with real people and contexts.
6. Podcasting y Audio Ads:With the growth of podcasting and audio streaming platforms, audio ads are positioned as a key tool to maximize and diversify the penetration of brands in other channels. We will achieve greater efficiency and recall by developing relevant content that allows us to create a connection with listeners.
7. Social Commerce: Accompanying users’ purchasing processes is and will continue to be vital to achieve a successful journey and build brand loyalty. Leveraging the power of social networks as a sales platform through Social Commerce allows users to quickly and interactively visualize a product and initiate their transaction. For brands, it is an opportunity to understand these channels as a means to consolidate their online communities, generate product promotion and maximize sales.
8. Privacy and Security: Focusing digital strategies will increasingly require a focus on four key aspects: privacy regulations, transparency and consent of users in decisions on the use of their data, cybersecurity in which user data and identity are protected, and finally, data anonymization tools to mask identifiable user information. The first step to advance in this direction will be to establish clear policies and expose them to users at the different points of interaction.
9. Sustainability and Ethical Consumption: It is undeniable that brands are facing increasingly critical users regarding their purchasing decisions and the relationships they establish with brands or products; therefore, communicating the positive impact of a brand on society, their concerns about contributing responsibly and promoting ethical consumption will help build more lasting relationships with consumers and help them learn about brand values with which they can identify and relate.
10. Omnichannel experiences: With the growing challenge of capturing the attention of users at the right times and through the right channels, omnichannel is becoming increasingly relevant. Within the strategic planning of brands, the opportunity lies in understanding the key audiences for the campaign and their behaviors in Digital, choosing the right media mix, achieving presence in the different points of contact and developing a strategic communication for each channel.

In short, in the digital world there are many possibilities, so having a clear understanding of the context of the brands, their communication moment, needs and who we must attract will be essential to maintain the focus of efforts in actions that really add value and allow us to measure and achieve success in digital.