Content
Content marketing and digital PR predictions for 2023
Jan 3rd, 2023Creative campaigns have experienced huge growth over the last few years – brands prior to the pandemic were experiencing the kind of growth that made investment possible and, during and after the pandemic, brands faced economic conditions that made investment necessary. However, as the various political and economic issues continue on for another year, brands are likely to become increasingly cautious.
As ever, when times get tough, marketing needs to deliver more for less, and this will have a direct impact on the methods and channels that brands use to reach their audience.
Damien Horwood, Senior Digital PR Executive
My PR prediction for 2023 is that we’re likely to see an emergence of a ‘back to basics’ mentality. As we enter a period of uncertainty, it will be more important than ever for brands to nail their core messaging and appear as authentic as possible – when money is tight, consumers stick with what they know and who they trust. Making building consumer trust an absolute priority for all businesses in the new year.
I think this will lead to a decrease in the big splash, creative campaigns that are designed to appeal to as many consumers as possible and instead we will see much more focused, tighter narratives told through smaller but strategic campaigns. Consumers will be looking for brands to help them solve problems, touch upon subjects that matter to their day-to-day lives or give them actionable advice.
Authentic messages will be key. Something that we’re already seeing the beginnings of with the popularity of new social channels such as Tik Tok and the Google Helpful Content Update.
However, while it’s important for brands to control what they can via authentic messages, we also need to prepare for chaos. No one can ever truly predict what is going to happen, especially as recession looms and the prime minister seems to change every month. The ability to adapt and pivot where needed will be important as the ‘permacrisis’ continues.
Karen Ngai, Head of Content Marketing
The direction of Brand Messaging – there has been a lot of negative news and events that have happened this past year, so I think people will be looking towards brands to bring a cheerier note, so creativity is key. However, that being said, I think consumers will also be looking at brands that do right by their customers, supporting and voicing out important issues and leading an example of what needs to be done for a better world.
My predictions
Journalism has come in for a fair amount of (pretty fair) criticism over the last few years – as most news publications have shifted increasing amounts of their budget and column inches away from direct reportage to opinion pieces, churnalism and other content types directly aimed at maximising profitability in an industry almost entirely ad-funded.
My hope is that 2023 will see revenue sharing rolled out in more countries following a landmark ruling by the EU in May last year which will allow more traditional news reporting from mainstream outlets while advances in how Google perceives EEAT metrics (experience, expertise, authority, trustworthiness) will nudge publications into returning to beat journalism, and establishing genuine and knowledgeable voices in various areas of reporting.
This may reduce access for some PR pieces, but will make building lasting relationships with domain experts much easier when a single journalist isn’t forced to write on biscuits one minute and global politics the next.