The role of a modern-day marketer is more fast-paced than ever. Changes happen rapidly which means marketing professionals must have a vast skill-set to achieve ecommerce and digital marketing excellence. However, according to our research, 90% of marketers think there is a digital skills gap in their marketing team, so the need for improved, targeted and accelerated learning has never been more necessary.
Going into 2023, marketing budgets will continue to be heavily scrutinised amid the cost of living crisis and consumers tightening their purse strings ahead of the recession. Marketing professionals must therefore keep ahead of the trends curve and ensure they are ready for whatever the new year may bring.
The potential of selling on social media
Social media can be an unpredictable place – as demonstrated over the past few months on Twitter alone. But there’s much more to social media than Twitter, different platforms have different rules of engagement and marketers need to be on top of the nuance.
The future of advertising on Twitter is somewhat uncertain. GM, Audi and Eli Lilly are among the many brands that have departed from the platform amid concerns around misinformation and the various changes Elon Musk is introducing. But with big brands fleeing Twitter – it raises the question of where this budget may effectively be reallocated.
In 2022, we’ve seen TikTok become rife with potential for brands to sell to their audiences. The trend #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt was driven by users discovering new products, then creating content to inspire and influence others to make a purchase. TikTok has quickly become a popular selling tool – with 61% of users making purchases on the platform.
Keeping up with digital transformation
New technologies are introducing marketers to a whole host of innovative, game-changing experiences. This year, brands have thrown themselves into the metaverse with exciting activations such as Nike’s metaverse store, Nikeland, where consumers across the globe can try-on and purchase products, now extended to being able to design their own trainers.
And these technologies are going to continue to evolve so that physical formats also become a more digitised environment. In 2023, we can expect to see retailers roll out greater in-store experiences with AR, smart shelves and checkout-free technology. All of which, when implemented correctly, will give them a unique edge and help brands stand out to consumers.
Learning and development in 2023
The world around us is changing and the way we gain knowledge is changing, too. From university degrees losing their lustre to life-long learning becoming a default, gathering skills to help us do our jobs better is now an ongoing requirement in marketing departments.
This means over the coming year, learning and development delivery needs to be rethought – especially considering the ever-evolving digital landscape. Employees now need adaptable, multi-platform, on-demand training that fits with workloads, changing trends and digital progression.
It is estimated that today’s marketing professional needs to master around 1,400 skills to be at the top of their game. Yet with the rapidly changing nature of the technology readily available to us, marketers may feel that this is an increasingly impossible task, which is why the need for flexible, on-demand learning can be a powerful asset.
The reality of marketing in 2023 is to expect the unexpected. Uncertainty has become the standard. Which requires an increasingly flexible, fleet-of-foot marketing profession, one with resources at their fingertips to refresh their skills and effectively adopt – and adapt to – the latest trends and technologies.
Richard Breeden is managing director at Econsultancy
