The world of marketing changes moment by moment. Do you ever have trouble keeping up?

Some tried-and-true marketing axioms will last forever, but new marketing trends also impact your business. Let’s start with the marketing funnel, which provides a backdrop for some of the biggest trends of 2023 and beyond.

What is a Marketing Funnel?

The marketing funnel is still just as relevant today as when it was first introduced by advertising innovator E. St. Elmo Lewis in the late 1800s. It describes a customer’s journey through the stages of awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty. 

At the top of the funnel is the wide entry point, or awareness stage. As customers progress through the funnel, it narrows down to a small point where fewer remain, but they’re more loyal followers actively spending money with your company.

When you reflect on the progression of the marketing funnel, you can see that it’s rare for people to jump straight from awareness to loyalty. They typically take some time to consider your brand and seek data points to help them feel comfortable converting and becoming fully bought-in customers.

6 Ways to Stay Ahead of Today’s Marketing Trends

With the marketing funnel in mind, stay ahead of modern marketing trends by proactively seeking out a wide range of new marketing insights. Here are some top ideas and resources for marketing trends.

1. Watch the Trend-Watchers

Around the world, trend-watching experts are constantly tracking the latest marketing news. They’re watching consumer behavior, keeping track of buying statistics, and looking at other indicators showing what’s happening in the marketplace. Take advantage of their expertise and see what’s new in their recently-published surveys and research.

Browse through annual studies like HubSpot's State of Marketing Report, which gives a window into the perspectives of thousands of marketers and brands. Forbes Insights Reports are also reliable sources of trending information from CEOs and marketing leaders across the globe.

In these studies, you’ll see how other marketers are moving their customers from the awareness stage into consideration, and on through the entire marketing funnel. 

2. Connect With Local and Industry Organizations

Explore the marketing and entrepreneurship organizations in your neighborhood and industry. Does your city have a business group for new and growing companies? Is there an industry publication with resources to share?

These organizations can be outstanding sources of data for the latest trends impacting businesses like yours. Read their blogs. Sign up for their newsletters. Listen to their podcasts. Become a sponge, soaking up their information about what’s changing in your industry.

When you find someone who inspires you, reach out to them by email, social media, or phone. A simple question like, “What’s your biggest marketing challenge lately?” or “Where are you spending your marketing budget?” could bring you an influx of mind-blowing new points to inform your planning.

3. Keep Your Inbound Marketing Fresh

Inbound marketing is predicted to remain a strong force in marketing in the coming years. Prevent your inbound campaigns from growing stale by continually publishing fresh, valuable content carefully tailored to your audience.

Speaking of content, how recently have you updated your content marketing plan? It’s almost impossible to capitalize on the latest trends without an up-to-date content marketing plan in place. If it’s been a while since you looked it over, revitalize and refine it based on the new things you’re learning about the marketplace.

4. Maintain Your Focus on ROI

Trends come and go, but your business can’t survive without staying profitable. As you encounter new marketing trends, thoughtfully evaluate how to incorporate them into your branding in a way that delivers a return on investment (ROI).

Social media serves as a great example. It’s easy for any marketer to start a social media campaign at any time, about anything, but a poorly-designed campaign usually leads to poor revenue generation. Instead, positively impact your business by designing social campaigns that drive ROI. Hone your social strategy to address ROI-focused goals and track the success of your campaigns over time to see what’s most profitable.

5. Get the Most Out of SEO Tools

Search engine optimization (SEO) is no longer optional. It’s an absolute must in the digital world. Any company not staying ahead of SEO trends is probably falling far behind its competitors this year.

Like every other aspect of marketing, SEO is always in flux. Search engines adjust their rules and your SEO must follow suit through adjustments in your layout, content, keywords, and more.

Google has recently introduced numerous upgrades to Core Web Vitals, which are statistics showing how your web pages perform. Familiarize yourself with these vitals to stay on top of your site performance and adjust to the latest changes.

6. Refine and Optimize With Expert Help

Feeling overwhelmed? There’s no need to handle your marketing alone. It’s challenging to stay ahead of today’s trends without some extra support.

Consider working with a digital marketing agency with experts on board for analysis and action plans. When you have questions about how to adapt to changing conditions, your agency can provide insights to help you move forward with confidence.

11outof11 Stays Ahead of Marketing Trends

To learn more about today’s marketing trends, connect with 11outof11. We’ll provide a complimentary call with one of our 11outof11 digital marketing experts. Contact us to learn more.