Something to Say? Get Your Story Told in 2023

Marketing and media are in a state of perpetual disruption. This presents challenges for leaders crafting narratives and creating business plans, but it also introduces opportunities for inventive, exciting storytelling.

Never before have customers so responded to innovation, experimentation, and originality. And the content outlets for this creativity continue to expand; branded podcasts, social media campaigns, influencer collaborations, streaming series, sponsored documentaries, and behavior-based AI are just a handful of tactics to get your message out in 2023.

At Magnet, we develop the latest storytelling trends and techniques to successfully and meaningfully grow your brand and business. Here are several tactics we’re focusing on this year.

Video is still the dominant content form.

The decline of appointment-based television in recent years has created more opportunities for brands to fill the gap on YouTube and social channels with their own content, and vie for valuable audience attention. Videos propel growth for brands by driving more traffic to ads, and increasing engagement and consumer sentiment. Short-form videos will continue to grow in popularity because of how effective the ROI is for this content.

Ninety-six percent of marketers report videos increased understanding of their product or service. In popularity, explainer videos, social videos, and presentation videos are the top three forms of online visual content. Powerful storytelling is the key factor in all those categories.

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Podcasts offer unparalleled brand lift and engagement.

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Audio programming has become a popular storytelling technique across generations and industries. Over one-third of the US population listens to podcasts.

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The intimacy of podcasts is unlike any other modern platform. Listeners invite podcast producers to join them wherever they are: at work, commuting, working out, preparing family meals, which creates ample opportunities for brands to form strong connections.

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A BBC study found that on average listeners tune in for 28.5 minutes and that podcasts lift brand awareness by 89 percent and brand favorability by 24 percent.
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People want to get together.

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Given world events the last two years, it’s time to revisit where conferences, meetings, and conventions are headed. While 80% of survey responders want to return to in-person events, most event planners intend to keep with the hybrid platform option. Having a remote option for all events has helped broaden audience reach by appealing to attendees who are unable to be physically present. It’s also a more environmentally and economically sustainable model for many businesses.

The pandemic has also sped up our digital events transformation. Livestreaming emerged as more reliable and commonplace. Real-time analytics took the audience’s pulse and showed. Contactless registration, check-in, and networking streamlined the in-person experience.And virtual and augmented reality also upped the capabilities of video and visual effects for in-person and remote audiences.

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Consumers crave sustainability storytelling.

The Global Risk Report 2022 identified global warming as the number one threat to humanity over the next decade. Consumers are paying attention to those findings: 89 percent expect companies to be environmentally conscious in their advertising and communications, and 69 percent said they were doing everything possible to minimize their personal carbon footprint. Furthermore, over 80 percent of consumers expect brands to educate them about their environmental practices.

Beyond demanding cleaner companies and products, consumers will avoid—even malign—brands that they perceive as ambivalent or harmful. In 2023, brands must examine how they can authentically and honestly tell their sustainability stories, no matter where they are in their journey toward greater environmental consciousness.
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Micro-influencers play an outsized role.

Micro-influencers are expected to dominate social media advertising even more in 2023. While traditional celebrities garner media attention and may establish awareness, it's the micro influencers that are really trusted by their audiences. These more moderately popular accounts can be extremely niche and targeted, so their users tend to be more engaged and are more likely to take actions like purchasing, sharing content, and subscribing. Because they are also less expensive to engage, the ROIs naturally inch up.

Generative AI's huge debut.

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Likely your social feeds were overrun during the holiday months with talk of ChatGPT and your connections' sleek Lensa avatars. These conversations just graze the surface of the burgeoning world of creative AI. In recent years, industries have been finding more accessible applications for these exciting technologies, including consumer facing products that will lend themselves to marketing departments.

We predict that in the storytelling space you'll see AI lead to productivity improvements, such as generated images, code, audio, or video, that will begin to seep into our daily digital lives. AI can also create wider ranges of content; if you can't find a stock photo or an audio clip to illustrate your point, you will easily be able to create it using simple directives. This will also lead to greater personalization in brand messaging and marketing.

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Check back in the coming months as we further explore these storytelling strategies and offer free playbooks to put them to use for your brand.