"Top Digital Marketing Trends for 2023: AI, Gartner, and More"

A must-read for all marketers. Smart Insights breaks down what’s next for digital marketing in 2026, from AI-driven personalization and predictive analytics to the return of genuine human storytelling. It’s a reminder that while tools evolve fast, the brands that will stand out are the ones that stay real, purposeful, and connected to their audience.

Great piece from my colleagues Jay Dennis and Cecilie B. on how marketing organizations can strengthen their measurement foundations to drive smarter, faster decisions. They outline a pragmatic two-step approach: 1️⃣ Build a connected data foundation and clear KPIs. 2️⃣ Implement unified, AI-powered measurement through Adobe Mix Modeler to align spend, insight, and growth. The EY - Adobe Alliance is helping companies move beyond fragmented metrics to a single source of truth for marketing performance—one that fuels both creativity and accountability. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g8vvzqvM #MarketingMeasurement #AI #DataDrivenGrowth #EYAdobeAlliance

The Next Frontier: The Strategist's Challenge The conversation around AI in marketing is shifting. For years, we've focused on AI's analytical power—sifting through data to find insights. But the real revolution is happening now, in activation. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 30% of outbound marketing from large organizations will be AI-generated. This isn't about replacing marketers; it's about amplifying our ability to execute. This is a perfect example of what I call Deciduous Content in my Marketing Forest philosophy. It’s timely, relevant, and captures the current industry buzz. Just as deciduous trees change with the seasons, our marketing must adapt to the latest technological shifts. We're moving from AI as a passive analyst to an active partner in creating and deploying campaigns. How are you using AI for activation? Are you experimenting with AI-generated copy, dynamic creative, or automated campaign management? Let's discuss. #AIMarketing #MarketingAutomation #CreativeMarketing #MarketingStrategy #FutureOfMarketing #DigitalTransformation #ContentStrategy

5 years of MarTech Gartner Hype Cycles — swipe to see the trends! From Generative AI to Digital Twins of Customers, the last 5 years of Gartner Hype Cycles show how marketing tech evolves. It illustrates what’s hype, what’s real, and what’s becoming essential. Spot the shifts: AI dominating the 2025 cycle Privacy & consent tools gaining traction Fewer brand-new innovations, with many tools now mature This carousel covers the past 5 years, but our blog goes back all the way to 2009, tracking how marketing technology trends have developed for more than a decade. Check out the full analysis and insights here: https://lnkd.in/gGXsfaXj 

𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗻. 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥. Backlinko’s latest framework breaks AI visibility into two layers: Seen = mentioned in responses. Trusted = cited with attribution. Both matter — but only one drives traffic, brand recall, and trust weighting in LLMs. The problem: most brands obsess over being talked about and never measure whether they’re referenced as evidence. Audit your presence by model. If you’re showing up as a mention but not a citation, the model doesn’t trust you yet. The next wave of AI SEO isn’t about brand awareness — 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

SEO has evolved to AI SEO, and citation is the name of the game. Don't be left out! A mention can get you noticed, but a citation turns that notice into credibility. In the context of large language models, being quoted with attribution signals that your content functions as evidence rather than mere commentary. Models prioritize sources they can rely on when generating answers. Mentions register presence. Citations register authority. When a model needs to justify a claim or resolve a follow-up, it favors content that can be referenced directly. That behavior affects traffic, brand recall, and how often your content is surfaced as supporting evidence. How to win in the age of AI SEO? Try these tips: ✔️ Audit visibility by model and by prompt types to see whether you appear as a mention or as a source of citation. ✔️ Treat content as evidence. Add explicit data, methods, and verifiable references that models can use as attribution. ✔️ Structure pages so key claims are independently supported and easy to extract. Use clear headings, labeled data points, and concise supporting snippets that answer common follow-ups. ✔️ Measure outcomes differently. Track citation frequency alongside impressions and shares to understand whether your content is being used as evidence. Now a question for you: if brand verifiability is the next frontier of AI SEO, what single change would you make to your content strategy this quarter to move from being mentioned to being cited?

Thank you, Daniel Rowles, for an incredibly insightful webinar on AI in the digital marketing industry. Key takeaways: - Build knowledge and experience: Understanding the culture of AI helps marketers feel confident using these tools to enhance their work. - Transparency with customers: Ensuring audiences are aware of when and how their data is used fosters trust and puts them in control of their privacy. - Lean into our humanity: Recognising where AI adds value- and where human judgment is essential- allows us to use these tools responsibly and creatively. AI is transforming digital marketing, and conversations like this are invaluable for navigating its opportunities and challenges. CIM | The Chartered Institute of Marketing

With cookies and tracking fading away, the marketing landscape is shifting. The transition's phases are evident, impacting traditional strategies. The rise of AI search presents both challenges and opportunities. Businesses heavily reliant on click-based marketing models face unprecedented pressure, potentially being in a precarious position, especially after a decade of misleading promises. This necessitates a strategic reevaluation to thrive in the evolving digital ecosystem. #cookielessfuture #AIsearch #digitalmarketing #businessstrategy #marketingtrends

Generative AI is reshaping how businesses operate, but most of the real value does not come from reinventing the wheel, rather from layering AI-driven optimization onto existing, critical business elements. This balanced strategy unlocks quick wins while preparing for deeper transformation. Consider #marketing budgets. #AI enables smarter, real-time allocation—shifting spend to high-impact campaigns that demonstrably move the needle. This rationalization of budgets toward activities generating unquestionable value eliminates guesswork and maximizes #ROI. Back in 2020, Walmart unveiled a pioneering local #SEO strategy that mapped millions of location-product combinations to hyperlocal demand—a massive effort only possible with their scale and resources. This enabled Walmart to dominate local searches by matching products to customer intent at unprecedented volume. Today, AI has democratized this level of precision and scale. Platforms like TNGShopper empower retailers of all sizes by creating fully automated infrastructure, boosting hyperlocal positioning, dynamically optimizing product descriptions and impacting high-intent buying local consumers. Local marketing is no longer the exclusive domain of retail giants—it’s the new baseline for relevance. AI is also rewriting the rules of search. Google and Bing (Microsoft) now prioritize geo-personalized, unique content over generic top-10 lists, often delivering a single deeply cited answer rather than a list of links. This tectonic shift demands marketers rethink strategies: global SEO is becoming marginal while localized, authentic content takes center stage. For retailers, the message is clear. Adapt to geo-driven search or risk irrelevance. Those layering AI optimization onto core marketing, investing in proven value channels, and embracing geo-targeted, authentic strategies will lead retail’s future landscape. The future of retail marketing is not just about new technology; it’s about evolving from within—optimizing the critical, embracing local relevance, and leveraging AI’s power to unlock scalable, data-driven growth. How is your organization preparing for this seismic shift?

We're still working to understand how we can get better performance from AI search platforms and AI Visibility Index from Semrush Enterprise shows significant insights on this. While checking this source, some parts made me shocked. According to the report, "Zapier ranks as the #1 cited source but only #44 in brand mentions. This illustrates the “mention-source divide”, an impact being seen across many businesses with either high content density or business models centered on publishing and news." ➡️ Citations vs. Brand Mentions Zapier's hundreds of tutorials and how-to articles make it an authoritative source for AI but users discuss other brands more in conversations. As a marketer or business owner, you should decide how you want to be shown in AI models. Also Semrush AI Visibility Index reveals that each AI model has its own strategic content sources and you have to wisely invest in different platforms. https://lnkd.in/dBhrdFNb #semrush #semrushambassador #ai #aisearch #seo #geo