2022 turned out to be a more difficult year than expected: after the economy revived with the post-pandemic reopenings, international trade came to a screeching halt due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. And the new year is shaping up to be even more problematic, with still high levels of inflation, supply chain difficulties, and the specter of recession looming.
Companies cannot, however, put planning for 2023 on hold and wait to see how the situation develops. To continue to grow and survive, entrepreneurs and managers need to put innovative strategies in place right now. And Digital Export has an important role to play.
How then to do it? To Making the most of digital export opportunities in 2023 it will be critical to identify and understand new Digital Export trends, implementing those that are ideal for your business.
Find out what are the main trends in 2023 for Digital Export in this article.
From the topic of online privacy, which is very dear to many web users, to the evolution of international SEO: the areas of Digital Export development are numerous and constantly evolving. That's why Octagona suggests three key trends for exporting your business.
Today, users connect in different modes, browsing social media from both smartphones and desktops. Depending on the different channels, however, buying habits change: here, then, online shopping via social media must be placed side by side with the e-commerce present on the company website, as well as the positioning and presiding over industry marketplaces, so as to be more effective in sales.
Be careful, however, because each channel has its own catchment area, and in order to best interact (and ensure a high conversion rate), it is essential to know the precise tone of voice of that audience, i.e., the appropriate way of posing for a given target audience. The risk is to convey the wrong message that is inconsistent and unsuitable for the target audience, leading to a waste of resources, a low leads conversion rate, and, in the worst case scenario, even a loss of credibility or a decline in one's brand awareness.
Online experiences must be provided by ensuring the privacy people deserve, by brands they can trust. In 2023 be sure to provide customers with everything they need to be and feel in control of their data-no potential foreign customer would want their data to fall into the wrong hands.
One way to ensure this is to make sure that your sales channels follow the criteria set by GDPR, which is the European regulation on online privacy. In addition to being required by law (noncompliance with which can result in fines and criminal penalties), making it explicit that your sales channels are GDPR-compliant is a way to convey confidence and trust with your potential international customers, and a way to increase the credibility and soundness of your business in the eyes of a potential buyer.
This is a very important factor to consider, especially for European markets and the U.S. market: as reported by Statista in the chart above, over 78% of Internet users in France and Italy say they are concerned about their online privacy, a percentage that rises to 83% in the US.
In recent years, search engines have become much more refined: Placing the focus on generic terms, hoping to get as many potential customers as possible, is no longer the right way to sell online. In 2023 it is best to focus on the so-called long tail keywords, or search terms that are much more specific and potentially much more interesting to your business.
Literally translated as. “long tail keywords”, long tail keywords are contrasted with the short tail keywords, or short keywords, consisting of one or two words, that are very general and target a really wide audience. And while perhaps a few years ago they might have been useful for reaching a large audience, and thereby ensuring a high number of visits to their website or the company's sales channels, today the competition is fiercer than ever. Numerous companies have used this strategy in the past, and now it is really difficult to stand out from the competition, unless large investments of time and money are made.
Long tail keywords, on the other hand, are less searched keywords, consisting of multiple words that generally constitute a real query, to which users seek a precise answer. For example, “What ingredients are needed to make pizza?” is a less broad search term than “pizza ingredients”, but which today guarantees higher search engine ranking possibilities and which can guarantee a higher conversion rate.
In this article, we found out which elements you absolutely must focus on in 2023 to outperform the competition: SInternational EO, online privacy and the implementation of multichannel strategies are the three trends in Digital Export indispensable for the new year.
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The main trends in digital exports in 2023 are three: multi-channel strategies, attention to online privacy, and international SEO. For SMEs that export, this means managing multiple sales channels, protecting foreign customer data, and being found with specific searches rather than generic and highly competitive terms.
A multichannel strategy combines social media shopping, e-commerce on the company website, and presence on industry marketplaces to sell where users connect. Each channel has its own audience and requires a suitable tone of voice. A wrong message wastes resources, reduces lead conversion, and harms brand awareness.
The GDPR, the European regulation on online privacy, is mandatory and failure to comply can result in financial and criminal penalties. Declaring the compliance of sales channels conveys confidence to international customers and increases the company’s credibility. It counts a lot in Europe and the USA, where user concerns about privacy are high.
According to Statista data cited by Octagona, over 78% of internet users in France and Italy declare themselves concerned about their online privacy. In the United States, the percentage rises to 83%. For those who export to these markets, ensuring control of customer data is a competitive factor.
Long tail keywords are specific searches composed of multiple words, often a question, such as “What ingredients are needed to make pizza?”. They are less sought after than short tail keywords, but offer more positioning possibilities and a higher conversion rate, with less competition and lower investment costs.
Short tail keywords, composed of one or two words, are generic and aimed at a very wide audience. Many companies have already used them, so the competition is very high and it is difficult to stand out without significant investment of time and money. For this reason, in 2023 it is preferable to focus on more specific searches.
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