Digital marketing and the Internet complement each other. It was originally used to promote websites and businesses online. However, over the years, it has changed into a much bigger concept. It encompasses various areas, including social media, search engine optimization, email marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, etc.
This article has compiled the popular digital marketing trends that can impact online business transactions in the coming months. The marketing messages may remain the same but how people react to such messages vary over time. Many different digital marketing trends are expected to continue in the coming year. Here are some of the most popular ones.
Digital Marketing Trends You Need
With digital marketing, many trends have emerged in recent years. Some of these include artificial intelligence, chatbots, virtual reality, augmented reality, and blockchain technology. These digital marketing trends are changing how businesses market their products and services.
AI-Powered Chatbots
In recent times, one of the most prominent digital marketing trends has emerged. AI or artificial intelligence technology has become extremely useful in many ways. One way it’s being used is to create chatbots that help companies reach new customers through various platforms like Facebook Messenger. A chatbot allows a person to communicate with another human rather than just typing messages into a website form field.
Chatbots aren’t new; however, they’ve been gaining popularity over the past few years. According to Hubspot’s State Of Inbound report from 2018, 60% of organizations plan to use chatbots within three months. That figure rose to 70% among those who said they were already doing business online. Therefore, there is no denying that business owners prefer the conversational marketing type as this reaches more audiences
Facebook Has Reached Its Heyday
According to Forrester Research, there will only be 1 billion active monthly users on Facebook this year. This means that people who use Facebook every day could start seeing fewer updates from brands and other organizations. Also, this means that nearly 1 out of every 5 Americans who use Facebook at least once per month have already stopped using the site. Facebook is losing significant credibility, with many people growing frustrated and resentful with the platform’s proliferation of fake news, political propaganda, and cyberbullying.
As a result, Facebook might see less revenue next year. According to Forbes, Facebook is losing ground with the younger demographics as this target market set prefers the more interactive platforms given by TikTok and Instagram.
Instagram Is on the Rise
Instagram is one of those platforms where kids seem to love it while parents hate it. But why? Well, according to Business Insider, teens spend about three hours per day on Instagram, which makes it the second most popular app among them after YouTube. This is largely because social media stories allow users to share photos and videos without worrying about editing or captioning.
The Power of Video Is No Longer Denied
Video marketing is no longer something that needs to be done for your company; instead, it’s an essential part of any successful campaign. In fact, according to eMarketer, by 2021, 90% of all Internet traffic will come from videos. The best thing about such videos is that they don’t need to cost much money. For example, in a Facebook Live session, all you need is a smartphone camera and a good microphone. This is one of the marketing digital trends you should not take for granted.
Video marketing allows you to show off products and services in a fun and engaging manner. They also allow you to explain things better than text alone would. If you’ve ever watched a product demo video before buying anything, then you know what I’m talking about. These kinds of video content are great for promoting your brand and getting potential clients interested in your products. Here are helpful tips about how to use video effectively across different digital channels:
- Create engaging videos around brand values
- Use visual storytelling techniques
- Include customer testimonials
- Get creative with production value
- Optimize for search engines
- Promote via influencer marketing
Tailored Content
Targeting specific audiences based on age, gender, location, income, and interests means tailor-made content will be the key. The idea here isn’t necessarily to write completely separate pieces of user-generated content for each demographic group. Rather, think about creating multiple versions of the same piece of content that appeal to different groups.
Google is becoming more intelligent, and it gives preference to in-depth and accurate current content that is closely related to user intent. This is largely due to the BERT update released in November 2019. The BERT update helps Google understand the natural language in user searches.
A More Personalized Email
Email is still important, and email marketing itself continues to be significant. However, personalization has become even more crucial because the percent of smartphone users that check emails on their phones rather than desktop computers has drastically increased. As such, marketers should make sure that every message sent out contains personalized marketing messages so that customers can feel like they’re receiving information specifically tailored to them.
Relevant details like name, address, phone number, date of birth, occupation, hobbies, likes/dislikes, purchase history, and other relevant data points are often considered in creating more personalized marketing messages in an email. It may sound tedious, but this kind of customization increases open rates and clickthroughs.
Content Becomes More Interactive
Interactive content is any user-generated content that can be interacted with by the reader, something that is more focused on the persona and customer journey of the buyer. This includes things like videos, infographics, quizzes, polls, and more. It also includes social media stories and posts, blog posts, and other types of content designed to encourage interaction between the author and their target audience.
Content marketing is still largely focused on projects and campaigns, despite the importance of always-on interactions to create and generate sales leads through top-of-funnel content and then nurture them through the bottom and middle-funnel content. There is a need to shift this focus towards customers. Better use some of the digital marketing trends mentioned in this article.
Social Messaging Apps as Marketing Apps
The rise of mobile devices indicates people spend most of their time interacting with these small screens instead of traditional desktops or laptops. Social media platforms offer solutions for businesses to connect directly with consumers via chatbots. Chatbot technology allows companies to create automated conversations with a broader audience without hiring an employee to handle customer service inquiries. These tools allow brands to interact with customers at scale while saving money.
The Rise of Omnichannel Marketing
Omnichannel refers to a company’s ability to sell products through multiple channels, including online, mobile apps, social media platforms, and brick-and-mortar stores. This concept combines multiple channels into one single marketing funnel. The objective is to get customers to engage with any channel, such as email, website, mobile app, etc., and convert them into potential customers. This is done by creating a series of webinars, emails, phone calls, apps, and other forms of communication.
For example, if I were selling a product online, I would display it on Amazon first, then Google Shopping, then Facebook Ads, and finally Pinterest. That way, potential buyers will find out what they want to know about my products before deciding whether to buy them. Then, once they’ve decided they want to buy the product, they’ll click on my link to visit my site.
While requiring a multi-pronged SEO strategy, the omnichannel approach has become increasingly important for retailers because it allows marketers to reach customers at any point in the buying cycle.
Machine Learning Is Seeping Its Way into Marketing Workflows
Machine learning algorithms, shortened as ML, have been used to automate many aspects of business operations. Machine learning helps us predict future outcomes based on past events. For instance, when you look for a search term on Google, your query triggers an algorithm that looks up similar queries from previous organic search and returns rankings according to how closely those matches match yours. In addition, ML enables machines to learn patterns over time and improve themselves automatically.
This kind of AI is already being applied to everything from image recognition to speech translation. As this trend continues, expect to see more applications of artificial intelligence in marketing campaigns.
Collaboration Is Changing
The pandemic has brought the new normal. Working at home is the new norm. Online collaboration is changing drastically due to the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning amidst the pandemic. This indicates that businesses can be able to use AI tools to automate tasks such as customer service and recruitment. In addition, AI will help to create better product recommendations and increase productivity for business owners. AI can also make work easier by automating repetitive processes so that employees can focus their attention elsewhere. Whatever digital marketing plan you might have pre-pandemic should be reanalyzed and reprioritized.
Featured Snippets Is Here to Stay
If you’re not familiar with featured snippets, here’s a quick overview: These are short summaries of long articles or blog posts that appear directly below the snippet box on SERPs. They look like regular text but contain links back to the source article.
These snippets are generated using natural language processing technology. NLP uses computer programs to analyze large amounts of data and determine meaning. It works well with written content, which makes sense since most people read via words rather than images.
These snippets are opportunities to attract visitors to your website. Here’s how you can do it:
- Update your page titles, so it matches the title of the article.
- Create a longer and more accurate ‘how-to’ list a little longer so that when Google uses your content, the latter is cut, and the only way people can read the entire content is by clicking your link.
- Use schema markup for easier indexing. Improve your trustworthiness.
Focus is on Local SEO Listings
Supply chains are sensitive to events such as wars, terrorism, economic crises, and a pandemic. As the supply chains were disrupted, customers began to support local businesses even more.
Small business owners must understand that it is very important to maintain a strong online presence. Those attracted to them are local customers. The most important thing they can do is make sure that their store appears on “near me” Google searches or to the Google My Business platform.
Google constantly updates its local SEO algorithms, and you should update your business information as well. Local tools such as Google My Business offers extremely valuable information, no doubt. However, it’s the responsibility of the local business owner to keep Google My Business updated. First, claim your local business property and get verified. Then you can provide details about your business, such as opening hours, geographic location, and services. Finally, you can manage your business information at Google My Business by verifying your business. This helps prevent fraud if another company tries to take over your business listings.
Voice Search Is Becoming More Significant
Voice search is already one of the most popular features offered by mobile devices today. It allows users to speak instead of typing out keywords. While voice search was once only available on smartphones, it’s becoming increasingly common across platforms, including smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home.
The rise of voice search comes alongside another trend: conversational interfaces. Conversational interfaces allow users to interact directly with software without having to learn any commands.
Visual Search Is on the Rise
Visual search has become a reality thanks to advances in artificial intelligence technology. AI enables computers to process images, and videos like humans do. With this new capability, we can use our phones to find things visually rather than textually. Visuals help companies build relationships with potential clients through social channels. They also give marketers insight into consumer behavior.
In addition to being used for marketing purposes, visuals are often incorporated into apps and websites. For example, Instagram Stories lets users share photos and video clips within stories. Snapchat filters let users add special effects to pictures before sharing them. YouTube Live streams enable viewers to watch live broadcasts from various locations around the world.
With all these marketing digital trends coming together, there will be no doubt that visual search will play a major role in how customers communicate and consume information in the future. Here are what you can do to get ahead of the game:
- Create an image sitemap
- Use descriptive image filenames
- Incorporate an alt tag to the images
Programmatic Bidding Strategies for Google Ads
Automated bidding strategies allow Google to use machine learning analysis to adjust your bids in real-time. As a result, ad specialists can embrace automated strategies without losing control over their Google ads. Of course, automated bidding isn’t something new. Smart Bidding debuted in 2016. But most business owners aren’t aware of what it is and what it does.
Programmatic advertising is when artificial intelligence (AI) is used to automate so advertisers can target more specific populations. Automation is quick, efficient which eventually increases conversions and lowers the cost of acquiring customers. Real-time bidding allows better and faster targeting, qualifying Google ads to buy and sell per case basis. This kind of programmatic advertising means visitors you are targeting will be exposed to the advertisement. We must also test automation strategies against each other. After all, it’s is not a magic bullet.
In-Email Purchases Is the New Fad
In 2018, we saw email marketers start using their data to target customers more precisely than ever before. This year, it’ll be even easier for them to do so, thanks to an upcoming update from Google that will allow advertisers to use customer emails as part of their ad campaigns. Google is also rolling out its “super sophisticated” AdWords algorithm this year, making it possible to target active users based on search and purchase history.
Progressive Web Apps
Now, according to Tom Klein, Vice President of Marketing at MailChimp, “Subscribers will be able to make purchases right inside a marketing campaign, without ever leaving their inboxes. Progressive Web Apps are websites built as native applications using HTML5 technology. They can run offline, work across all devices, and provide push notifications. PWAs also allow developers to create one application per website rather than build separate versions for desktop browsers, smartphones, tablets, etc. The main advantage is speed; they instantly load because there aren’t any downloads required. However, this comes with some drawbacks, such as limited functionality compared to traditional sites.
The Impact of Conversational Marketing
Conversational Marketing provides an opportunity for a dialogue with the customer, enabling the seller to provide a great user experience tailored to the customer’s preferences and needs. Brands now don’t just talk about themselves; they listen to customers’ problems and help resolve them personally. That results in better interactions where each customer feels heard, and the brand resolves their specific problem.
While the customer goes through understanding what they need and want to buy, the chat assistant must be aware of when to turn the conversation into influencing the customer to make a purchase.