Posted: December 9, 2019
Marketing is always changing, and digital marketing is no exception to that. Within the past couple of years, it feels as though the digital marketing landscape has been evolving at a breakneck pace, with the rise of social media as an important pillar in a marketing strategy, to the increasing roles of technology like AI and automation across multiple content channels.
It can be hard to keep track of every marketing tool and not every tool or function is right for every business. As we look towards the new decade at the start of 2020, we’re going to take a final look back at the top five digital marketing trends that really accelerated this past year, and are sure to continue into the new year as well:
- Increased Use of AI and Automation: The term “AI” may still conjure images of robots and fears of technological world-domination, but on a day-to-day level, AI is used in everything from your Alexa speaker to our social media scheduling tools. Combined with automation, these tools grew rapidly in use through 2019, and are continuing to expand their reach and functions into the new year. Automation integrates seamlessly with social media and email marketing, in establishing customer cycle workflows to knowing when the perfect time to schedule a tweet is for your audience. If you haven’t put in the time or resources to include automation and AI into your digital marketing strategy, now is a critical time to jump on the bandwagon.
- Chatbots: We live in a 24/7, instant gratification society. Shopping and consumers want to be able to interact with brands and companies on their time and on their platforms. Chatbots fill the void in coverage. It may not be feasible for a startup or small business to always provide customer service support via an app or website, but with chatbots, you can still engage and interact with your customers, even if it’s 3:00am and your sales and customer service team is asleep. This hybrid AI-human approach will continue to increase in ubiquity into the future. Luckily for you, it’s easier than ever to find a quality chatbot service!
- Video Content: As a video content driven digital marketing agency, we talk about video. A lot. All the time. Pretty much every chance that we get. But we aren’t the only ones singing its praises. Video converts on a level far above image and text content alone that sometimes we’re surprised when a brand/company isn’t utilizing video content in their digital marketing strategy. As the democratization of video creation plateaus, there will be fewer excuses for not making your own video content. And if you really can’t make it yourself, there’s lots of people who can help as well. There will only be a greater and bigger need to use video going into 2020, so get started now!
- Omnichannel Marketing: We alluded briefly to how consumers are looking to connect with brands and companies where they are, whenever they want, but that doesn’t only impact features like chatbots. It should be impacting your entire sales and marketing strategy. Creating an ecosystem for your products/services and your clients that is more like a flywheel than a funnel is what’s called Omnichannel marketing.
- Personalized Ads: Long gone are the days of the pushy salesperson. Consumers are educated and put in the time on online forums, reading blog posts, and watching influencer reviews before narrowing their options. Products aren’t just something to buy, they need to be solutions that solve a consumer’s problem. Using AI, automation, SEO, and the inbound methodology, it’s incredibly easy for businesses to cater their products to consumers who are looking for something that matches what they are looking for. You’ve probably already seen personalization in the form of emails with your first name in the subject line, or Google ads on other webpages after you searched for something once before three weeks ago.
When you look at these trends all together, what you see is a blended marketing-sales hybrid, where consumers and brands interact more organically. Gone are the days of the pushy used-car salesperson type getting the highest sales numbers. Branding and selling is more nuanced, and consumers are expecting a personalized buyer experience.
If you haven't taken advantage of these trends yet, and are planning your digital marketing strategy for 2020, it's not too late to incorporate them! If you aren't sure where to start, you can always contact us about working on your digital marketing strategy. Sometimes the best place to get started is to have an impartial third-party take a look at what you've been doing and make suggestions on how to improve.
We'll look at predicted digital marketing trends for 2020 in a future blog post!