The digital marketing scene is constantly shifting and changing. Read below for five trends in digital marketing that you’ll be glad you implemented in 2019.
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Smart Speakers and Voice Search
What was non-existent just a handful of years ago is a norm for many households in America today: the smart speaker. And even before that, the concept was well-known because of Siri. Voice search is extremely prevalent today as one of the quickest and easiest ways to get the answer you’re looking for—without lifting a finger.
According to recent research in digital marketing sectors, it’s predicted that half of all searches on the Internet will be made with voice search by 2020. Currently, 20% of all Google mobile phone or tablet inquiries and 25% of mobile searches through Bing are spoken.
With the help of voice search, relevant information that people search for is added to through audio content. With artificial intelligence improving, our friends Siri and Alexa are making less and less mistakes, which shows their growth in the mainstream.
Even brands are jumping on board, allowing voice search to work in their favor for their potential customers. It provides even further ordering ease, thus increasing sales.
Smart Speakers (voice search outside of a mobile phone) are also increasing in popularity. Around 39 million people in the United States use them in their homes and of those people, 65% say that they wouldn’t dare turn back to life before voice search.
More and more companies are realizing the need to produce audio content in order to increase brand awareness (and we think you should, too!). On the down side, it is very likely that advertisements will soon become a part of this ever-growing domain. Alexa will be telling you the answer you wanted along with a sponsored message, meaning your business will be able to purchase ad space.
Tip: With voice technology, write your content in a conversational tone. You want to focus on getting Google featured snippets, all while utilizing keywords that people tend to speak that they wouldn’t typically type out.
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Behavioral Advertising
This element of digital marketing is one of the most advanced and effective. Also known as programmatic advertising, behavioral advertising uses artificial intelligence to make ad buying automatic so that businesses can more easily target specific audiences. This makes for a faster, more efficient experience, leading to lower customer acquisition costs and higher conversion rates.
This service of digital marketing has caught on quickly and won’t likely be going anywhere soon. According to studies done on the subject, nearly 90% of all display ads will be programmatic by 2020.
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Stories
Social media “stories” are becoming increasingly popular and have now branched across multiple platforms. It started with Snapchat’s My Story, and then was introduced on Facebook and Instagram. It has recently been released on Youtube, which they call “Reels.” The savviest marketers are going live on social in order to grow their followers’ engagement and to increase their overall brand awareness.
A fun thing for social media users and a great opportunity to capitalize on for marketers is this: stories are only available for a short amount of time. They are a means for creating a sense of exclusivity and even FOMO—fear of missing out. You can feature limited time offers, flash sales, and more by utilizing stories on your favorite social media platform.
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Chatbots
Chatbots are another AI-based technology that use the classic instant messenger to provide 24/7 real-time communication with site visitors. The latest numbers tell us that a whopping 1.4 billion people are interacting with chatbots. In fact, it’s because of its booming success that 80% of businesses are using this form of digital marketing or plan to be using it by 2020.
Fun fact: by the year 2022, chatbots will have helped save over $8 billion annually for business, especially in the healthcare and banking industries.
So many people are making use of this tool, as many consumers enjoy the access they get to businesses and information through the chatbot. They are responsive and highly accurate in their remembrance of former customers’ buying history! Plus, they are always present and knowledgeable when someone needs them.
Chatbots provide wonderful customer service, with their timeliness in meeting expectations and automating repetitive tasks. If you’ve got a chatbot to help with your business, it’s one virtual assistant that won’t disappoint!
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Video Marketing
Of all of the above digital marketing tools, video may just be the most necessary for your business’ online presence. In a recent survey, 72% said that videos have increased their conversion rate, 52% of consumers say that videos make them more confident in their online purchases, 70% of consumers have shared a brand’s video, and 65% of executives visit a site (and 39% of them call) after having viewed a video.
Those stats don’t lie! Having video is one thing, but distributing is another. A simple, helpful, and effective way to do that? Social media. Live videos across a variety of platforms are continuing to grow in popularity; it has even gotten to the point that many businesses are now using video for product demos, behind-the-scenes looks into their industry, interviews, and so much more.
Today’s consumer likes to get to know a business. Many people want to know the kind of person that is providing the product that they are buying. This goes hand-in-hand with the way the trends are heading, and since film equipment costs are decreasing and smartphone cameras are increasing in quality, many companies are releasing more and more personalized messages through video.
With Youtube videos showing up in the SERPs, video SEO is increasingly important. To do this, you can utilize closed captions, text overlays, descriptions, titles, and even file names.
Video is known to catch our eye as we scroll through, so it only makes sense that it be a successful digital marketing tool.
Want to Learn More? Uptick Can Help!
Digital marketing is multi-faceted and sometimes daunting to execute on your own. Need help getting your business’ digital marketing strategy to work for you? Contact us today!
