If your business has any intention of remaining competitive in today’s online landscape, you must adapt to the rapidly evolving changes in digital marketing. We live in a time when marketing technology moves fast and consumer interests and behaviours are hard to predict. Marketers can no longer stick their heads in the sand and hope that educated guesses and the same old methods will work forever.
With that in mind, here are our predictions for the digital marketing trends we will be seeing more of in 2020…
Artificial Intelligence
If you haven’t already realised it, 2020 may be the year that a lot of people wake up to the dominance of artificial intelligence (AI). It is destined to be at the heart of global business and industry in the future, it’s already taking over many simple jobs, such as:
– Basic communication
– Product recommendations
– Content creation
– Email personalisation
– Basic eCommerce transactions
AI can be utilised to assess customer behaviour and use data from social media platforms/blog posts to help businesses understand how buyers search for products and services. We will find very soon that artificial intelligence is going to be the driving force behind many marketing strategies and organisations adopting AI in 2020 will see financial benefits by being able to cut staffing costs, accelerating their growth and getting that much-needed edge over their competitors.
Conversational Marketing
Modern marketing can be summed up in one word “conversational”, customers are steering the digital marketing industry in this direction because it’s what they want.
When consumers have a question, 82% they want an “immediate” response, so a social media marketing strategy across multiple channels, allowing customers to interact with brands on their terms, on their preferred devices/platforms at a time that suits will be more important than ever for businesses.
Ultimately, the primary goal of conversational marketing is to enhance the user experience through a feedback-driven model that fosters higher engagement and greater loyalty.
Social Messaging
If you think social messaging apps are for sending emojis to your friends – think again!
Fifty- five billion instant messages are sent via social messaging every day, with a high number being sent between business and individuals, in fact, the top three social messaging apps – WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat – have more combined users than Facebook or YouTube combined. People are spending more time messaging each other, making it a no-brainer to market your company’s products and services where your potential customers are hanging out.
Social messaging apps can be very useful in sending messages to customers directly, as they allow personalisation and add value to the user experience. In addition, people expect businesses to have a presence on messaging apps because it’s a direct and easy way to interact with them.
Voice Search & Smart Speakers
The increasing use of voice search has made it important for businesses to re-assess their digital marketing strategies. Did you know? 55% of all homes will own a smart speaker by 2022 and 50% of all internet searches will be via voice by the end of 2020.
Currently, 72% of people who own smart speakers say that they use their devices as part of their daily routines.
Voice search plays an important role in providing all the relevant information that people are searching for through audio content, smart speakers are getting even smarter and the number of errors made by voice assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google has reduced greatly and Adopting a voice search strategy isn’t just about remaining relevant – it’s also about creating a unique and optimised customer experience.
Video Marketing
Live video is going to prove particularly popular in 2020 with a large number of businesses, it is a very flexible media and can be used to share interviews, product demos and behind-the-scenes glimpses of your brand, life in the office, how products are made, company events, etc, which all create a bond with your audience.
When it comes to video marketing, take a wider view and DON’T just think YouTube! There are plenty of ways to drive higher engagement with your video marketing, as you can make a video post or start a live broadcast on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, also because people find video content more compelling, Google pushes pages that include videos higher in the rankings.
With your insight into the digital marketing trends for the year ahead, you are sure to be at least one step ahead of your competition and if you need a helping hand, get in touch as we are happy to help you take your business to the next level.
How Can We Help?
You now know what to expect for 2020 but want to partner with someone to help you do it? That’s where we can help!
We run a full service digital marketing service that helps you build your online presence across your social media platforms. Contact Us today to find out how we can help you.