Digital marketing with effective strategies and well-executed campaigns is a must for a business to succeed and any business that ignores this is bound to fail sooner or later. The marketing industry in general and digital marketing, in particular, is a dynamic industry with constantly changing trends and has been on a growth spurt since the 1990s. As these trends change virtually every year it is essential for marketers to be aware of these changes so that they can quickly adapt and deliver to stay ahead of their competitors. It is also a great way to grow and improve business and better their relationship with existing customers and also build new ones with prospects.
Latest trends in digital marketing
To know where the digital marketing trends are heading towards and also to take advantage of it and implement it in your next strategy, here is a list of the latest trends.
Video marketing: As per a recent survey it is estimated that close to 73% of Americans use Youtube to make or watch videos and a large chunk of these videos are related to a product or service of digital marketing and is called video marketing. It has been used by big brands for many years, but the catch here is that video marketing is changing. It is said that by the year 2020, people will watch videos uploaded by individuals and not by brands or businesses.
Moreover, the videos generated should be content and story-based as well as informative. Videos can be used by marketers for many strategies and this post is a good place to start understanding about it. To cache in on this, trend businesses can make videos on how-to guides, webinars, events, company culture, customer testimonials, employee stories, brand stories, influencer interviews, product walk-throughs and much more. Most brands and companies are leveraging social media to post interesting videos all with the help of simple tools like a webcam or a smartphone camera.
Voice search: One of the trends that are getting popular this year is the voice search. There are two types of voice searches available right now:
- Through smart speakers like Google’s Alexa or Microsoft’s Cortana which gives voice answers.
- Through speakers installed on desktops or smartphones which display search results in writing form.
It is estimated that close to 50% of the search will be voice-based and that has prompted many leading brands to think of ways to use voice-based devices to utilize this trend to its fullest potential.
The next step after using voice-based devices is to implement voice-engine optimization visualizing what voice queries the audience may use. It has the potential to make or build your brand as it can deliver more targeted content which will improve the click-through rates.
The rise in use of chatbots: It is a form of software which acts as a virtual assistant. It is a virtual communicator which helps users achieve the desired results. Chatbots are being used in many places like mobile apps, social media, business websites, etc. They interact with users using chats and voice-based messages. They are being used on Facebook and other social media platforms for performing many tasks from providing weather predictions to customer support. It also provides personalized interactions without the need for human resources. It is being used by new uses like:
- Assisting in shopping
- Guidance for website browsing
- Lead qualification
- Talent acquisition
- Self-service
- Research about the knowledge base
It is a trend which has seen an increase last year and is expected to grow further this year too.
Content marketing: Content marketing which is an essential strategy in digital marketing continues to enjoy its importance. Content is the foundation of digital marketing, hence if you want to get it right, it is imperative that you promote the right content. Quality still remains the main focus of this type of marketing but there is also stress on nuance. The rising trend in the industry is to have a more targeted approach by digging deep into the interests of the recipients. So apart from generalized content, there is more focus on specialized material coming from experts in their domain. So content marketing continues to move forward and remain in trend provided it is effective.
Using programmatic advertising: Digital marketing is more effective than traditional marketing as it offers more innovations and updated ad models that are interesting for the end-user. One of them is programmatic advertising using Artificial Intelligence, AI. Managing ads with different channels to reach customers is a time-consuming affair even with a full team of executives so many companies are switching to AI where advertisements can be placed and bought using targeting algorithms. It is estimated that by 2020 more than 80% of the digital ads will be bought through automated channels. It is more powerful than any traditional advertising as there is more power to the advertiser and even small advertisers can use it to generate revenue. But it is important to note that this form of advertising needs technical expertise and hence needs human resources too but it is a trend worth checking out.
Latest SEO: Digital marketers always have their hands full, thanks to the constant updates that search algorithms get ever so often. Google which is the leading search engine has now got the capability to understand users better than before. Its algorithms use search history, location, and information into the search query and give results based on it. The search engine has already prioritized fast loading websites over slow ones when ranking it. It becomes all the more important for traditional businesses to embrace digital marketing. Moreover, the way people search has also seen many changes. Image searches and local searches have taken priority and so have mobile searches. Local SEO strategy has become important for a business that caters to local customers. Search should be optimized by:
- Creating websites keeping user experience in mind
- Optimize pages for speedy loading
- Prioritize local search
- Use sitemaps and schema markup
- Include various types of media in the pages
There are many trends in the digital marketing industry that a marketer can look forward to. Using these trends and innovations, businesses can attract customers but it is essential to know the changes and make use of it well ahead of the competitors. But the road ahead is not easy as there is a major learning curve for businesses.