7 Digital Marketing Trends You Should Use in 2019
2019 is here which means that now is the right time to assess where your company stands and form a marketing strategy for the New Year. As a business owner, it’s your job to find out how to get (and stay) ahead of your competitors before the end of the year. If you’re not sure how to do it, follow these seven hot digital marketing trends and boost your brand.
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Mobile Ads
There’s no debating this one. Mobile device owners are still the top social media and internet users, and they’re the biggest online consumer group. Therefore, it only makes sense to include mobile in your digital marketing plan. Make sure your site is responsive enough to give your users the experience they deserve and consult an SEO expert to ensure that it stays mobile-friendly and optimized for years into the future.
Content Authenticity
According to sources such as Forbes, authenticity is crucial when marketing to millennials. With thousands of marketers and business owners all trying to stay ahead of one another, you’ll need to make a big impact to catch your audience’s attention and convince them to spend their hard-earned money with your company. A good way to build a successful digital marketing effort is to create honest, authentic comments that you, your audience, and your competitors value but can’t easily copy. However, the easiest way to be more authentic is to find a consumer base who will market your offerings for you. People, and millennials, in particular, trust consumers more than brands, and it’s your responsibility to capitalize on that trust.
Artificial Intelligence
AI or artificial intelligence is one thing we just can’t offer our audiences. Like humans, all programs and computers have their limits, but AI can do complex and automated tasks in ways humans cannot. For instance, a chatbot is much faster at providing answers to customer inquiries, and it can take in requests at speeds we can’t match. With AI, you can offer a highly personalized customer experience at any time of the day or night.
Campaign Creativity
What makes companies stand out? Sometimes, it’s their excellent customer service and five-star reviews. How do they market their offerings to gain those accolades? Marketing campaigns, that’s how! A creative campaign won’t just grab your audience’s attention, it will build brand familiarity and consumer engagement.
Virtual Reality
Most of us are familiar with VR or virtual reality as it’s used in the gaming world. However, innovators are now using it to augment the customer experience and turn it into a marketing strategy. Companies from Starbucks to IKEA are using augmented reality and virtual reality, and you should too.
Video Content
A video is a great way to connect to a broad demographic and makes it easy to promote anything online. This makes it easy to promote online degrees at an online university because there isn’t a brick and mortar location to provide tours. E-commerce is another industry that can be promoted through creating video content since there isn’t an in-person relationship with your customers. If you haven’t yet shared or created videos promoting your services and products, it’s time to get started. However, before creating your company’s YouTube channel, consider live streaming, as people are more likely to pay attention to a live video than a pre-recorded one. While it may be a bit time-consuming to engage in video marketing efforts, the rewards make it worthwhile.
Voice and Visual Search
If you’re not yet familiar with the visual search, it works much like Google’s reverse image search function. It’s particularly useful if you aren’t sure what an image means or you need to find out more about it. Voice search makes it easier for your customers to find the data they need. With just a few words, it’s possible to search the internet or place an online order.
Get Started Now
These trends are the ones to focus on for 2019, but they’re no substitute for good old marketing. To differentiate yourself from your competitors, you’ll need to build your brand, tell a compelling story, and provide authentic, relevant content. By doing these things consistently and following marketing trends, you’re more likely to be successful.
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Co-Authored With
Craig has worked as a business consultant and marketing manager for the past fifteen years. He has enjoyed success in helping other businesses thrive and in helping his company’s marketing team stay on track in their marketing efforts. He loves technology and everything business and strives to learn more every chance he can.