A Prediction Of Digital Marketing Trends In 2019
The average American now reportedly has an attention span of eight to twelve seconds, according to a study by Microsoft. The study theorized that this is a result of the increased use of mobile devices and social media. Because of this, most brands are seeing a decline in all forms of engagement and have had to adapt their techniques in order to properly reach and interact with their audience. It has become normal in the digital marketing and SEO community to expect the lightning-fast changes in online marketing trends.
Digital marketing has really had to step up its game. Consumers are able to detect propaganda and disingenuous content now more than ever and, every year, certain digital marketing trends that the industry had once depended on become irrelevant and ineffective. For example, as of August 2015, roughly 200 million people had installed ad blockers. This seriously hurt many marketers who had invested in paid advertisements.
To combat all these ever arising problems, companies have had to find ways to build trust and authenticity in their brands in ways that will create customer loyalty and increase social engagement. Every year, the SEO community has to evolve and develop new digital marketing trends and tactics in order to keep up with the consumer and stay relevant.
Last month, we published a post that gave a recap of the digital marketing trends for 2018. Now, we’re going to discuss what’s new in SEO in 2019.
Video Marketing and Live-Streaming
YouTube is America’s most popular social media platform, with an estimated 73% of Americans using it. But other websites such as Twitch (a popular live streaming video platform) and Facebook are climbing up the ranks in the video marketing industry. Video marketing has been on the rise for years and is even considered to be one of the most influential SEO trends today. The fact that mobile-users are closing in on the 5 billion mark, this is not particularly surprising.
Research has shown that video marketing can drive conversions, increase backlinks, and spread brand awareness. Plus, with the phones in our pockets becoming increasingly more advanced, producing high-quality video content is easier than ever. Accessibility has always been an important factor in consumer engagement and videos are arguably the easiest content to consume. One of the most influential digital marketing trends in 2019 will be taking advantage of this bite-sized advertising technique.
Personalized Content Marketing
We’ve been very vocal about how highly we value content marketing at New Dimension and how important it is to properly optimize it. But it’s not just us. Research shows that adding content to your site can bring 7.8 times more organic site traffic that websites without it. But personalized content marketing is quickly becoming one of the most valuable digital marketing trends. Businesses can produce content based on their audience’s, and even a specific individual’s, interest and preferences. All this information can be found through a variety of data that is collected through different interactions with a consumer.
Whether this is through blog posts, exclusive products, or emails, personalized content marketing can be invaluable to a company. It has been shown to promote brand recognition, advance customer loyalty, increase the chance of engagement, and improve the customer experience altogether. After all, digital marketing is about working smarter, not harder.
ChatBots
Essentially the AI version of the ‘Live Chat’ feature on a website, ChatBots are an automated response feature, a sort of simulated representative, which are designed to provide website visitors with the instant support with what they need, whether it be information or a service. This up-and-coming digital marketing trend is set to save online businesses billions of dollars. What’s better is that, like all digital technology, ChatBots become more advanced and more human-like every year. We have even reached a point in this technology where a person does not always realize that they are communicating with a “robot.”
A survey by Oracle has shown that 80% of businesses will be implementing ChatBots into their website by 2020. This is due to the numerous benefits that ChatBots and other forms of AI provide. Instead of speaking with a human, customers will be speaking with an automated employee who can meet their requests with speed and accuracy. This technology is also rather helpful in collecting and analyzing customer data and behaviors, which can be extremely valuable to a company.
However, with all new technology, there are some potential dangers that have to be considered. Although ChatBots can be set to operate 24/7, they will need to be monitored during these times, at least until they are fully trained to respond to all inquiries. AI ChatBots also have the potential to perform tasks perfectly, but this is not always a guarantee. These bots are not considered exceptionally talented when it comes to being ‘put on the spot’ or acting in unfamiliar situations. Even though our day to day lives are becoming more like an 80s Sci-Fi movie all the time, our AI, and thus our ChatBots, is not fully autonomous. At least, not yet.
Influencer Marketing
Influencers can be considered actual celebrities or popular bloggers, YouTubers, Instagram stars, or any other person who has influence over a large audience. One of the more recent digital marketing trends has been utilizing these influencers. Businesses and marketers have found success in recruiting these people to promote their product in different ways throughout their social channels. Consumers are now so aware that they can detect propaganda and blatant advertising when they see it. That’s what makes influencer marketing so effective. It’s a unique form of advertising that the audience trusts, as it appears more authentic.
The downside to influencer marketing is that you do have to remain rather consistent with it. Once you stop employing an influencer, that visibility that they brought to your brand ends. That’s why consistency is important with influencers; the impact of just one post or share is not going to be as impactful as a series of themed posts.
Marketers tend to measure the success of an influencers post based on the number of audience engagement. We tend to over-value things that we can see, and this isn’t necessarily related to a post’s success. But although social shares do not produce the most valuable results and are not particularly correlated with search value, they do a good job of telling you which headlines are performing and what content your audience enjoys in general.
Although there are definitely certain social media platforms and digital marketing tactics that will always be valuable, and keeping up with what’s new in SEO is vital, it’s still important to keep in mind the demographic that you are trying to communicate with. After all, one of the goals of digital marketing is to find the most efficient and cost-effective way to create customer loyalty and to attract organic search traffic.
For example, if you’re looking to reach an older demographic, Facebook will be a great medium for you, since 41% of Facebook users are over the age of 65. But if you’re wanting to reach a younger demographic, Instagram is where you’ll shine. More than 60% of all Instagram users are between the ages of 18 and 34. Rather than spread yourself thin over a large variety of platforms, it’s best to find fewer specific areas to focus your efforts.
The vast majority of our population checks into cyberspace every single day. So if you are ever going to get your brand out there and have your message received, that’s where you’ve got to be. What’s more is that, if you plan on competing with the millions of other businesses there, you’ve got to lead the pack.
