While we debate the effectiveness of SEO and the effectiveness of keyword research as a part of it, the world of digital marketing is experiencing a paradigm change. Just like with the rest of the world, history repeats itself in the domain of digital marketing. Interestingly, the only trend that keeps repeating in the world of SEO, SEM, SMM and paid marketing is the disruption. Each year, the traits of each aspect of digital marketing change. Therefore, if you have a strategy in place for 2018, it might not be optimal for 2019.
Apart from the growing search interest of the local users, shifts in search trends and the changes in the topic themes, the update of search engine algorithms, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the advent of programmatic advertising contribute significantly to the changing trends of DM. So, even though you might have several content strategies, social media campaigns and paid marketing campaigns in place in 2018, you need to work hard the coming year to remain on top of the relevant Google SRLs.
Here are the nine reasons you cannot leave your digital marketing strategy unattended in 2019 –
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i. Artificial intelligence
While we are not insinuating that cyborgs are taking over the world, we are definitely saying that AI is currently playing a massive role in our daily lives. Right now, several websites use AI to understand user intent and search trends, extract data from social media platforms, and it takes care of providing pertinent information to the users at the right time. As per reports from Gartner, almost 85% of all customer interactions will go through AI by 2020.
ii. Chatbots
It is just a sophisticated way of saying that AI-based tech is now here for you and your competitors to keep your visitors away, while your marketing team chalks out ways to solve visibility issues and SEO challenges. According to experts, chatbots will save close to $8 billion per annum for online businesses. They will keep the customers connected with the brand 27/7. Almost all e-commerce sites including Uber use Chabot tech to stay in touch with their customers. These bots also retain chat information that helps customers begin another conversation where they left off.
iii. Hyper-personalization
People expect more than personalization right now. It is the time for hyper-personalizing everything under the sun. Apart from seeing their names on every marketing email, people also want to find relevant product promotions, separate buyer profiles or accounts on e-commerce sites, order history, product suggestions and more. Right now, the success rate of personalized and behavior-based marketing emails is over three times that of global outreach emails.
iv. Video marketing
The video is not going out of fashion anytime soon. As per data from YouTube, mobile users are checking out videos 100-times more each year. The projected CTR can improve by 300% when a video is a part of a marketing email. About 64% of the customers feel more confident about a product after they watch a video about it. Today, people don’t have the time or inkling to read. About 80% of the internet users would rather watch a video than read a blog or news. So, if there is a message you want to send. It is time to package it into a neat video and send it over to your target audience.
v. Social media influencers
Gigi Hadid, Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, apart from being a part of the 21st-centuryglitterati, what do these people have in common? They have immensely successful brands, and they have millions of followers on social media. So, when they talk about anything, people listen. Whether it is about a post on a post-pregnancy workout or new nude shade of lipstick for the fall, people pay attention to what they are posting. Your brand needs to try social media influencer marketing because your target users are more likely to trust someone without any direct marketing link with the product. Find someone who shares your business and product values, put forth the proposition of doing an honest review. That is how you will get a head start on influencer marketing for 2019.
vi. Applications for social messaging
Why do you use social messaging? Is it to send party invites to your friends? Is it for sharing funny holiday memes with your family? Well, you need to think beyond the proverbial meme forwarding and video sharing. Facebook messenger has 1.3 billion users, and WhatsApp has close to 1.3 billion monthly users. These are some serious stats that should inspire you to take FB messenger, WhatsApp, and YouTube into account for your next marketing strategy. Many businesses have switched from email-based communication with their clients to instant messengers. They use Facebook messenger or WhatsApp to speak with their clients directly. About 46% of the users prefer communicating directly via instant messengers rather than phone or email.
vii. Visual search engines
We are not announcing a competition for Google search, but we are pointing out that Pinterest has become a powerful visual search option for all internet users. Very recently, Pinterest joined the party and raised about $150 million for their new venture. Google lens is another stellar example of a visual search engine that can recognize things, places and people through a simple camera application.
viii. Search intent and micro-moment
Although micro-moment is a comparatively new concept, Google will not let you ease into it. Like everything else in marketing, you need to plunge into the deeper end. While the average customer spends about 4.7 hours per day on their smartphones, they go online on social media about 17 times. It is the new consumer behavior that can deliver messages to the customers during their split-second decision making. You should invest in research on micro-moments to leverage your marketing resources completely.
ix. Voice search
It has been around for quite a while, but SEOs have not yet perfected the art of targeting content according to the demands of smart voice assistants. Siri and Cortana are only one click away, and people use them to ask questions like, “where is the closest Chinese restaurant?” or “which movies are playing at the theatre?”. Unless your website content and blog has answers ready for these questions, you will have a tough time convincing these AI-technologies that you are a part of the latest game.
2019 looks like a lot of work for the digital marketers out there. Although this year was happening and rewarding for all SEOs and DMs, it will be necessary for each one to revise their current digital marketing plans. Keeping the nine trends in mind will help you set up a priority list, and set short-term goals in the path of long-term achievements.
