Many have disputed the power of digital marketing. However, specialists have proven that online marketing strategies work, and digital marketing continues to grow annually.
Almost half of North American companies expect an average 24% increase in their digital marketing budget in just this upcoming year.
As industries everywhere dive deeper into the digital marketing realm, professionals in the field are still learning how to best market to online consumers by analyzing and tweaking their formulas.
Thanks to the internet, things are changing every minute. Think about how the digital landscape was still so new in the 90’s. Now, less than 30 years later, it’s become an entirely new dimension of marketing space.
This means if businesses aren’t marketing online, they’re missing out. It’s not enough anymore to just have a website. You have to know how to get people to see it.
Digital marketing is one of the best ways a business of any size can earn a massive audience.
Turn to live streams, SEO, and social media engagement. These have made it easier for businesses to connect with consumers. Business owners must become marketers to have a fighting chance in this arena.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or expert marketer. You might not be aware of current marketing trends. The campaign you used last year might not work in 2019.
Increase your business success- learn about digital marketing trends that are changing the industry. Join us as we round up the biggest digital marketing trends for 2019 and how you can utilize them.
Source: https://bit.ly/2xHTaHK
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1. Live Video Streaming: The Future of Engagement
Video streaming on websites has always been one of the best ways to engage with audiences. It will continue to lead digital marketing in 2019.
This growing trend is due in part to the massive influx in popularity of live-streaming services and live video options, such as Twitch, Instagram’s Stories feature, and Snapchat and Facebook’s similar tools.
Live streaming is going to be a great way to keep your customers engaged. It’s easier for people to connect with what you’re selling. They can comment and participate rather than just see the products on screen.
You might need the help of someone famous to sell your brand. Try having an influencer create a live stream about your company. This is great for boosting ROI and growing an online following.
If you choose the right talent and their audience matches your target, audience will check out your products.
2. Traditional Video: Always in Style
Even with the break through of live video, video streaming is still a fighting player. High quality visual content will always engage viewers.
That’s because an upwards of 73% of Americans engage with Youtube, the largest video-sharing platform.
The powerful aspect of videos lies not only in the capabilities of video production and storytelling, but also in the incredibly invaluable analytic data that’s created from videos. Marketing specialists can see how long a viewer watches and at what point they leave the page.
This is why data that can be used to better engage them in the future.
You can employ the use of videos to tell a brand story. A video communicates the essence of a company.
3. Chatbots: Yes, They’re Still a Thing
It’s not everyone’s personal favorite trend. However, chatbots will still be active throughout 2019. We predict we’ll see them more than ever.
Chatbots have become popular due to their convenience. They’re perfect for company websites as a form of modern customer service.
A bot is able to offer sophisticated, personalized interactions to customers. Without the need to employ an actual person, it’s a money saver.
It’s undeniable that this is an unbeatable customer service remedy. We predict that more chatbots will be on the rise — especially for smaller companies with a limited team.
4. Instagram: Home of Millennials
As Facebook has aged, so has it’s audience. In fact, marketers have seen Facebook’s younger audiences migrate over to Instagram. Teens have claimed this platform as their stake.
The app has a heavy presence of the highly-coveted consumer audience of those under 30. So it’s safe to say that for 2019, if you’re looking for Millennials, Instagram is the place to find them.
Once you’re there, it’s important to consider their demographic and consumer behavior. This is how you know how to market to them.
For example, interacting with them through engaging polls makes them feel connected. Speaking like a human and not a marketer creates a sense of authenticity.
If you’re new to the marketing world and could use some help with digital marketing training before diving in head first to Instagram strategy, there are some great online tools and courses to get you caught up.
5. Facebook: Don’t Ignore It
As Facebook has aged, so has it’s audience.
Facebook still holds its spot as the #1 social app in the U.S. even though nearly half of its users are over the age of 65.
In most eyes, Facebook’s had a rough year due to their data breach. However, the site out-performs any platform. This is as long as your target audience is active on the site.
For 2019, we suggest keeping Facebook’s reigning power in mind. Double-check analytics of your audience to ensure you’re reaching the people who matter.
6. Content is Still King
The influence of trendy tactics like #growthhacks and SEO are prevalent, but content remains king in the world of digital marketing. What we see is a new emphasis on nuanced and niche content.
Creating high-quality content is essential. But a marketer must laser-focus in on the intended audience. Otherwise the content won’t reach.
Ensure that the message is reaching them. Check followers and comments to see who’s engaging.
Let’s say you sell colorful sneakers for athletes. But people above 65 are commenting on your posts. Your content isn’t engaging with the right crowd. All your hard work will be for nothing.
If this is you, revisit the drawing board and revise your strategy. Market your brand towards a specific type of buyer. This is one of the best strategies of 2019.
General audience content is, and always will be, important. However, research is showing that highly specialized content, specifically, is performing better and better.
To keep your content marketing fresh in 2019, find sub-niches in your audience that you can cater to.
Learn from other successful companies with niche-markets. How did they gain the attention of a sub-group?
7. Email: Authentic or Bust
Email is such a major channel of communication that billions of people use daily. But it’s become overwhelming for anyone to sift through constant marketing campaigns from different companies.
Email is still highly valuable but only if you can stand out.
To do this, the trends show us that personalization is key. Generic marketing emails are no longer the industry standard.
Now, automation comes into play. But offer personalized touches to batched emails. Even better, completely tailored emails can really capture attention and gain traction.
Be impactful with each subject line, opener, and call-to-action. If you seem general, you’ll read this way to customers.
8. Voice Interaction: On The Rise
Things like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Home devices have stolen everyone’s attention. Voice commands make tasks easy.
However, the nature of these voice-controlled devices poses a challenge for marketers. Voice searches yield more varied results than any typed query does.
For example, the listener is likely to only hear about the top one or two options on the search engine results page.
This means marketers have to prepare for these kinds of searches. They have to hyper-tailoring things like meta descriptions in order to get their web page at the top of the searches that matter most.
9. Eager to Make Use of These Trends Yet?
With the top digital marketing trends for 2019 outlined, it’s smart to find even small ways to work them into your current strategy. Just by simply shifting some of your old tactics, you should be able to see changes in your analytics and audience response.
Just remember. Marketing is an evolving field that requires constant education and tweaking in order to consistently produce a strong campaign. Don’t give up – stay engaged!
Author Bio –
Tom is the techie running a digital agency offering online marketing consultation to companies such as Imparture, based in London. With over a decade working in the SEO industry, what he doesn’t know about SEO isn’t worth knowing. His experience ranges from working with leading agencies, leading client consultations and affiliate marketing.