In today’s ever-changing digital marketing landscape, keeping a close eye on the latest digital marketing trends is the only way to stay competitive. Most importantly, you need to build a flexible digital marketing strategy that lets you implement these trends fast.
Now, 2018 was the year of the growth of the blockchain, artificial intelligence, mobile-first marketing, and voice search. These are just some of the most dramatic trends that are expected to dominate the marketing landscape in 2019.
So, let’s look at the hottest digital marketing tactics that will change your approach to digital marketing this year.
Boost Customer Satisfaction with Chatbots
The requirements of a modern customer have changed. Today, they use multiple channels, from social media and instant messaging platforms to chatbots and email, to interact with your brand. And, it’s not surprising that they expect you to use these channels, too. Namely, some recent stats show that an average customer expects to get an answer from a brand within 2 hours, while almost 85% of them don’t want to wait for your answer longer than a day.
For starters, you should provide seamless customer experiences by answering their phone calls, emails, social media messages, and website comments in real time. However, what to do once your customer support representatives clock off? Well, this is where chatbots shine.
Sure, I’m talking about AI-powered chatbots that keep learning your customers’ language and provide them with highly relevant, real-time answers. Many online users prefer communicating with chatbots given that they’re highly responsive, straightforward, accurate and, above all, polite. Research says that 1.4 billion customers already use chatbots.
Given that, it’s not surprising that 80% of businesses will integrate AI-backed chatbots with their websites and social media profiles by 2020.
Personalize User Experiences
Did you know that 62% of your customers expect you to provide relevant deals and content, based on their previous purchasing history? Moreover, they’re even ready to wait longer and pay more for such personalized buyer experiences. This only proves how important personalization will be in 2019.
Now, there are numerous ways to provide highly targeted user experiences. Let’s take the example of Netflix. Once you open your account, you will see that every element on their site, from carousels to search, are tailored to your preferences.
Personalization is also important for ecommerce businesses. This is where Amazon rocks. They recommend products related to the one you’ve just bought, tell you what items people usually search for, and send you emails with deals and offers that are relevant to you.
Adapt your Billing Strategy
One of the best ways to encourage people to buy from you is to adapt your billing efforts to their needs. For starters, to cater to different groups of customers, offer multiple payment options. Also, prove you’re flexible and optimize your billing to their needs and cash flow. In the meantime, if you’re struggling with unpaid invoices and late payments, you can always turn to invoice marketing. You can also take out unsecured business loans to boost your cash flow in the short-term. They’re usually calculated on your business income, require no security, and are easy to get.
Fuel your Marketing Strategy with Videos
Videos are definitely the most engaging form of online content. Stats say that 90% of customers claim videos helped them make buying decisions. Also, video marketing is highly profitable. Video marketers generate 60% more qualified leads annually, while 72% of brands claim that video has improved their conversion rate.
Given these stats, it’s logical that the number of businesses integrating video with their email marketing, landing pages, social networks, and product demos has skyrocketed. Moreover, Cisco estimates that more than 80% of online traffic will be video by 2021.
However, you shouldn’t limit yourself to YouTube. According to HubSpot, there are different platforms and types of videos you should leverage, including:
- Live videos
- Explainer videos
- 360-degree videos
- Augmented reality videos
- Expert interviews
- Animated videos
- Brand videos
- How-to videos
- Event videos
- Demo videos
Optimize for Voice Search
Hey Siri, find me a recipe for waffles.
OK Google, what time is it in China?
It’s amazing how the use of voice has become important in the world of digital marketing. Namely, we’re living in the extremely fast-paced, mobile-first era. Today’s mobile users don’t want to waste their time typing lengthy keywords into their browsers and looking for the desired answer. Instead, they use the power of their voice to communicate with search engines naturally and get their answers faster.
As over 50% of all search queries will be voice-based by 2020, you need to start optimizing your site for them. For starters, this means that exact-match keywords won’t work for your SEO anymore. As voice searches resemble real-life conversations, you should optimize your site for long-tail, conversational phrases, and even questions. Also, you will need to create longer content to integrate these keywords organically, use Schema markup, use conversational language, and have a solid FAQ page.
Over to You
2018 was all about increasing user satisfaction, providing personalized user experiences, implementing artificial intelligence, and automating marketing efforts. And, in 2019, we will see a wider use and implementation of these trends.
Hope these brief tips will help you focus on those marketing trends that really matter!
