Digital marketing is growing at an unbelievable pace. Each day, there is something new to learn, understand, and apply. Each year, new trends come into the picture, which sometimes changes the basics to such an extent that we have to learn to relearn!
Indeed, digital marketing is like the sea, where every new tide comes in with something new.
If you think 2019 was the best year for Digital Marketing, check out these top 8 trends that are sure to change the face of this interesting marketing channel in the new decade.
Marketing technology
Integrating the basics of marketing with Technology, Marketing Technology (called Martech for short) is the new kid on the digital block. Combining the major tenets of digital marketing – digital media, customer experiences, and data analytics– with technology, Martech not only gives you an edge over your competitors, but also helps you with key insights, optimizing budget, and communicating the right message to your customers at the right time.
Currently, there are many data analytics tools such as Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, etc., which can give great insights regarding the customer decision-making process.
Omnichannel Marketing
‘Omnichannel’ is a buzzword that has been around for quite some time now. But with a growing number of media or touchpoints that you can use to reach your customers, there’s no better time for omnichannel marketing than now. It places an importance on making different marketing channels come together, or separately, and work towards a common goal – be it customer acquisition, conversion, lead generation or simply awareness.
There are several channels that you can explore for Omnichannel marketing:
- Facebook and Instagram Stories
- Podcasts
- Apps
- Live broadcasts and/or Live Chat Sessions
- SMS Marketing
- Offline marketing with press releases and OOH Ads
- Email Marketing
- Chatbots and
- Virtual assistants
- Voice search
Keep in mind that all the channels communicate a similar message to your audience.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is almost everywhere. From understanding your favorites in Netflix to knowing what goes best with the trousers you bought on Amazon, – AI is revolutionizing retail, businesses, finance, and also digital marketing.
AI can be of great aid in content marketing, customer experience, and advertising. You can reach out to your customers at the right point in their buying process, and help them and your business get the best results. Chatbots, which are a separate trend in themselves, are also a great way to resolve customer queries through AI.
Chatbots
Your customer visits your webpage but does not know where to start. A chatbot opens up, and your customer now knows whether you offer the services they are looking for. Pretty neat, right?
No need to browse through pages to know about the services offered, and no need to wait in a queue to be attended by a customer care executive. In around 5 minutes, they have made the decision!
That’s why Chatbots are getting popular. They help retain the potential customers, nurture the existing ones, and have simply made it easy for your customers to get answers quickly.
If you understand the major pain points of your customers, you can customize your chatbot to make the entire process smooth.
Chatbots are now being used for not just customer engagement, but also for:
- Lead generation
- Shopping assistance
- Talent recruitment
- Self-service portals such as travel reservation
Chatbots also help in your customer’s buying journey and many third-party software that integrate seamlessly with your website to give your customers the best experience.
Programmatic Advertising
With so many channels for advertising now available, it sometimes becomes difficult to manage all the campaigns in one shot. Programmatic advertising uses AI to buy and place advertisements based on the algorithms and budget invested in the channel.
Programmatic advertising is not just restricted to the digital space but can also be integrated with digital marketing on OOH platforms.
The major reason why programmatic advertising is becoming popular is that it allows any changes to occur in real-time, thus letting you achieve more results without having to wait long.
Personalization
Personalization is the key to make your customers feel valued. For example, you must have observed how in a popular food delivery apps, the last order pops up when a customer tries to order from a restaurant he or she ordered from previously. Saves your customers’ time, and makes them feel that the brand ‘knows’ them.
Personalization is not only helpful for customers; it also helps you fine-tune your campaigns based on customer behavior. Saves you some money in the process.
Personalization also increases brand recall and of course, increases brand loyalty. The more targeted you are to their needs, the more they are going to love it.
Other than just targeting, personalizing can also be achieved by having a dedicated executive to cater to a particular customer, getting in touch with a customer during a purchase drop off, or simply by mentioning on Social Media.
Video Marketing
Yes, video marketing became a smash hit in the last two years, and it is not showing any signs of slowing down! Videos have gained prominence in display ads – be it on Facebook, Google, or other channels.
What makes them more appealing (and all the more difficult to conceptualize!) is in 5 or 10 seconds, you can share information with your customers that otherwise may be difficult with an image.
Augmented Reality (AR)
With a focus on creating the best customer experience, marketers are looking to use AR not just in physical stores, but also in Digital Marketing. It is reported that Kylie Cosmetics created the Instagram story AR filters, which let users try on lipstick shades. Now that’s taking AR to the next level! Facebook is not that behind when it comes to using AR for marketing. The Facebook Augmented Reality Ads helps your customers have a taste of your brand through AR.
However, it requires a partner with an Augmented Reality producer on the Spark AR studio. And of course, you should know whether AR is suitable for your business or not.
So, there you have it – the top current trends in Digital Marketing, that are going to dominate the industry for a long time to come. What do you think is the next big thing in Digital Marketing? Share in the comments and let us know!
Author
Anuradha Ravi
Digital Marketing Executive with 2+ years of experience in Content Writing for Social Media and Facebook Adverts. Also loves cats!
Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anuradha-ravi/