Digital marketing is pretty much as dynamic as it gets with new technology evolving every minute. The challenge faced by businesses and their marketing departments is continuing to meet the demands of the digital domain and the constant evolution of the consumer. Here’s what we expect will be the top 10 trends to incorporate into your digital marketing strategy for 2019.
1. Content Clusters
Content marketers will be pushed back to doing what they are supposed to do-writing engaging and informative content which is SEO optimised. Gone are the days of content being stuffed full of keywords making it dis-jointed and lacking flow. Instead, aim to create clusters of content around topics relevant to your industry.
2. Voice Search Optimisation
Voice search is on the up-just as it was in 2018 with around 40% of people using the tool on a daily basis. More and more of us are integrating devices such as Alexa into our homes, forcing marketers to consider how best to optimise content to suit the nature of voice devices. 2019 is likely to see further developments such as Google pushing to monetise its voice services through promoted content and by 2020 every major brand will have a voice strategy within its marketing plan so it’s time for us all to get thinking.
3. Integrity
2018 saw our news screens relentlessly filled with negative news. Brands are under increased scrutiny from all angles-especially when it comes to social and environmental issues. Consumers are looking to brands who offer aid to world issues whether that be female empowerment or global warming and businesses are likely to invest more in creative means of showcasing this over a simple yet text heavy press release.
4. Article 13
Otherwise known as the ‘meme-ban’, Article 13 is on its way. But what does that mean in the world of digital marketing? Platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter will be expected to self-police when it comes to copyright laws. The sites will take down any content posted by a branch which contains any uncopyrighted content including music or images. Once the act comes in, we’re likely to encounter a few grey areas so it’s worth being extra careful about what your business is putting out there.
5. Social Media Takeover
Even the smallest of businesses should be using social media within their marketing strategies due to the sheer scale of user numbers. However, sticking to just one platform isn’t good enough anymore. More than likely your Facebook audience aren’t on Twitter and your Twitter audience aren’t on Instagram or YouTube. The key to social media success in 2019 is repurposing and adjusting your content to suit each platform and their audiences rather than just reposting the same content across each platform and seeing minimal success.
6. Artificial Intelligence
This is the practice of analysing consumer behaviour and search patterns, utilising date from social media patterns and blog posts to aid businesses in understanding how their target audience find their products and services and come to a purchase decision. By adopting this technique in 2019 businesses will save on advertising costs by only investing in effective techniques that only target those they’re aiming to attract.
7. Omnichannel Marketing
Forget multi-channel, 2019 is the year of embracing omnichannel marketing-viewing the marketing experience through the eyes of your customer. This involves ensuring marketing efforts are seamlessly and consistently executed on all platforms. Omnichannel marketing pushes consumers to start off by looking at one marketing channel then moving through others to reach a final decision so it’s vital to ensure you have all your bases covered with seamless cross-overs between each.
8. Chatbots
By 2020 around 85% of customer interactions will be dealt with by chatbots so it’s no surprise that 2019 will see chatbots become more and more common to answer consumer demands. This year will see greater emphasis placed on instant responses as brands both large and small realise response times hold greater value than a constant voice at the end of the phone which is extremely difficult for many businesses.
9. Honesty
Brands are increasing their transparency in a bid to eradicate the negative vibe around advertising and marketing. Brands are therefore becoming more willing to come clean about their faults and directly address negative feedback. Look out for brands running campaigns based on wrong-doings and how they’re going to do better in 2019.
10. Evergreen Content
Think DIY’s, tutorials and how-to content. While it may not be new, Evergreen content is very much alive and well loved. Creating content which will attract traffic over and over again is easily the most effective tool for SEO.
A quick scour of the web for digital marketing pointers is likely to leave you scratching your head-especially as technology continues to advance further than the average user’s knowledge. We’re always on hand to offer help and advice should you need it, but we think these top 10 trends are a great place to start in creating an effective and profitable digital marketing strategy for the new year.