Hello Friends!
The year 2020 is upon us which means it is time to take a look at what the continuing and emerging trends are in the digital space. It is important as a business owner that you have an awareness of these trends so that you can align your marketing strategy with what is hot online. What areas do you still need to consider as your work on the plan of attack for your brand?
Let’s get into it!
A little privacy please!
According to data from GlobalWebIndex, 63% of people say that messaging apps are where they feel most comfortable sharing and talking about content. This tells us that there is a great opportunity to make connections and close deals in direct messages. This increase in private consumer conversations with brands does not mean that the importance of what can be seen in the public eye is going away. Hootsuite says that 52% of brand discovery happens from public timelines – We are surprised these numbers aren’t higher – so of course this is still a focus. The moral of this story is go back to the drawing board and develop strategy for how you’ll guide potential customers to the inbox and then connect and close them in these private conversations.
Where are we going?
As we know, Instagram has been beta testing, and in some regions removed the ability to view likes on our timelines. What does this mean for you? It is forcing brands to focus on things more important to their bottom line than vanity metrics. Gone are the days where performance and true impact of content lies solely on counting likes and followers. We expect that brands and marketers will be looking more closely at measuring the true performance of ads and how the content being posted is converting (link clicks, sales, enrollments, etc.). Not only will strong content marketing strategies be vital, but measuring the tangible success of them will be equally important, If you have ever heard our CEO and Founder, Tisha Holman talk digital strategy, you know that she stresses the importance of having a data-driven strategy…We sense that practice is going to become more widespread in the coming year…YES!
Bots mean business!
This is a trend from 2019 that is still going strong as we crossover into 2020. The capabilities of bots continue to evolve and become more and more intuitive. Do not ignore this potential income stream as you fine tune your marketing plan this year. Make communications with those interacting with you on Facebook & your website seamless with the strategic use of bots. This kind of automation not only frees you up as a business owner when it comes to interacting with customers, but it also allows you to welcome leads into your sales funnel without the process being so hands-on. You know we are advocates of business owners working ON their business, not IN their business.
Lights! Camera! Action!
Another trend from 2019 that is not going away any time soon is video content. This one doesn’t take a long, drawn out explanation – Digital storytelling is HUGE and if you want to build a brand in demand, you need to create great video content. Period. **Honorable mention to YouTube. It is still the most popular search engine after Google – don’t neglect this space. P.S. – streaming ad video engagement is a GREAT place to point a few of your marketing dollars. Oh, and one more thing….folks stay tuned in to live content on Facebook and Instagram three times longer than videos that aren’t live. It’s time to get camera ready, ladies and gents! Ok, that’s all for now. 😉
Add to cart (Social Commerce)
If you have merch to sell your clients and followers, you have to jump on board with the idea of social commerce. If you have yet to activate shoppable posts on Facebook and Instagram you are leaving big money on the table! Make it easy for people to do business with you. GlobalWebIndex tells us that 54% of people use social media to research buying decisions…why not make it easy to finalize the purchase once they’ve decided you are the best choice?
Jazz up those emails!
The future is not too bright for the click through rates and conversions from plain text emails. The numbers are telling us that conversions are much higher from the emails that have a more personalized, polished, almost “web-page” type of look and feel. Most of the major email marketing tools have some amazing templates you can use to achieve this. Do some A/B testing and see what garners the best response from your audience.
For the kids at heart
If the target audience for your business includes younger demographics, you are going to have to focus your efforts outside of the usual social suspects. Platforms like TikTok and SnapChat have seen exponential growth amongst younger users, so it would behoove you to include how you are going to capture their attention in your 2020 strategy.
Be interactive and experiential
The bar is continuing to get higher for innovation in interaction in the digital space. Look for ways that you can integrate polls, quizzes and 360 degree video in your day-to-day content plans and also on-site at your events/conferences. How can you excite, engage and elevate your experiential marketing tactics for your brand activations, events and products? Get those creative juices flowing! Step outside of the box and look at how you can connect your brands to these trends. This will go a long way towards setting you a part and helping you claim the top spot within your industry.
The proof is in the pudding
Customers see/hear your brand’s messaging, and it resonates…but if you really want to welcome them into the “trust tree”, leveraging the power of social proof is going to be a sure bet. HeyOrca released a report that states 83% of consumers are more likely to trust their peers over the brand itself. OMG! So what does this mean for you? When you WOW the people you serve, be sure to get that feedback and share it online. Allow your current clients to help you close new ones.
Influencer Marketing
In an effort to create a way pathway of collaboration for brands Facebook/Instagram have launched Brand Collabs Manager which will allow the management of brand partnerships, the sharing of valuable page insights, and the ability to source new business. This is going to be a key bridge between influencer and brand relationships. Explore this tool as you work to grow your communities on these platforms. This is how it’s going to look:
So there you have it our 2020 predictions for trends in the digital space! Take a look at the areas of your digital strategy where our predictions can be implemented. If you aren’t sure where to begin – you are not alone, click HERE to schedule a chat with Tisha Holman to talk about the digital strategy for your company!
Until next time,
Mind Your Business!