Digital marketing was once considered a relative niche area for online businesses, but it’s now an integral part of nearly any marketing campaign. With so many purchases made and ads viewed online, companies simply can’t afford to ignore the latest trends in digital marketing.
It’s impossible to predict what marketers will be doing in five or ten years, but 2019 has seen some clear trends that indicate where the field is moving. These are some of the most important things for digital marketers to keep in mind for the rest of 2019.
#1. The Rise of Omnichannel
Most businesses have expanded their online presence from a single channel to multiple, but omnichannel marketing represents an entirely new transformation. Rather than using each channel to communicate the same message, omnichannel marketers see platforms differently and tailor the content on every channel to each customer’s unique experience.
With omnichannel marketing, for example, you might see a Facebook ad for a given product after adding it to your cart on a brand’s web store. Customers expect more fluid and personal experiences than ever before, and omnichannel marketing is the perfect way to live up to those expectations.
Unsurprisingly, the data shows that using more than one channel can help you achieve significantly better results. In fact, businesses that leverage at least three channels see 90 percent higher customer retention and 250 percent more engagement. If you’re still using a single channel or failing to integrate multiple channels, you’re already falling behind the competition.
Audience segmentation goes perfectly with omnichannel marketing, and dividing your audience into smaller categories allows you to target each group more effectively. Customers who are no longer engaged, for example, should receive different messaging from those who just signed up for your newsletter.
While readers open just 18 percent of non-segmented emails, that number rises to 28 percent for segmented campaigns. Audience segmentation is another strategy that every marketer should be using—generic, irrelevant content will lead your readers to ignore your emails or even unsubscribe.
While this is far from a new trend, email blasts are still very widely used. A common mistake for those new to the digital marketing sphere is to neglect segmentation and targeting in favor of the bulk newsletter blast.
#3. Dynamic Subscription Forms Better Engage Customers
You probably think of email content as a higher priority than sign-up forms, but dynamic sign-up content is more likely to catch your audience’s attention and increase subscriptions. Traditional sign-up boxes convert just over one percent of users, leaving nearly 99 percent of them to leave your website without subscribing.
Pop-ups are much more noticeable than a standard box, so it makes sense that they convert almost four times as many readers. That said, landing pages remain the best option for email capture. While pop-ups are a big step up from sign-up boxes, landing pages achieve a much higher open rate at nearly 25 percent.
#4. Video Content Seeps into Each Step of the Customer Journey
Internet users see more ads than ever before, which makes it extremely difficult for brands to develop messaging that stands out from the competition. Video content is one of the best ways to get your audience’s attention quickly, and people tend to continue watching videos for much longer than they would read a text ad.
If you implement video content into your digital marketing practices, remember that many of your subscribers won’t be able to hear the audio. Make sure that every ad is easily understandable with or without sound to keep your entire audience interested.
You can use videos on nearly any platform, including email, social media, SMS, and more. Rather than thinking of video ads as an occasional change of pace, you should make them a core part of your marketing approach. Experiment with tutorials, testimonials, demonstrations, and other forms of content to see what your audience connects with.
#5. Automation Workflows Go Further in Personalization
Automation is key to any marketing campaign, especially for companies with large contact lists. These two workflows are an ideal starting point for anyone new to marketing automation.
But today, personalization counts for more than ever before. Customers are looking for a completely immersive experience, and they’re willing to reward the brands that give it to them.
Think about personalizing each step of your customer journey to take advantage of this digital marketing trend. For example, you wouldn’t send a brand new customer the same kind of message you’d send to a year-over-year loyal customer. That wouldn’t make sense.
Instead, think about what your customers are looking for at each step of their purchase journey and adapt your message around those steps, the channel your customers would be using, and your customers themselves.
Digital marketing practices are constantly changing, and it’s critical for marketers to stay up to date on the latest trends. Keep these ideas in mind to build more effective campaigns and update your approach to digital marketing for 2019.
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