The words digital and disruption go hand in hand. In fact, it seems there are new digital trends disrupting the marketing world on an almost daily basis. Remember back in 2006, when Facebook first took the stage? Today, social media is a key marketing initiative for businesses across the globe and in just about every industry.
In 2019, the digital landscape is still evolving. In order for your business to remain competitive, you will need to understand and adapt to these changes. To get you started, here are five digital marketing trends to keep an eye on.
Micro-Moments
The term micro-moments was to further analyze and understand consumer behavior. There are basically for micro-moments, or instances in which people act on a certain need, as follows:
By focusing your digital marketing strategy on these four key moments, providing the right information to the right audience at the right time, you will improve the likelihood of conversion.
Voice Search
According to a by Bright Local, 58% of consumers say they have used voice search to find information about a local business. The study also revealed that 76% of people who own smart speakers (like Amazon Alexa) perform local searches via voice command at least weekly and 53% do it daily. And since that some 57.8 million Americans own at least one smart speaker, the audience is pretty significant. Tailoring your marketing strategy to make it voice-search-friendly can dramatically improve your SEO performance.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
By 2022, the market for augmented and virtual reality is expected to reach an eye-popping. Both of these technologies have the potential to redefine how consumers engage with businesses and vice versa. In fact, some brands are already jumping on the AR/VR bandwagon and leveraging these advanced technologies to their advantage. Take furniture retailer Ikea, for example, which created an AR app that enables customers to experience 3-D renderings of products right from the comfort of their own homes.
Greater Personalization
believe that personalization helps enhance customer relationships. Furthermore, 88% say their prospects and customers not only desire but expect personalized experiences. Simply put, the more you can customize the experience for your customers, the more trust and loyalty you’ll generate, which will ultimately lead to a better bottom line. Just look at Starbucks. The global coffee brand created a rewards app that uses data like location and purchase history to offer a more personalized shopping experience. That one initiative alone boosted their revenue by $2.65 billion!
Authentic Content
In addition to more personalization, today’s consumers also want the brands they do business with to produce and share authentic content. In fact, plays a role in their decision to choose one brand over another. For millennials that number is even higher (90%). One of the easiest and most effective ways to generate authenticity is to utilize user-generated content (UGC). A great way to get started with this is to launch a social media campaign encouraging users to share photos or videos of themselves using your product or service and including a branded hashtag you create.
The digital landscape is ever-changing. The only way to remain profitable in today’s world is to follow these trends and adapt your approach accordingly. By incorporating one or more of the above into your marketing strategy, you will position your business for ongoing success.