2019 was a year of great challenges and rewards for digital marketers.
Tons of new changes and trends
flooded the digital marketing landscape, keeping business owners and marketers on
their toes.
Few tactics, such as the
importance of SEO remained the same, but other groundbreaking strategies
changed the course of the flow.
If you don’t keep yourself updated
with the latest digital marketing trends and practices, you will fail to take
your business to new heights. That’s why we explore the exciting new trends
along with some old, yet effective, ones that will help you thrive in your
venture.
As a business owner, it is
important to understand these trends and integrate them into your current
digital marketing strategy.
Here is a summary of the best
practices in digital marketing that will help you succeed in 2020 and beyond.
1. Personalized user experience
Consumers naturally prefer
personalized content, so it becomes an excellent way for marketers to engage
their audience and convince them to make more purchases.
Consider Coca Cola’s “share
a coke” campaign, for instance. The campaign started in 2011 and
allowed consumers to get their name or a friend’s name printed on the drink. It
was a huge success that led to the company’s sales growth for the first time in
ten years.
The consumers loved the
personalized experience and took to social media platforms with their
personalized drinks.
In addition to personalized marketing campaigns, brands are also
exploring ways to take conversations to DMs (direct messaging).
Messaging apps such as Viber,
WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, brands are trying to build connections with
their customers. Direct messaging is considered useful for taking sales orders,
addressing complaints, or directly engaging your customers.
Personalization is important
because it provides consumers a sense of involvement with the brand and putting
control in the hands of marketers at the same time. Digital marketers can no
longer ignore this trend as they consider their 2020 strategy.
2. Interactive content
Content has always remained a
crucial element of any digital marketing strategy. However, content marketing
will experience a shift in focus in 2020 and beyond. Shoppable posts that
enable users to purchase directly through ads and social media posts will get
more and more attention.
Similarly, interactive content in
the form of polls, quizzes, and contests will be in demand since 91
percent of buyers want more interactive content online.
Interactive content will be a key
digital marketing practice for 2020 because it provides a level of interactivity
that is new to retail and ecommerce. This type of content cuts through the
noise and links the customers with their favorite brands in a more engaging
way.
3. Marketing automation
Marketing automation refers to the use of software and tools
to perform repetitive tasks and save time and effort. By automating tasks like
lead nurturing, visitor tracking, and content management, brands can provide
the right user experience to the right audience and the right time.
Automation is a burning topic in digital marketing discourse,
and it will continue to be a trend in the coming years.
Leading brands are already making significant investments in
algorithms and automation software that could replace the human brain. According to , the annual spending on marketing automation is estimated to surpass
$25 billion by 2023.
4. Customer privacy and security
With the massive amount of
customer data on the web, security has become a hot topic. Consumers want their
personal data and credit card information safe when purchasing a commodity or
service online. It is crucial than ever for businesses and digital marketers to
ensure that their websites keep up with the latest security updates.
With the heightened concerns for
identity theft and data breaches, brands need to invest in cybersecurity and
make sure to secure customer information. Regulations like the GDPR and CCPA
have been enacted to ensure customers’ privacy and data security.
Even large businesses such as British
Airways have experienced security breaches resulting in a proposed fine of £183
million.
T-Mobile
experienced a similar breach last year that compromised phone numbers, billing
addresses, names, and account numbers of over 1 million accounts.
Concerns like these reinforce the
need for marketers to work with security experts and mitigate the impact of
breaches and security frauds.
5. Featured for position #0
The constant algorithm updates in
search engines like Google and Bing is the main reason why digital marketing
practices evolve so rapidly. As the search algorithms change, businesses need
to adjust their marketing practices to stay afloat.
In 2020, more and more search
queries result in featured snippets, which gets a lot more clicks than other
results on the search engine result page (SERP). Featured snippets are blocks
of text that appear on top of the SERP, also called position #0, to provide
direct answers to customers’ questions.
Marketers need to craft quality
content and optimize it for featured snippets. The Real Wealth Network, for
instance, optimized their real estate market report for featured snippets and
topped top the SERP for real estate market reports with their local SEO Orlando.
However, it is essential to keep in mind that in the bid to
gain position #0, you must not ignore the users. The content must be written
for humans and search engines alike.
6. Video marketing
Video was an
integral part of digital marketing in
2019 and will continue to be a major factor in 2020. As per the IAB’s
report, 74 percent of U.S. consumers watch online videos, while 78 percent
will view ads in exchange for free content. Video marketing is also effective
since it increases purchases by 144 percent.
It is reported that almost half of internet users search
product or service videos before purchasing it in a store. Hence, appealing
video content can be an excellent way to attract new customers and drive
conversions.
Parting thoughts
These are the top 6 digital
marketing practices that dominated the digital landscape in recent years and
continue to gain importance. It goes without saying that these practices, if
implemented consistently, will help you achieve your goals by staying ahead of
the competition.
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