Everywhere, the air is turning crisp, and many places up north are starting to see frost, ice and the first few flurries of snow. That means winter is coming – but it also means that the year is ending, and a new decade is on the horizon. For regular people, another year means another set of fashion and home décor trends to keep up with, but for businesses, the next decade promises significant upheaval in technology, which could revolutionize all sorts of business processes, especially those that occur online.
Digital marketing strategies have changed and evolved every few months since digital marketing began, and it is more than certain that digital marketing will again shift in the coming decade. If you are looking to future-proof your marketing plans, read on for some predictions about digital marketing over the next decade.
Artificial Intelligence Will Drive Paid Search
Google prides itself on offering the best possible search results, which are delivered with a complex network of technologies that meticulously crawl across the internet, catalogue content and learn about human speech patterns – but even so, a few results that Google offers query-makers are always ads. Paid search, which is also called search engine advertising, allows businesses to place search results for certain keyword queries, guaranteeing themselves a high ranking and high visibility amongst their target audience. Typically, businesses pay search engine optimization experts well to decide what platforms and keywords to spend on, so their advertising will receive the most possible traction.
Yet, over the next decade, it is likely that instead of using human expertise, businesses will begin to participate in programmatic advertising, which utilizes artificial intelligence to buy advertising space using data about the business’s audience. AI promises greater efficiency in advertising placement, reducing business costs and increasing audience engagement.
Voice Assistants Will Affect SEO
Over one-third of adults in the United States own a smart speaker, which they use to converse with their voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google’s (nameless) assistant. These smart tools are more capable than ever, performing manual tasks like turning off lights as well as digital tasks like searching the web for answers to questions.
However, how humans speak is vastly different from how we type, which in turn is frequently different from how users have learned to engage with search engines. A traditional query like “Handyman Cherry Hill New Jersey” might become “Alexa, what is the phone number for the closest handyman?” As voice-controlled search begins to flourish, SEO experts will need to adapt their strategies to include spoken patterns of speech.
Personalized Content Will Flourish
Individual consumers want to feel like individuals, not like a droplet in a huge pool of potential customers. As a result, consumers tend to prefer engaging with content that feels personal and authentic – and that’s what businesses need to offer.
Fortunately, the availability of vast amounts of data makes the production of highly personalized content exceedingly possible. The trick is identifying what kind of content works best for which audience type. In general, video content has been increasing in popularity for more than a decade, and it will continue its significance through the next decade in forms like Instagram TV, Twitch livestreaming and brief TikToks. It is best for businesses to work with experienced content marketers, like Digital Current, to better leverage their data into content that packs a punch.
Influencer Marketing Systems Will Automate
What word-of-mouth marketing once was, now influencer marketing is. Many businesses spend a portion of their marketing budget on influencers – mildly famous people on social media – who talk about their brands or products to their followers and fans. However, because there are so many influencers operating on social media, it can be overwhelming trying to decide which influencers are right for a brand.
Fortunately, 2020 should bring automation to the process of matching brands with influencers. AI can analyze affinity between brands and influencers by sifting through images and videos, looking for particular characteristics. Plus, AI can provide greater insight into the success of an influencer’s sponsored post, telling brands whether they should continue a relationship with that particular influencer.
It’s unwise for businesses to settle into any digital marketing rut – the industry sees so many shake-ups as new technologies trends emerge. The next decade promises to bring great things to digital marketers, to include AI, automation and smart tech, and businesses should look forward to taking full advantage in the coming years.