It goes without saying that the digital landscape is constantly changing. And as technology improves, brands have no choice but to adapt with the latest digital marketing trends or fall behind. But how does one keep up with an ever-changing digital environment?
The good news is that you don’t have to follow every single trend, just the ones that are right for you and your business. I’ve reviewed some of the top digital marketing trend predictions of 2019 and highlighted the key trends that are still driving growth in the industry.
1. Have a Strategy
Having a strategy will never go out of trend. Make sure you have a marketing strategy for your business. Where are your customers spending time online? Can they find your business there? If not, why not?
Make sure your business has a digital marketing strategy for showing up online and that you’re speaking to the right people at the right time.
2. Omnichannel Marketing
You have probably come across the term Omnichannel marketing more times than you care to count but what is Omnichannel marketing really? The easiest way to explain it is to take a step back and first discuss multichannel marketing. This is the definition of multichannel marketing according to Jeff Bullas:
A multichannel marketing strategy, you set up various marketing touchpoints which reinforce each other to ease a customer through their buying journey. For example, you may use social media as a channel to attract visitors to your website and email as a channel to nurture leads.
Now Omnichannel is very similar, but different. In Omnichannel marketing you create consistent marketing touchpoints that work together on every available channel. All these marketing channels reinforce your marketing strategy with your consumers.
Why is Omnichannel marketing important?
Well, with the rise of second and even third screening, you need more than one channel to engage with your consumers. Research also shows that 70% of consumers use a minimum of three channels for research before deciding to purchase.
3. Video Marketing
Global Web Index reports that more than 4 billion people around the world now watch video content online each month. That’s more than HALF of the world’s population. Leading the online video content trend is vlogs. Over 2 billion people are tuning in to watch their favourite influencers within a 30-day period.
Consumers are engaging more with video content before making purchasing decisions. Social media also allows your video content to be shared more widely. On Facebook video content gets shared more than text content. We already know that Youtube is the second biggest search engine after Google – and that’s a totally video-based platform.
Video marketing helps customers remember your brand and can be used as a great tool to encourage sales.
4. Voice Search
What is Voice Search?
Voice search is users using their voice to ask queries to a smartphone or smart home devices rather than typing their queries in search engines. The popularity of smart home systems such as Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo and Google Home means that more people are using voice search more often.
According to Data Reportal 100 million people started using voice search and voice commands since April, with more than 43% of internet users now using voice tech every month.
What does voice search mean for your business?
Brands and businesses need to adapt to their SEO and Keyword strategies to the way that their target audiences are using search. It’s worth mentioning that most voice activity takes place on smartphones, so don’t wait for everyone to own a Smart home device before you start taking voice search seriously.
5. Content Marketing
Content Marketing has been a mainstay in the annual trend predictions for a number of years now and remains a key element in the world of digital marketing. It’s important for brands not to underestimate the power in adding value to the lives of its consumers. Once you have identified your target audience it’s important to provide good quality that your consumers want to see.
Basic information is readily available everywhere, but when your business provides in-depth information about services and products it builds trust with the consumer.
More Digital Marketing Trends?
As I’ve mentioned before, these are just five key digital marketing trends that I’ve noticed that are not going away very soon. Each of these digital marketing trends can be adapted to work in any industry.
Have you been implementing any of these trends in your digital marketing strategies? Have they worked for you? I would like to know. Share your thoughts, ideas and experiences in the comments below.