It has been more than a month that 2019 has come to a close, and the domain of digital marketing has seen quite a few developments. Speaking of digital marketing, the term could be quite an elusive one for people who hardly know much about it. However, if one were to look for a working definition for an introduction to the world of digital marketing, it could be stated that digital marketing is the process where you market products and services belonging to different niches, using the aid of the internet as the most potential digital tool. Of course, it has more to it than just the spectrum of the definition that we have provided here. But, this seems quite a decent start to the various other complexities of the domain of digital marketing. Now if you find yourself questioning about the need of digital marketing in the world we live today, we are here to tell you that we need the aid of digital marketing to further the cause of any business endeavour because the internet is an integral part of our lives. We use the internet to go about almost everything in our day. From shopping to scouring for information and news, the internet does it all for us. Any business that hopes to make it big needs the World Wide Web, lest you might just find yourself kowtowing to mismanaged finances and might end up needing help with debt.
With 2020 showing quite a significant growth in all the dimensions of digital marketing, it is quite imperative to look at the various trends of digital marketing that would be dominating the rest of the year. Without any further ado, thus, let us move on the topic at hand and check the ways in which you can scale your business to the heights of magnanimous success with these tricks of the trade.
Enhancing User Experience Grabs the Winning Spot:
There can never be any substitute or a better alternative than the good old technique of enhancing user experience. And, 2020 seems like the year when customer experience shall surpass every other technique of digital experience found in the book. However, 2020 is also the year when there shall be a massive shift from the way one would have gone about the process of tweaking the user experience in the years bygone. It shall no longer be restricted to feeding customers with whatever you have to say about your product and service and then convincing them to make a purchase or avail your service. Your potential customers are quite smart and can go around to do their own research. It shall, therefore, become not only more content-driven but also eclectic in its approach. You have to offer something more than just dry information to your customers for them to keep coming back for more.
For instance, you could come up with a comparison chart or some enticing infographics to support your cause. Additionally, you need to make the payment options easy and accessible for your customers to be able to go through with the transaction. No one likes going through hassles while making a payment, and this could end you up in losing your customers. Besides looking after a hassle-free customer experience, it is crucial that you tend to the other dimensions of as well, like the mobile-optimization, creating a successful brand image and design. All of these add up to enhancing user-experience.
Look for Effective Ways of Visualization:
Yes, there has been an explosive growth of smart speakers and the voice search technology, but that does not mean that you should you pack all the visual efforts and aids in a box and brush them under the rug. Visualization remains as important as ever, probably more than ever. A body of literature has proven time and again, and people process visuals faster than plain text. Therefore, do not pay less attention to visuals or lay more emphasis only on voice search and the like. The right mantra to success is to strike a perfect balance between the various facets of digital marketing to create a thoroughly worked-out and intense program that facilitates more conversion.
Research has shown that approximately 65 per cent of us learn the best through compelling visuals and the brain processes visuals around 60,000 times faster than what it would have done with other means of expression and articulation. Thus, the bottom-line of this point is that you must structure your digital marketing strategy in a way that it has the best of both worlds.
Add a Tad Bit of Personalization to Your Efforts:
With traditional marketing messages inundating the mails of consumers, they have now started filtering and sifting them through. You cannot hope to do well with your conventional mass marketing tactics in the world we live today. You need to adopt a more resourceful and personal approach to your digital marketing techniques. For instance, device your emails in such a way that it has a human touch to it and does not look like a part of bulk mail. Personalized emails are more convincing and eggs on the consumer to act in a particular way.
However, you must not think that personalization only means changing the name of the person to whom the mail has been addressed to. It is much more than just that. You could use the features of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to elicit more information about your target audience and then create your mails, newsletters and the like in a way that looks more like a human effort than bots.
Understand the Importance of SERP Position Zero and Featured Snippets:
There is no technique that can yet outdo or outperform that of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). And once you understand all the dimensions of SEO, it will only give your business a new edge. Therefore, understanding the ropes of SEO is probably more essential than anything else mentioned on the list. In fact, the points mentioned so far could be treated as parts of the umbrella term of Search Engine Optimization.
A vital part of SEO is the SERP zero position and the concept of featured snippets. You must have the best SEO analysts at your beck and call who could get your business website to the position zero and featured snippets. Featured snippets and Position zero helps users get snippets of the information that they are scouring through. They do not have to take the pains to click through the website to understand what the website is all about. Making it to Position zero or getting a Featured snippet can help your business rise to the best ranks.
Voice Search Shall Become An Integral Part of Digital Marketing:
We have already broached the topic of voice search up until this point in the article which thus, now allows us to segue into its greater details. Voice search is an important technique and shall become an integral part of digital marketing in the year 2020. Let us all just face the light of truth for once; we would rather like using the gift of our voice to launch a search rather than use our fingers to painfully look for whatever it is that we were looking. Business enterprises that do not have the option of voice search might face a downfall in the years to come. Analyses predict that in the year 2020, almost 50 per cent of the searches on the internet shall be through the technique of voice search. However, it might be still a while till the percentage reaches to 50 yet. But, the figure might just be reached in a few years’ time.
Artificial Intelligence Shall See New Highs:
The world has come to this that bots are almost on the verge of replacing human power. However, a complete transition from human power to bots might still time. But, Artificial Intelligence has taken over the world in such a way that it is almost impossible to separate them from the different layers of our lives. Artificial Intelligence has seen significant developments since the last few years, and this year it shall see some more humongous developments this year too. Artificial Intelligence is the driving force behind all the technology of voice search and smart assistants. Therefore, they must be acknowledged for what they are worth and given their due credit.
Business enterprises must make use of the technology of Artificial Intelligence to reach their desired conversion goals and carve a niche for them in the market. Artificial Intelligence has taken down quite a bit of weight off the shoulders of the marketers, and they can instead concentrate on the other aspects of digital marketing like creating strategy and building effective customer experience There is no way that one can keep the marvel of Artificial Intelligence at bay when every sector now almost depends on this marvellous piece of technology.
Live Video Shall Take Over:
People love watching videos, and the excitement only grows when these videos are live. Research has shown people put in more time to watch live videos over videos that have been recorded earlier. Live videos are one of the best ways by which consumers can learn about various products and services and use the information to avail the service that they want.
Pre-recorded videos might be useful as well, but when you compare pre-recorded videos to live videos to gauge how much each engages the users, it could be asserted that live videos engage users much more than previously recorded videos. Live videos help in grabbing a lot of attention from users, especially on social media platforms and help them to understand the various aspects of a product or service. Thus, the trend of integrating the tool of live videos into the fore of digital marketing shall be one of the best ways to go in the year 2020. The live video industry is even estimated to go over $70 billion by the year 2021, which is quite a figure to reckon with.
Employee Engagement is a Thing, Yes:
Not many people know or understand the importance of having knowledgeable employees. But at the end of the day, after all, things about digital marketing has been said and done, employee engagement becomes a vital thing to work with. No one would want to do business with an organization if it does not have employees who know what their jobs are. In that case, business organizations might end up losing a substantial amount of profit.
Therefore, no matter how many digital marketing techniques we engage in, if we go wrong in the human aspect of it, there shall remain a considerable gap to fill in.
Content Shall Continue Holding Prime Importance Even in 2020:
There shall be no replacement for content. No matter what latest techniques you resort to, all your efforts shall go in waste if you do not create content that is crisp, clear and serves the purpose of your business. Your potential customers shall be able to grasp the idea of your business only when you have relevant content. Therefore, you must see to it that you have proper and grammatically correct content for your website, lest your endeavour shall be all in waste.
Final Words:
Digital marketing dominates the world, and it is important to understand every aspect that rules the domain lest you might end up making the wrong business choices and decisions. There is no way you can hope to thrive in a world where the competition is quite fierce. Every single person is working day in and day out to lay waste to their competitors and emerge as the winner. Everyone wants to participate in the rat-race and reach the winning goal first. Therefore, in that case, it is crucial to have the right digital marketing techniques at your disposal so that you do not fall behind the curve. The article should be enough to give you a head-start about which trends to follow, and you could also keep adding to the list for a more holistic approach.