Want to get ahead of your competitors in 2019?
Knowing about the latest marketing trends is essential if you want to avoid being left behind this year. 2019 has seen everything from big changes in the influencer industry to the rise of vertical video and visual search.
Forget everything you thought you knew about successful marketing, because things change fast.
Where last year you might have plunged your budget into online ads and big-name influencers, this year you might focus on micro-influencers and ethical branding.
Are you ready to update your strategy? Keep reading for details on all the most important trends.
1. Voice Search Is On The Rise
With the rise of smart speakers, by 2020 30% of all website sessions will be conducted without a screen.
This means that optimizing your online content for voice search is more important than ever. It'll get you more hits, boost your search engine ranking, and show customers that you're an expert.
Focus on writing in the same way you speak,rather than making content too formal. This helps it make more sense when readout by a virtual assistant.
Voice search is often used on mobile devices as part of local searches, so be sure to focus on local SEO as well as voice-optimization.
2. Customers Prefer Ethically-Conscious Brands
It's no secret that consumers are becoming more and more aware of the ethical and environmental attitudes of their favorite brands.
This is an area where you can really set yourself apart, especially if other brands in your industry aren't focusing on ethics yet.
Look at making your processes more eco-friendly, treating staff well, and sourcing materials sustainably. Promote your efforts on your website and social media pages and customers will be impressed.
You can't afford not to think about ethics this year, regardless of the industry you're in.
3. Vertical Video Is Becoming More Common
Using vertical video is no longer the shockings in it once was.
With the rise of Snapchat videos and InstagramTV, virtual videos are now a powerful way to reach customers.
If you're already using video marketing,direct some of your budget towards creating short, shareable social mediaclips. These could be behind-the-scenes clips, product explainers, interviews,or ads.
Vertical clips are a great way to advertise to a young, tech-savvy audience. Vertical video might not have reached every single social media platform yet, but it's only a matter of time.
Starting to produce great vertical video now means you'll stay one step ahead.
4. Micro-Influencers Are More Trusted
Say goodbye to paying huge influencers a fortune to advertise your product and start gifting to 'micro-influencers' instead.
Micro-influencers are essentially normal people with a few hundred or thousand engaged follows. Think regular moms,college students, or keen hobbyists.
By sending your products to these users,you'll get genuine reviews and valuable promotion to an audience of followers who actually trust the person writing.
Authenticity is everything in 2019 and big influencers just aren't trusted any longer, thanks to scandals like Fyre Festival. People now want to see a person just like them using a product, not a supermodel or celebrity.
This is good news for brands with smaller budgets, as marketing using micro-influencers is much more affordable.
5. Chatbots for Customer Service
Customer service has always been important,but many people are growing to dislike getting help via email or over the phone.
Instead, they prefer to use 24/7 chatbot services, which are designed to solve problems quickly and efficiently. Luckily for brands, chatbots are a really cost-effective way of keeping customers happy and are easily integrated into your existing website.
Chatbots are also useful if you operate internationally and can't afford to have human customer service agents available at all times.
When chatbots encounter questions they can't answer, they'll automatically refer customers to a real agent. They won't replace existing staff completely but will cut down on time spent dealing with basic queries.
6. Using AI to Monitor Customer Behavior
AI is growing at lightning speed and can help with everything from analytics to customer behavior tracking.
For example, machine learning can help you recommend related products to your customers on your eCommerce site. It might also help you to target customers more effectively on other platforms, tapping into powerful data and demographic info.
However, it's not smart to jump into using AIat every chance you get.
There are still many concerns about this kind of tool and whether or not it violates customer privacy or crosses boundaries.Think about how many times you've heard someone complain about a 'creepy'targeted ad they were shown.
Your customers might be okay with some uses of AI, but uncomfortable with others. Whatever you decide to do, be sure to listen to your customers and be willing to make changes.
7. Visual Searches Are Increasing
Voice search isn't the only search method that's on the rise. Visual search tools are becoming much more popular as their accuracy increase.
Customers might now see a product they like and look for similar items by searching with a picture rather than text.
Pinterest now shows customers 'visually similar' images in response to their searches and saved pins. Visual search is popular in categories like fashion, beauty, art, food and home decor.
If you operate in one of those industries,it's wise to take advantage of visual platforms like Pinterest as part of your marketing efforts.
Keep Up With the Latest Marketing Trends
Keeping up with all the latest marketing trends can feel impossible.
However, following a few high-quality marketing resource sites on social media is a simple way to stay up-to-date. If there's a specific area you're interested in, like SEO, set up a Google alert to receive news direct to your inbox.
Attending conferences and networking is another smart way to stay on top of trends. You might learn about a new tactic through word-of-mouth long before it hits the internet.
Want to improve your 2019 strategy? Contact us today for a free consultation.