2019 is fast approaching! With 2018 almost in the rear mirror, are you clued up on Digital Marketing Trends throughout 2019?
It’s been a year of hyper-focused content with Marketers getting specific to ensure they hit the right target audience at the right time. With the constant influx of content being produced every second, from Blogs, Videos and Infographics to Social Media and Interactive content. It’s fair to say that content really is King in 2018, and that won’t be changing anytime soon.
Marketing Automation and every extension of it has been one of the main drivers this year. With Structured Data, Machine Learning, Voice Search and Artificial Intelligence experiences having been at the forefront of these revolutionary marketing techniques, they ensure customer engagement is kept a top priority.
So what’s in store for 2019? See below for our favourite Digital Marketing trends to look out for
Video Marketing
Remember the saying an image can be worth a thousand words? Well, “one minute of video is actually worth 1.8 million words”. (Forrester Research) Let’s just let that sink in. All those hours spent writing the blog post of your dreams and then the chances of someone clicking on your blog over a video on Twitter or Instagram? Pretty slim.
Video Marketing is more memorable, engaging and is increasingly becoming the most popular form of online content. 4 times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product, rather than read about it. (eMarketer)
So how can you incorporate Video content into your Marketing Strategy?
- Live Video
- Vlog
- Culture
- Interview
- Webinar
- Events
- Tutorials
- Product Reviews
- Reviews
- Testimonials
- Behind-the-scenes
AI Experiences
Hot topic alert! Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligent are pretty much buzzwords at the moment. Customers don’t just want a product anymore, they want an experience. However, not just any experience, but a personalised one. Creating a memorable experience for a customer is becoming a vital part of the buying process, they want to feel like an active part of the brand and embracing these new technologies while they’re still fresh can put you ahead of the curve.
Chatbots are also becoming more mainstream. With consumers expecting a response to their inquiry immediately, being able to talk to someone 24/7 and with all the information at hand, AI can provide an almost seamless interaction. Levels of customer satisfaction may also be improved immensely as 95% of consumers believe ‘customer service’ is going to be the major beneficiary of Chatbots (Mindbrowser, 2017).
Types of Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence to incorporate into your Marketing:
- Product demos/launch
- Chatbots
- Games
- Social Media Influencer Campaigns
- Interactive Polls
- Personalise Products
- Live Experiences
- Events
- Storytelling
- Voice search
Social Media – Micro Influencers
Online adults aged 18-34 are most likely to follow a brand via social networking (95%). (Source: MarketingSherpa) At FireTap, we always say if you’re not on Social Media, you’re nowhere. And it couldn’t be more true in 2019.
Social Media isn’t a nice to have for businesses, it’s a must-have. 78% of over-18s in the UK use Facebook, LinkedIn has 21 million users in the UK, 42% of Twitter users log in daily, Instagram has 16.7 million monthly active users in the UK – your customers are all over social media. Can your business afford to ignore them?
Social Media also offers great opportunities for highly-targeted and cost-effective advertising, allowing you to use detailed audience demographics to help your business reach and engage your target audiences.
Organic posts on Social Media can only get you so far these days, that’s why utilising Social Advertising may be worthwhile. With Social Media platforms offering highly targeted options for Campaigns, you can reach your desired target market easier than ever before.
Being on just one platform such as Twitter isn’t enough anymore, cross-marketing strategies and content produced directly for a specific platform can produce much more effective campaigns. As long as you’re incorporating other trends like Video and Influencers, as well as getting your own original content out there, Social Media is one of your cheapest and most effective options.
In 2019, we will see more Micro-Influencers. Influencers with huge followings, such as Celebrities, sometimes mean that they can’t engage on the same level as Influencers with a lower following but higher engagement and loyalty. Meaning, depending on the Campaign, Micro-Influencers may be of more value to some brands. 82% of consumers are “highly likely” to follow a recommendation made by a micro-influencer. (Veloce)
Micro-Influencers are often already familiar or users of whatever product or service they are approached with and can create a more engaging and authentic story. As well as cover a wide range of niches, ultimately at a lower cost.
The use of Micro-Influencers can be incorporated for:
- Product Launches
- Product Reviews
- Story Telling Campaign
- Provoke Controversy
- Build a Community for your brand
User-Generated Content
Original Content = King. We stand by this going into 2019. Building a community, trust and showcasing your brands’ knowledge and expertise can only benefit your brand. Driving relevant and valuable traffic to your website, and engaging with your direct target market can work wonders for SEO.
Consumers value transparency more and more, they want to know your story, why you do what you do and how you value your customers. Show them! Authenticity and originality are key when it comes to producing content, people click on what stands out, so make sure it does! Simple!
Aside from what you sell as a brand, what you put out online sells who you are as a brand. 25% of search results for the world’s 20 largest brands are links to user-created content (SocialToaster), meaning 25% of what people think of a brand they come into contact with online will be based on the content they have produced. You’re steering the wheel when it comes to blogs, videos and infographics – so make sure it’s hitting the target!
As always when it gets to October, you blink and it’s Christmas. So make sure you are ready for what’s to come in 2019 and start incorporating these Digital Marketing trends into your Marketing Strategy to get ahead!
We are seriously good at what we do. If you want to know how we can help you develop your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch by calling us on 020 7842 5983 or making an Online Enquiry.
We’re here to help every step of the way, navigating you through the modern marketing landscape.
