How to stay at the forefront of upcoming marketing trends in 2019.
We’re in the last week of 2018. It’s hard to believe that we’re here already. In digital marketing it’s been a fast paced year. There were a couple of changes that threw us for a loop but I think everyone’s recovered and made the appropriate changes. For example, we weren’t really sure why Google changed the optimal title and meta description length for a few months and then changed it back. But hey, they’re Google, they get to do whatever they want.
Looking forward to 2019 we’re really excited about several trends that will help marketers be more efficient and get more done with the time we have. Some other trends have been around for a while, but it’s now time for us to stop ignoring them and get on them before it’s too late. So here are the marketing trends for 2019 that we’re most excited about.
Artificial Intelligence and Automation
Marketing automation and the use of artificial intelligence has been a staple of our marketing strategy for years now. The reason we’re so excited about it this year is because of all the new advancements that will allow us to do more automated than we currently do. The use of chatbots for our e-commerce clients and other high traffic customers will help them answer common questions without having to pull humans away from more complex or personal tasks.
Artificial intelligence can help marketers by serving ads that are more tailored to the buyer’s interests or shopping habits. When you combine this with assisting in smoothing the buying process by answering questions, it’s no wonder so many companies have adopted this to help grow sales. In 2019 we’ll be looking for more tools to automate our client’s processes and help them grow their sales even more than last year.
Video Marketing
This may come as a shock to you but video is pretty important in all business verticals. Do you know why most companies still don’t have a video strategy? It’s the same reason we haven’t for years, time. Video is time consuming to create and it’s getting harder to create content that people want to watch, like, and share. So what’s a small business to do? Well, sometimes we need to learn that quality is better than quantity. Because here are the facts about video marketing.
- 70% of consumers say that they have shared a brand’s video.
- 72% of businesses say video has improved their conversion rate.
- 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions.
- 65% of executives visit the marketer’s website and 39% call a vendor after viewing a video.
These are some pretty serious statements. It’s yet a few more reasons to take this aspect seriously. That includes video SEO. Since more often than not questions are being answered by YouTube videos in search in lieu of a blog, it’s time to take those all important blogs and move them to video.
Social Stories
Speaking of video, stories are another great way to use video in a short format. These videos don’t tend to be as high quality but they can be just as impactful. Stories don’t last forever on the internet, so you can create a sense of urgency if you use them to attract traffic quickly because people fear missing out on something.
It’s also a way to test out some new social channels that you might not have delved into in the past. SnapChat, YouTube, and Instagram all have stories. (SnapChat was really the pioneer on this.) So even though you might not have thought of those social sites as a place your business can find success, this might be a good chance to give it a whirl.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has been around as long as marketing itself. Have a spokesperson or a celebrity endorsement has always been seen as a way to get people to buy a product they want to identify with. What’s happened over the last 5-10 years is that the internet has democratized this. YouTubers, podcasters, and bloggers have created a whole new way to influence their followers, and smart marketing companies have found a way to benefit.
The more content channels that are created, the more avenues that marketers are going to to have to find new influencers that are in line with their business. If you haven’t thought about advertising or sponsoring these content creators, this year might be your year to explore it.
Which of these marketing trends should businesses use in 2019?
A lot of what we’re most excited about in 2019 is surrounding video, and different ways to use it to bring in new customers. We think that it’s an opportunity for both us and our clients to try some new methods of communicating with their potential opportunities. It’s not that long-form written content isn’t good for the reader as well as the search engine. No, there will always be a place for great written content on the internet.
However, finding new ways to communicate may connect with a different segment of your sales population. One that’s perhaps not able to devote as much time to consuming content, but wants the same connection with your business. If that’s the case, find time to make good video content, even if it’s not at the same rate as you would’ve been able to do it in written form.