With digital marketing becoming a necessity, staying away from it is impossible. To succeed in this competitive environment, you need to adopt it in some or other ways. And what does this mean? We mean to say that there are several digital marketing channels. According to your industry, you need to pick the appropriate one(s).
Well, digital marketing has become even more significant since the arrival of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Because it has changed the way businesses operate. Now, more people have started understanding its importance in growth.
Where are you on this?
Are you using digital marketing?
That’s good!
But now, using it is not enough. To have a competitive edge, you need to stay on top of the digital marketing trends. It’s because the arrival of the pandemic has also altered the way people consume content. They not only will help you survive but thrive.
So, let’s jump to the digital marketing trends without wasting any time.
AI is a disruptive technology that’s all set to change the way digital marketing is done. Right from creating content and assessing content quality to data analysis and taking care of the initial customer support, AI is doing a lot. And the way it’s being trained, it will be able to perform many more tasks soon. By including AI power in the team, marketers can have more time to focus on core and strategic work. Higher efficiency is the obvious outcome of using artificial intelligence.
The process of automated buying and selling online advertising is programmatic advertising. The automation (use of AI & ML) enables real-time buying (RTB), thus, increasing speed and transparency and reducing human error.
By 2022, influencer marketing is on the way to becoming a $15billion industry (Business Insider). It lets you leverage the power and dominance of renowned content creators and personalities for your business growth. By appointing a relevant and specialized influencer (keeping in mind your target audience and goal), you can increase your reach in less time.
The content with a direct checkout link or link to the displayed product is shoppable content. It could be an Instagram or Pinterest post, video, or article. Shoppable content offers a better conversion opportunity as it lets a person buy instantly, without any need to go anywhere. By reducing the length of the consumer journey, it prevents people from leaving without completing the transaction. Also, it allows you to take advantage of the heat of the moment – when a person is fully convinced.
If you want your audience to stay with you throughout and persuade them to take the desired action, you need to engage them. You need to involve the target audience and let them participate. And what can be better than using interactive content to grab the attention of the audience? How can you do that? Including quizzes, surveys, polls, assessments, online calculators, interactive videos, etc., are some of the superb ways to make content interactive. But that’s not all; there can be many more ways too. The point is, it boosts loyalty; can help you generate more leads and sales.
What’s that in digital marketing? It’s a form of interactive content. In simple terms, it’s the use of games in digital assets like a website, app, learning management system, etc., for better engagement. This concept is not new. It existed in the traditional marketing environment as well. Including collectable character cards or stickers with chewing gums, wafers, etc., is one such example. Now with digitization, the form of gamification has evolved. Use of spinning wheels, login streak reward system, daily productivity data management, etc., are all examples of the same. Gamification aims to improve user experience, enhance interaction and engagement while encouraging people to stay associated with the brand.
Now, the biggest mistake is to wait for the customer to reach you. No, that’s outdated. In today’s scenario, if you want to attain your financial goals and grow, you need to catch your prospective customers where they are. That calls for multichannel marketing. As mentioned by Gurus Coach, the effectiveness rates of the companies using multichannel marketing are three times (3X) higher than those using non-integrated campaigns. That’s because consumers like companies available on multiple channels. Reports tell about the positive experience of consumers engaging with multichannel companies.
As the competition is high, getting results through organic reach is, though not impossible, difficult. And a great alternative to this is paid advertisement. With the automated system, the paid ads route becomes even more convenient. Smart bidding is a part of the automated bid strategy in ads. This system of Google ads uses machine learning (ML) for making predictions. As the ML algorithms consider several factors, the predictions are more accurate for more conversions in less time. Plus, it’s flexible. You can customize the settings and define performance targets too.
Give space to user-generated content in your digital marketing strategy. And ensure its effective utilization. Being created by fellow consumers, such content (reviews, images, etc.) holds more value for the audience and works as social proof for you. It adds to your authenticity and makes it easier for people to trust you. Also, by encouraging user-generated content, you indicate to your audience how valuable they are to you. This way, you can gain their confidence and support.
Geofencing is location-based targeting wherein a virtual boundary is established in a particular area. As soon as a mobile user enters into the same, a pre-set advertising action triggers. It helps in offering a personalized experience through precise targeting. In turn, attaining the desired goal becomes simple.
Now you are aware of the digital marketing trends. But knowing them won’t suffice. You will have to implement them. So, start implementing them to stand out in the crowd. And here’s the key to success – Personalization. By offering a fully-tailored experience to your users, you can win the half battle. Plus, try thinking of the ways that might be shaping the future of digital marketing. Experiment with the same and analyze the outcome. That way, you can stay a step ahead in the game and become a leader in the field.
