Digital marketing is always evolving, meaning what’s hot right now might not be this time next year. To give yourself an advantage, you must be willing to update your strategies and adapt with the times. As the start of this new year approaches, there are specific strategies that are “on fire” in the digital marketing realm. If you want to stay relevant and continue to grow your brand, you should find a way to implement these top three digital marketing trends in 2019.
We’ve seen more and more people talk about video this year and it’s steadily grown. By the start of 2019, it’s expected to make up 80 percent of all internet traffic. Consumers value it because it provides an emotional connection between them and a business, something that’s not easily accomplished without it. Creating videos to share on your website and social media accounts gives you the opportunity to speak directly to your audience and show them exactly what you want them to see. The uses of video are endless, but promoting your products and demonstrating their abilities are both great uses, as the consumer can see exactly what it is they’re purchasing. Creating pieces of video content on a variety of topics to distribute throughout the year will help your company stay top of mind and make you a valued resource.
Another trend making waves this year is live video, also known as live streaming. This feature, commonly found on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, lets you instantly connect with your audience from anywhere in the world. It creates a new experience for your followers and gives them the opportunity to talk to you directly by making comments and getting a response from you in real time. Regularly live streaming can establish a relationship between you and your audience that was never possible before.
Promoting a product isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. With so many outlets to choose from, the path to success may not be clear. One way to give yourself an advantage is to include influencer marketing as a digital strategy. An influencer is a person who has the power to influence other’s decisions, which is usually someone with a large following like a celebrity or internet personality. Let’s say Cristiano Ronaldo, who happens to be the most followed person on Instagram with nearly 150 million followers, posts a video promoting Coca-Cola. He’s telling all his followers that he enjoys Coca-Cola. The company then hopes that more business is generated from his fans who want to drink Coca-Cola simply because he drinks it. Find a person who has influence over your specific industry and you’ll likely see higher conversion rates than you would from using a random influencer. If you are a video game company, you probably wouldn’t want to use a reality TV star to promote your new game. A smart choice would be someone in the gaming community who already has millions of like-minded followers.
Cluttered web pages are a thing of the past. Simplicity and uniformity are highly sought after this year, as more time online is being spent on mobile devices rather than traditional computers. The number of single page websites is exploding as we crave simpler designs that are mobile friendly. Single page websites are basically what they sound like, just one page. No more fumbling with lengthy drop-down menus and expansive toolbars. Single page sites give you all the available information neatly on one page, so you can find what you’re looking for quickly, translating to higher conversion rates. Updating your web design is always important; however, next time try condensing it down to a single page site to be even better prepared in the long run.
This doesn’t mean a single page website is for everyone. If your brand calls for a more in-depth experience, do it. Making sure the user has a great experience, no matter the device, should come first.
Many marketers this year will be taking advantage of an innovative tool called addressable geo-fencing, which provides the means to target up to one million unique street addresses. This is revolutionizing the world of digital marketing because now you can take your existing audience base, or those who have shown interest in you, and only target devices within the boundaries of their addresses. Instead of manually drawing a geo-fence around a general area, you can now advertise exclusively to those you know will be interested, resulting in a higher chance of conversions.
Digital marketing isn’t an easy area to stay on top of. As people grow and change, so do their online habits. This makes it difficult to always pinpoint what is going to be successful in the future; however, what we do know is what’s on trend now. Video, influencer marketing, single page web design and addressable geo-fencing are all currently transforming the world of digital marketing and should be looked out for in 2019.
