Digital marketing has grown exponentially in the last few years as businesses attempt to meet the changing needs, wants and desires of the marketplace. Actionable marketing plans for expanding online reach and establishing a business' presence on the internet are being implemented. This raises awareness about a business and acts as a roadmap for attracting, engaging and converting customers. A well-developed digital strategy includes goals, procedures, analysis, timelines, budget, digital channels and more. It uses specific media and tools to tailor a plan for each unique business, ensuring marketing efforts are efficient and effective. Smart businesses look for the latest trends in digital marketing strategy and incorporate them into their plan in order to maximize their results. What are the current digital marketing trends? What are smart business owners implementing?
- Real-time analytics: Digital marketing analysis is traditionally done after a campaign is complete, checking on the effectiveness of the measure taken. Marketers try an action and verify its effectiveness after a few weeks. With real-time analytics, analysis is completed within a few seconds/minutes after the arrival of new data allowing companies to make the most of the enormous quantity of data produced online. This instantaneous use of data aids in developing a strategy focused on current trends and immediate customer feedback.
- Real-time messaging platforms allow for the distribution and delivery of messages that are designed to be consumed or otherwise used in real-time (a chat message, a stock-ticker update, an IoT sensor reading, etc.). These instant messaging platforms (ie: WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, WeChat) provide an opportunity to reach customers quickly and directly as well as collect data. Smart marketers are using them to store everything they need to understand their customers.
- The metaverse is one of the most talked about trends in digital marketing. It's a shared, immersive, virtual experience taking place in an enhanced online environment, through the use of virtual reality headsets and augmented reality glasses. Present iterations include online video games, virtual workplaces, virtual dressing rooms and virtual operating rooms. Though far from fully developed, it's one of the most highly anticipated technology evolutions of the coming decade.
- Enhanced personalized marketing: The advent of new technology allows businesses to collect more data on their customers than ever before, enabling companies to create highly personalized marketing campaigns tailored to each customer's unique needs and interests.
- Social media influencers: People tend to trust other consumers more than they trust a company advertising its products and more than celebrity endorsements. Advertisers are using this tendency to break through the clutter, enhance their brand image and create an effective digital marketing strategy. Wise business owners are integrating influencers into their marketing plans and utilizing connections with their target market by selecting long-term brand ambassadors.
- Video, video and more video: Bite-sized video is increasingly utilized in social media marketing to promote interaction and raise brand awareness. It remains a top strategy for accommodating the needs and preferences of users/customers. By adding relevant keywords to the titles of images and videos, advertisers make it easier for customers to find them. While websites still need text information, adding video to showcase products helps marketers reach a wider audience. Smart businesses are posting and experimenting with short video content for their business.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) aids companies in understanding their customer, allowing them to provide a personalized experience at each stage of the buying process. It's making marketing smarter, connecting consumers to the exact right products and messages. This is accomplished through automating customer segmentation, campaign management and lead generation tasks. AI is constantly improving, making data collection and training faster and more accurate and allowing businesses to engage visitors in a relevant way, driving them toward the desired outcome. AI is considered one of the most prominent features of future marketing.
- Omni-Channel Marketing refers to a marketing approach that does away with barriers, allowing ads to be optimized for television, radio, on-site and online (desktop and mobile friendly). Consumers can use a variety of media to learn about and engage with a product/service before and after they buy. Customers can shop online from a desktop or mobile device, via phone or in a brick-and-mortar store and the experience will be seamless and consistent. This improves the customer experience, creating better relationships across all channels and touchpoints.
- Interactive content will be utilized more than ever before, increasing the amount of time a prospect engages with your brand, allowing the capture of more data and enabling the fine-tuning of digital marketing strategy. It'll take the form of comments, polls, surveys, quizzes, embedded calculators and games.
- Conversational Marketing is a dialogue-driven approach to marketing, using real-time conversations to engage site visitors and move them through the buying journey. It creates an authentic experience, building relationships with customers and buyers. This method of marketing is accomplished through chat boxes, live chats, virtual assistants and personalized emails. Smart digital marketers will use conversational marketing to create individualized responses to customer inquiries, and develop content for email/social media and more.
- Increased creativity and innovation: With so much content and competition, website designers and marketing agencies will broaden their approach to give websites a competitive edge. There will be increased use of animated cursors, parallax scrolling and asymmetric styling. Marketers will attempt to make a website stand out through uniqueness. Creativity in marketing will become more prevalent.
- Social responsibility and inclusivity: More than ever, consumers are interested in what a company stands for. They look for the social causes a company supports, the opinions they pronounce and the behaviour they tolerate. Customers will choose brands that align with their own values. Wise companies will highlight what they are doing to make a positive difference in the world and continue to humanize their brand.
- Machine translation/multilingual content: Online translation tools often mistranslate and misbrand content. Because of this, we'll see a rise in the development and accessibility of machine translation (MT). Machine translation and post-editing will merge advanced technology and the skills of native translators to produce multilingual content that accurately conveys marketing messages.
- Increased digital marketing budgets: Businesses will increase their digital marketing and place a strong financial emphasis on marketing initiatives. Covid-19 taught us the value of a digital presence and companies are embracing this style of marketing.
- Shifting products/services: Consumers have pivoted their purchasing patterns, making choices that maximize impact, utility and convenience. Marketers will adjust accordingly, delivering practical value.
- Push notifications: Consumers are increasingly using mobile phones for all types of online activity, including brand search and online shopping. Push notifications are an effective way to capture customer attention and their use will increase.
- Voice search will continue to be a major influence on how brands create content and market their products/services. It'll be utilized to increase brand awareness and visibility.
- Social commerce is the use of social media platforms to promote and sell products and services, encouraging and allowing users to buy products directly within social media platforms. It creates a smooth, direct experience for users and we'll see more businesses incorporating this method.
- Email marketing for product launches and small businesses will be more influential. Marketers will use email subscriber lists to reach existing and potential customers.
- Outsourcing to digital marketing agencies will be popular as it's a great way to get more done. Using a digital marketing agency helps a business make big moves in the industry. They provide knowledge, implement trends and draw on their experience to propel a company forward.
Marketing trends come and go but the basics of success remain; understand the needs of your audience and communicate clearly and consistently with them. Establish positive relationships with your customers. Provide customer-focused content across all marketing channels. Create a clear marketing plan and actionable goals. Use data to fine-tune your marketing decisions.
Want to grow your business using the latest marketing trends? Need help with your digital marketing strategy? Call CAYK at (403) 6456-0072 or email [email protected]. Allow us to be your very own marketing department! Connect with our tightly-knit team of knowledgeable digital-first consultants, each eager to help your business grow. If you want the best digital marketing team in your corner, Contact us today. We'll help you take your business to the next level.
