2020 - Digital Marketing Trend Setters

  It's almost to the end of 2020. Huge impact to digital marketing has moved on to the world on a massive level. Looking at advertising alone, these eMarketer predictions show how the duopoly of Facebook and Google dominate paid media investments online, although offline media buys remain important for many larger brands.

It doesn't matter what your industry is, or what products and services you offer - digital marketing trends cannot be ignored. What most marketers ignored as a smartphone gimmick only a few years ago has now evolved into voice search, which is growing rapidly – and this is just one needle from the haystack.

Gartner defines personification as:

“the delivery of relevant digital experiences to individuals based on their inferred membership in a defined customer segment, rather than their personal identity”.

1.   Facebook still the Kingpin

Facebook still rules the Online world, but not for long as per the survey. According to Forbes and BBC, the above 60 age group uses more than 45%. From this, its clear that the leaning curve of younger demographics changes to the more interactive and visual experience by Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.

Facebook marketing has both grown and morphed into different forms over the years, but it has remained powerful. Small businesses can take advantage of the same audience that big companies have through Facebook marketing.

As of 2020, there are 1.69 billion users on Facebook, and around 1.3 billion users on Facebook Messenger.

Being able to tap into that market can turn your small business from an obscure donkey to a powerful unicorn.

2.   Instagram holds the Punch

Instagram is popularizing in the branding value. It's all about the visuals. Users are more likely to act if they can easily recognize your brand from miles away. One example for this is Nike. They have mastered this on Instagram. The brand features their products in every single post, but always in a visually striking or subtle way.

Some (un)known facts about Instagram :

·       Organic marketing reach on Facebook is down 63% over the last 4 years, while Instagram's organic marketing reach is up 115%.

·       The percentage of Instagram users who regularly engage with brands is more than double that of Facebook.

·       Instagram has 58% more engagement per follower than Facebook.

·       Only 36% of marketers are using Instagram, compared to 93% of marketers who are already on Facebook.

·       Instagram has a higher average order value than Facebook ($65 vs $55)

·       Brands on Facebook reach only 6% of their followers per post, while brands on Instagram reach 100% of their followers.

3.   Artificial Intelligence – the Behemoth

It's no secret that an increasing number of agencies have invested in AI and machine learning tools in recent years - think smart campaigns and automated bidding strategies. For example, Chatbots interact with humans in a natural way, primarily through the use of text chat windows, but verbal interactions are also possible.

In 2020, machine learning and automation will continue to pick up rapid speed. With AI producing analytics and performing complex tasks faster and better than humans, Google can offer advertisers highly targeted audiences, delivering ads to those in search of specific solutions in real-time.

4.   Video is never an option anymore

Marketers will spend $102.8 billion dollars a year on video ads by 2023, making 2020 an important year to ramp up video marketing efforts. It is estimated that people will spend more daily minutes watching video over the next few years than ever before, resulting in more advertisers investing in online video ads in order to drive engagement. Ensuring you use the latest techniques or focus on the right areas can help you continue to see returns from your video content.

5.   Interactive content marketing moves up the Rank

To stand out from the crowd, we need to be more interesting, interactive, and data-driven with our content. We need to give users a unique experience. One solution that is becoming more prevalent is interactive content marketing. Interactive content facilitates a better interaction between the content creator and the audience.

SnapApp provides the simplest definition of interactive content:

“Content that requires the participants’ active engagement — more than simply reading or watching. In return for that engagement, participants receive real-time, hyper-relevant results they care about.”

Successful interactive content allows the user to dive in, interact, enjoy the process, and gain insight without feeling targeted. It requires discipline and a secondary focus on conversion rate optimization. Interactive content appears to be a solution for this issue. Creating content that thoroughly captivates users’ attention can make them provide not just more data, but relevant data.

Think of a survey tool or an interactive infographic. Interactive content is any user experience (commonly a web-based tool or microsite) that has an interactive element and allows the user to participate in the content and find out some useful answers or results. The best examples of interactive content marketing solve problems first and are content marketing campaigns second.

Thanks to Siri, Google, Alexa, and a host of other ‘smart devices, verbal interaction with devices is continuing to rise. The real lesson for us is that people like to talk and that is a preferred way of interacting. And now, machines are finally catching up to the way people want to search, shop and discover new things.

6.   Omnichannel Marketing levelled up

Digital marketing channels are an important medium to transfer the brand and product information to the customers. At its core, omni-channel is defined as a multi-channel sales approach that provides the customer with an integrated customer experience.

Where companies reached their customers through emails, phone calls or store visits a few years back, they now interact with them on a daily basis through digital media. These include emails, social media, company websites, and mobile advertising. What started off as a single shop buying place is now a journey that spans multiple channels and multiple means of interacting with the buyers. 

In fact, companies with well-defined omnichannel customer experience strategies in place achieve a 91% higher year-over-year increase in customer retention rate on average, compared to organizations without omnichannel programs in place. Omnichannelmarketing wants to foster an effortless buying experience for consumers.

Ultimately, a focus on omnichannel marketing is the road to an enhanced customer journey that keeps people coming back for more.

After all, Digital Darwinism is an unforgiving reality. If you don't adapt, you'll surely be left behind. Read on to discover the digital marketing trends to be ready for in 2020.

Go Deep or Get Eaten!!!

It's time to dive in. Which of these digital marketing trends will you try first?