Himanshu Arora, Co-Founder, SocialPanga shares his take on digital marketing trends 2019 and how brands can adapt to them.
Digital Marketing has had a good year of growth – with the launch of more devices and technologies capable of improving a digital experience, and more memorable moments created. 2018 featured everything from Nike’s Immersive Reactland Campaign, to the mega-viral Kiki Challenge, or closer to home weddings of popular Bollywood stars. 2018 has also been the year when the top digital-oriented companies have launched new products – including a whole plethora of voice-search based devices, the Google Marketing Platform, and new ad formats on both Facebook and Instagram. As we now make our way into 2019, here are some of the trends that I think will define the digital space:
Video is still the way to go:
With more than 70% businesses claiming improved conversion rates by using video content in advertisements and marketing, video is going to be the way forward for content marketing in 2019.
In 2018, even LinkedIn, one of the laggards in terms of video marketing has now enabled native video content – with both Facebook and Instagram pushing it forward as well. New formats such as Live videos, 360-degree videos, Instagram TV and allow for further interactive conversations with potential customers.
Influencers as your marketing channel:
As traditional digital marketing platforms like ads on social media platforms, ads on YouTube, GDN become more cluttered with multiple brands advertising, non-traditional forms like influencer marketing are proving to be much more effective. Because customers prefer individuals over corporate brand advertisements, trusted local influencers can, therefore, work with their respective following to achieve any objective from branding to sales and engagement.
Voice-Search picks up steam:
2018 has clearly been the year of smart speakers – with the 3 major companies – Amazon, Google, and Apple all launching new or next iterations of their AI-powered smart speakers.
It is expected that 50% of all searches by 2022 will be driven by voice – which means companies must start investing in digital solutions designed to leverage voice-search.
This is especially relevant for E-Commerce platforms, restaurants, and F&B as well as product companies which can incorporate everything from ordering, adding to cart, placing delivery orders and more through voice.
AI & Chatbots become your extended team:
Artificial Intelligence techniques are becoming critical in analyzing customer data and behavioral patterns – which further become inputs into marketing campaigns. Chatbots, though at times frustrating in 2018, are going to be a surefire way for companies to improve overall customer service – reducing response times and providing relevant information to customers without the need for them to change platforms or shift between apps or browser tabs.
Technologies and trends that also deserve an honorary mention and are likely to have a major impact on how we market in 2019 are AI-driven programmatic buying, image search and augmented reality. The next year promises to be an exciting one for marketers – are you ready for it yet?
The article is authored by Himanshu Arora of SocialPanga.
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