With 2019 drawing to an end, like any other field, digital marketing fanatics have been talking about the trends that will govern digital marketing in 2020. In recent years, digital marketing has evolved from a fancy catchphrase to being equivalent to a firm’s existence to its clients. In 2020, the increased use of AI and emerging technology will renovate the way people consume and engage with digital content. Without further delay, let’s explore the digital marketing trends to follow in 2020. Chatbots Though chatbots have been used by businesses for years now, the current trend of handling simple user-based queries will be replaced with handling conversations with predictive analysis. The AI chatbots have already changed the way businesses interact with customers: in enhancing brand awareness, managing campaigns, automating sales, and lead generation. Since they can answer real-time conversations quickly and even at odd hours, they can help a customer in making a faster decision. Many companies like ManyChat have started to leverage chatbots to assist in growing businesses. Chatbots are not restricted to specific industries but can be used for enhanced customer experience in fitness, food ordering, automating payments, parenting, and e-learning. Augmented Reality Immersive technology like Augmented Reality (AR) has been gaining popularity in the last few years. Its counterpart Virtual Reality, despite being in use for more years, will be eclipsed by AR in 2020 and the following years. The main reason for this spurt is the increased use of mobile phones. While VR requires headsets, AR is more accessible and affordable. AR infused advertising will revolutionize the way brands have been advertising their products to customers. Brands like IKEA, which have used AR to visualize their products in any space, have started using it in advertising. When sales materials are designed with AR, they can also provide customers with a more detailed way of seeing the products. Topshop, an apparel brand, has used AR to create a virtual experience of fitting rooms that help their clients to select clothing. These kinds of innovative experiences will also create a buzz around a brand. Personalization Personalization is going to stay for years. For marketers who fail to deliver adequate content, despite having data to meet their customers’ expectations, this will help in growing their business. Amazon already does this by analyzing the behavior of their customers. They then promote products based on their past purchase history. The customers can see all the products that they might be interested in. This personalization element has helped the business upsell. More marketers are leveraging it because they realize personalization is the best strategy to increase conversion rates. It also gives control to reach a particular group of customers. There are many ways to promote your brand with personalized content. A few include collecting user data through surveys, in-store traffic, studies, and online marketing analytics. These can be used to analyze the users’ personas, and any content reflecting the interests of the users will capture their attention to the brand. Podcasts Though podcasts have become ubiquitous on the internet, therefore its relevance in marketing cannot be overlooked. Did you know it is possible to drive traffic to your website with engaging audio content? The demand for podcasts is growing, and there’s a preference for audio recordings over words on the page content. Users love to listen to engaging audio content when compared to a lengthy article. Make sure your podcast plans are given the same importance you would give to your other marketing strategies. There are countless ideas to try out in podcasts. Interview with an expert, insights on trends to follow, collaboration with another marketer, promotions through advertisements on social media platforms; the options are endless. 5.Voice Search Voice search statistics show that 50% of online searches in 2020 will be voice searches. This trend will continue to expand in the coming years with more and more homes getting Alexa, Siri, Amazon Echo, and Google Home in their everyday lives. Consumer behavior toward ordering or shopping has also shifted to this new-age technology. Since businesses have just started to optimize their content for voice search, it is possible to beat the competitors in this technology. How to optimize for voice search Apart from optimizing your website content for search engines, it would help if you started optimizing the content for voice searches because when customers make a voice query, they sound more conversational than when they type a text query. You can also capitalize on the increase in voice search by focusing more on the semantic or logical search and long-tail keyword phrases and tailor your content for voice SEO by looking at the queries of previous customers. Plus did you know by using speakable structured data, you can also optimize your website’s content for voice search? What an exciting development we can all get benefit from as website owners and visitors. 6.Personalized Influencer Marketing Influencer marketing is a technique used by brands to use the name and fame of an influencer to increase brand awareness and exposure. An influencer’s colossal following can be leveraged to induce actions from potential customers. The traditional celebrity endorsement is a forerunner to this marketing technique. Several studies show that influencer marketing is even better than PPC campaigns and celebrity endorsements due to its personal touch. Even before you choose your influencer, it is essential to define your goals, fix your budget, and most importantly, make a list of influencers who would fit your needs. There are influential individuals in every industry and the trick is to establish your authority and uniqueness through your influencer’s reach. Interactive Content 88% of marketers use interactive content to differentiate themselves from their competitor brands, and it is the best way to engage your users while they scan through your content because it requires the reader to do more than just read or watch. Using this engagement is what makes content exciting and a favorite strategy for marketers. For industries that may not churn out a lot of interest, interactive content is the way to go about it. Quizzes, polls, personality tests, tutorials, contests, and surveys are all being used by marketers to engage the audience. Digital Marketing is continuously evolving with marketing trends adapting to meet the end user’s requirements quickly and effectively. 2020 would be an exciting year for marketers as they further extend their services with strategies that should generate more leads and higher rates of conversion. Conclusion: As you set about conducting your market research for the next year, remember that 2020 promises to perpetuate the marketing evolution that has been going on for years now. In fact, along with the items discussed here, there are many, many other trends on the radar at this point. Things like influencers and shoppable posts, for example, didn’t even get mentioned here. Whatever your specific marketing strategy is going forward, any digital marketing manager worth their salt is going to want to keep their team trained on the trends at all times. Whether it’s voice search, personalized content, or a full-blown VR-experience, there’s no doubt that 2020 is going to see the digital marketing landscape significantly change, yet again, and any company that’s willing to move with those changes is going to maintain a serious edge over the competition.
