Marketing is shifting, and mobile ads alone were projected to generate over $76 billion in revenue in 2018. Digital marketing is driving businesses forward, and the trend is not expected to slow down in the next decade.
Marketing strategies are evolving, and if your business hopes to stay ahead of the trend, it’s important to follow what the larger businesses are doing.
Trends that are most popular this year are:
1. Shifts to Artificial Intelligence Marketing
Artificial intelligence is becoming an integral cog in marketing, and even small businesses are able to break into the world of artificial intelligence to some degree. AI marketing is evolving, but right now, you can implement:
- Push notifications
- Retargeting
- Analysis
- Chatbots
Upfront costs will lead to long-term savings when implementing AI into the digital marketing sphere. You’ll want to use the tools at your disposal to market to your audience without having to rely on humans in the progress.
Push notifications can help alert consumers of new products, and artificial intelligence can be used to update marketing tactics to save on ad expenditures or increase conversion rates.
Programmatic advertising is on the rise, and AI will be buying ad space for a lot of companies this year.
2. Video Marketing
Cisco predicts that video account for 82% of all Internet traffic by 2021. Video includes Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Live, Netflix, Instagram and a variety of other video channels. Video is more engaging and shared more often on social media than written content.
Retention rates rise with video marketing, so it’s important that all businesses break into video marketing to some extent.
Video is more expensive to create, but it should be shared on all social media channels.
If you’re not using video marketing in your digital marketing strategy, it’s time to start.
3. Personalization is Key
Consumers are changing their behavior and demands, and one new demand is the rise of personalization. Marketers have been turning to personalization for years to be able to increase their reach and conversion rates.
One recent survey found that 96% of marketers are turning to personalization to increase their relationships with customers.
You can personalize marketing through:
- Custom content
- Analyzing purchase history
- Custom emails
Behavior-based personalization is key. Personalized emails, for example, can perform three times better than email blasts.
4. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is on the rise, and this is a key area that businesses of all sizes are incorporating into their marketing strategy. Influencers already have their own follower base that is very responsive.
And these users buy at higher rates and will engage with influencers at a higher rate than normal ads.
Influencers can attract customers, and these individuals can include:
- Bloggers
- Celebrities
- Instagram users
Anyone with a large following can be an influencer, so it’s very important that you target influencers properly. Journalists can also be influencers. There are also micro-influencers, and while they have a lower following than other influencers, they offer highly-targeted campaigns that can help you increase your reach and profits.
Businesses should be keeping tabs on new marketing trends in an attempt to market their products strategically to their demographic.