It is plain to see how much digital marketing has changed over time in the last few years. And what you need to know is that it will still change in the times to come.
These are our predictions about upcoming digital marketing trends that you should be aware of.
1. Increase Of Voice Search
One of the most dramatic technical improvements over the years has been NLP (natural language processing). It enables devices to understand human speech and interpret it properly. Most mobile phones come with voice assistants that are accurate and helpful.
What this has done is enable users to skip tying and just focus on voice commands for search. It has led to a huge demand for searches aligned with voice queries, and these form their category as the queries are more natural than just keywords.
2. Better Video Marketing
Video has emerged as one of the strongest engagement mediums of recent years for brands. People tend to consume more video, and this trend only looks to get bigger over time. Video content becomes even more critical to the success of a brand.
High-quality video has also become a lot cheaper to make today. With the advent of powerful tools at low prices, the bar is significantly lower. What differentiates brands from each other is the creative focus.
3. Shoppable Posts On Social Media
Another growing trend on social media is the introduction of shoppable posts. These are different from the regular posts in that you can click them to buy a displayed product. It has proven to be immensely successful because users can quickly buy what they want.
It was first introduced on Instagram but quickly caught on with other platforms as well. But even today, Insta still has the most success with these kinds of posts. Another factor to remember is that Instagram users are a lot more engaging than other social media platforms.
4. Better Customer Behavior Analysis
Customer behavior is an important part of improving a brand’s reach. As we get access to better tools and analysis platforms, we can categorize user behavior better. It involves a huge amount of data processing as well.
AI-assisted tools enable better prediction and forecasting, leading to better leads and sales. There are also a lot more metrics today about customer intent and behavior. Tools also help you assess outdated behavior or changes and make changes accordingly.
5. Improved Real-time Insights
Another area where technology has contributed is providing real-time data for reports and analysis. Today’s data systems are a lot more robust and connected. They can provide marketers with data that is up to date and actionable.
Businesses have detailed statistics and figures that they can use to make changes to their processes. This means much quicker turnarounds in case of differences in the market. They can respond better to dynamic events in their niche.
6. Content Quality And Velocity
Quality content is one of the highest-rated trends in recent times. Search engines are known to prioritize proven content over the rest. This is a trend that we predict will continue well into the future.
Another factor to keep in mind is content velocity. Simply put, it is the rate at which brands can publish content pieces. This, too, will increase in priority as a ranking factor. You need to take care not to compromise on content quality in pursuit of velocity.
7. Virtual And Augmented Reality
As we can get access to better technology, augmented reality and virtual reality have become more accessible. VR has been around for a long time, but the technology was quite expensive when it started.
AR is much more recent than VR but has become quite a marketing platform. A lot of businesses offer AR-enabled content for their customers. They can access this technology with just their phone or tablet.
8. Improved AI And Tools
Advancements in AI have a huge part to play in future digital marketing trends. More powerful AI routines and strategies have seen improving results from them. While AI was prohibitively expensive earlier, more companies are opting for AI tools.
And this has happened because AI has enabled businesses to get better and more accurate results. Also, the fact you can get them a lot quicker today means more time saved. In a competitive market, any time saved directly translates into better ROI. AI is set to improve even further over the years.
9. Hyperlocalization Of Businesses
As we move ahead, brands need to think about local factors to improve their reach. This means that geography is no longer a differentiating factor when it comes to businesses. A local market is broken up into other categories. Every business today has the potential to become a global brand.
For marketers, this means they need to work on their business image. It ensures that it translates well to other locales as well. It affects a lot of different attributes, including the personalization of marketing materials and ad copy. They need to make sure that their campaigns target every aspect of the local search engine.
10. Paid And Organic Search Collaboration
Another trend that is already in motion is the relationship between paid and organic ads. As time goes on, we will begin to see a much better meshing of both services. They will not be as different from each other as they were earlier.
They will complement each other and play to their strengths. And when this happens, collaborative engagement is the way to go with organic and paid SEO.