Can you believe that we’re less than a month away from 2019?! Crazy! I remember writing the digital marketing 2018 trends article as if it were yesterday!
Before we get into them, you need to remember 3 words: CURIOUS, DEMANDING and IMPATIENT.
Google released many studies and live streams talking all about how users nowadays are curious, demanding and impatient. Remember to keep these 3 characteristics in mind when reading each one of the trends for 2019.
Here are 5 top trends that you must keep in mind for 2019.
1. A meaningful online experience
With more and more business getting online, websites have improved, and now users can find anything they want whenever they want. You best believe that if their experience on your website is not perfect within the first 3 seconds of them being on it, they will exit out. You have to make sure that your website is fully optimized. This includes mobile users.
When users enter your website, it should be a clear, and smooth interaction. If you are advertising online, you need to make sure that wherever it is that you are leading them, is relevant to the ad. Make your offer clear, and ensure that the call-to-action is easy to find on your website and eye-catching. Every web designer should know marketing. They should study it, and they should analyze user data to discover the best ways of promoting your website. Your website is your salesman online. Ensure it sells.
Something as simple as adding fewer options for your users may increase your conversions. Study your data.
2. Service through chatbox
Though the idea of chatbots is still on the radical side for many people online, it will keep on growing and will become “normalized” in 2019. It is an extremely beneficial, and quick way for those impatient users to get their questions answered right away.
Chatbots are forms of software that helps users complete a task. Similar to Siri on your iPhone, a chatbot gives the user a natural, human-like interaction where they can easily and quickly verbally interact with software that helps them achieve a goal. Chatbots can provide an interactive conversation with users, without requiring too much work from employees. As an automated software that gets tasks done, this is a prime example of sustainable marketing, that will only keep on growing in 2019. A study by Grand View Research found that the global chatbot market is at $1.2 billion with 24% annual growth rate! They also found that 45% of users would instead use this method of communication during customer service than anything else.
3.Social media presence
Even as the CEO of your company, you should be present on social media. People are demanding TRUST, and they are CURIOUS about who you are. The more familiar you are to them, the more they grow to trust you and the more likely they are to become a lead or conversion for your business. Many people STILL ignore social media for their companies or post once a month. The problem with this is that even though you can’t tell immediately, like with pay-per-click, social media is essential for your business. A business with no social media is viewed as half in half out.
Social media not only cultivates trust with users, but it also helps with your SEO and authority. A social media account with followers and interaction is a type of review that Google cannot offer. When users are searching for your business and land on your social media accounts, this impression of your business at work with other users is a valuable type of review that you absolutely MUST have in 2019. This is meaningful. It’s proof. Without it, they will find someone else who offers the very same service/product that you provide but has an active social media account.
4.Video marketing
Did you know that 73% of Americans are on Youtube? If you aren’t uploading videos on Youtube for your business, then you are missing out on a massive chunk of your audience! Tying in with curious and impatient users, videos give users the chance to learn faster and more comfortable.
Video marketing is essential to your digital marketing strategy nowadays. There is a reason as to why YouTube is the most popular social media channel right now. People love videos. They love to get the information they need right there, right then. Again, it’s interactive and fast for demanding users.
Going Live on Instagram and Facebook is also growing. According to Hubspot just adding a video in an email boosts the CTR (click-through rate) by 200-300%, and adding one on a landing page increases the CTR by 80%. So, let’s get it started. Add videos to your strategy. However, remember to keep in mind that people don’t want to spend too much time watching them. Be quick to the point and avoid any fluff. People see through empty words and promises.
5.Personalized Emails
As you can see by the study from Hubspot above, emails are still second in the preferred ways that users want to see content from businesses. Emails now serve as a quick notification where users can gain continuous learning, reminders, offers and coupons.
Marketers have noted a 760% increase in revenue from segmented campaigns. Campaign Monitor
It is a massive channel of marketing that many businesses do not take advantage of. Similar to social media, this channel is also for building trust and a long-term relationship with users. The one thing going against businesses at this moment is that a lot of these emails tend to fall into “promotions,” and/or “spam” folder.
With personalized emails, they are a lot less likely to fall into those folders. One of the main things that customers are not looking for nowadays is to be deceived or feel like you are trying to continually sell to them. They are looking for meaningful products and services; therefore they do not want to see mass emails that are ALL about selling and how you can make more money from them. Trust me; they will unsubscribe from it.
An excellent way to make your emails more personalized is by always adding their names at the time, and having a variance in your content. You can also strategize to divide your subscriber lists to provide more relevant emails to each. Give them meaningful weekly emails. This way you will stay on your radar, which acts as a trigger to motivate and become a conversion finally.
Are you ready for 2019?
Remember, the main lesson from 2018. We know that users are more than ever demanding, curious and impatient. Take this into consideration when you are implementing any aspect of your digital marketing. Whether this is while creating your website, writing your emails, or making videos, think of how you can HELP your users with a meaningful experience.
