Many of us have seen big branded stores closing on our high streets. The competition they have online is phenomenal and they simply cannot keep up.
Consumers are going online to make their purchases. Businesses have no choice but to keep up with the evolving trends online if they are to survive. The benefits of social media is powerful stuff!
It’s important for your business to keep up online. So what are the top digital marketing trends in 2019?
1. Voice Search
This is exciting stuff. We all love a coffee and a catch up with friends. So it’s no surprise that talking is a preferred way of communicating.
According to (TheeDesign, 2017). Almost one-third of the 3.5 billion searches performed on Google every day are voice searches. With personal assistant devices leading the way. Such as Siri, Cortana, Alexa and Google Now.
Using Siri or Google Now seems like a lot less effort than having to type your searches. It’s the same with voice notes, who has the time to type out paragraphs which you can say in a few seconds instead.
Smart devices, Google and Alexa have been part of this preferred method of shopping and searching.
– 58% of consumers have used voice search. To find local business information within the last year
– 46% of voice search users look for a local business daily
– 27% visit the website of a local business after conducting a voice search
– 76% of smart home speaker users conduct local searches at least once a week. With 53% performing daily searches
Source: Bright Local Study
What does this mean for your business?
- Be prepared
It means that you should be prepared. Voice search should be implemented into your SEO strategy. Just like keywords and key phrases are optimised on web pages. What people speak into a voice device will not be the same as someone typing into a Google search. When we type we tend go for single to 3 word phrases, when it comes to voice search, we use more words when using a voice search device and it feels like we speaking to another person. - Voice optimised website
Ensure that your website is voice search optimised. Please feel free to get in touch with Fresh4. If you have any questions about how to optimise your website for voice search.
What does this mean to digital marketers?
- The facts
When we compare making searches using voice with text searches. With text searches, you will see 100’s of pages of search results on google. You can easily be one of those results. - Ahead of the rest
When you ask Siri a question. Often only one result is shown at is best a few results. If your business is one of them that’s brilliant. However, you have to be the first place to be seen now. - SEO strategy for voice
The good news is we are digital marketers are always ahead of the game! Our SEO strategy for voice search is effective and evolving. - Bring it on!
According to ComScore 50% Of All Searches Will Use Voice By 2020. Voice recognition technology is improving and we are ready!
2. Chatbot
With the growth of technology in some ways, humans have become impatient. We want answers straight away. That’s why there is a lot of talk about chatbots. As they are quicker than humans in giving data-related answers or at taking requests.
Chatbots are what your business needs for customer service. They are available 24 hours a day. Have personalities and humour. According to Facebook, 56% of people would rather message than call customer service.
They can be integrated into your website, social media platforms and applications.
According to The State Chatbots Report 2018. The key things your customers want from chatbots are:
-To get a quick answer to questions
-To resolve a complaint or problem
-To get a more detailed answer to a query
-Finding a human customer service agent
What does this mean for your business?
- You will save time and money
You don’t need employees to answer customers questions. They can spend their time doing other tasks. Saving your business time and money. - Generate Leads & Revenue
Chatbots ask users direct questions. They can collect emails, which generates leads. They pass these leads to the sales teams which will generate revenue. - Guide users to better outcomes
Often customers are not sure what they want. With qualifying questions. Chatbots can guide them to the best place to have their questions answers.
What does this mean to digital marketers?
- Target audiences
We can target audiences more specifically when buying ads. Which will benefit your digital marketing campaign. - Plan your specific goals
We discuss and plan your goals. Choose the appropriate platforms. Plan your content strategy for your Chatbot. - Ask the right questions
Ensure your chatbot asks the right questions to enhance your customer’s journey. Plan the best responses. Map the responses out. - Voice and personality
Create a voice and personality for your chatbot. Also, add the right visuals. - Call to action
Guide customers to the call to action buttons. We will monitor and test your Chatbots (we are a bit obsessed with stats!)
3. Video
According to YouTube, there are 1.8 billion monthly users on Youtube it is ahead of Facebook. (keep on using Facebook to upload your videos it is an important platform to use for your business)
Video allows you to create your brand’s personality and voice. It’s an effective digital marketing tool. Create videos for Instagram, Snap chat, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or even your own website.
What does this mean for your business?
- Get ready
According to Wyzowl statistics, 63% of businesses have started using video content marketing. Make sure your business in part of the 63%. - Mobile compatible website
90% of consumers watch videos on their mobile. It is a must for your website to be mobile compatible. - Google loves video
Keep on creating top quality videos suitable for all social media platforms. And for your own website. Remember that content is key. Google loves video (remember Google bought Youtube back in 2005). Videos will help with your SEO. Youtube is search engine in it’s own right.
What does this mean to digital marketers?
- High ROI
Video marketing is part of our digital marketing strategies. As the ROI for businesses is high. Adding a product video on your landing page can increase conversions by 80%. - Email marketing
We also use video marketing for the right channels including email marketing. It increases the open rates by 5.6% and increases the click-through rates by 96%.
We can also use video tracking allows you to see who opened the video, who finished it and who replayed it. (We did warn you we love stats!)
4. Instagram is growing
Luckily for Facebook, they bought Instagram. Instagram is all about images and videos that are easily shared on a user’s phone. There are over 100 million photos and videos uploaded every day.
There are over 1 billion users. Majority of which are under 30.
There have been many Instagram success stories including Mrs Hinch ‘mrshinchhome’ (if you know, you know!)
What does this mean for your business?
- You need Instagram
There are 25 million businesses that are using Instagram. Your business should be one of them. (If you are not using it already). - Create a database of images and videos
It is important for you to create a database of images and videos. That your business can upload on instagram. So that you can get more followers and likes.
What does this mean to digital marketers?
- Tailor-made strategies
Instagram is already part of our digital marketing strategies. Which are tailor-made to suit each individual client. Some clients do not want to have Instagram accounts for their business. Others use them as their main platform.
We create digital marketing strategies to suit your individual business. We will discuss your requirements with you so that you get the best ROI for your business.
5. AR and VR – Augmented and Virtual Realities
Things are getting exciting in 2019. Users want engagement and want to be active in the brands messaging. The solutions to these needs is AR and VR. You can immerse yourself in a 360-degree virtual worldview.
AR and VR offer brands the ultimate customer experience. It brings people into a virtual world. Ikea has been using VR gaming technology since 2016. It allows customers to try a variety of Ikea solutions before buying them.
AR and VR are becoming more common. Currently, some of the big brands are using it as a marketing tool.
It’s always good to look back at the previous year to see what the top digital marketing trends 2018 were. As they shape the years to come.
Social Media has the power!
2018 was the year we saw the power of social media. TV celebrity Kylie Jenner said she doesn’t use image-sharing app Snapchat anymore (source Bloomberg).
The “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star sent a tweet to her 24.5 million Twitter followers that said, “Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me…ugh this is so sad.”
Snap’s stock price fell 6.1% on Thursday, erasing $1.3 billion of market value.
Facebook was in trouble
Facebook’s announced they were going to change their algorithm in January. They confirmed they would focus on friends and family. Which affected the way businesses used Facebook. No need to worry Facebook still benefits businesses.
Then followed the Cambridge Analytica data breaches. Which affected business pages. Fresh4 has found creative ways to increase organic search for businesses.
GDPR
Data-privacy seemed to have been the most talked about issue in 2018. Everyone knew the abbreviation GDPR. There were lots of questions about individuals data and who owned it. Was it really protected?
- Increase In Demand For Digital Marketers
2018 has seen an increase in demand for digital marketers. Also, content writers are being sought after. More and more businesses have seen the need for good digital marketing in order to keep up online.
Visual Search
Google, Microsoft and, Pinterest have been focused on developing a stronger competitor in interactive SEO. Visual search.
Yep, you read right! We can hear you asking how is this even going to work?
Google launched its Google Lens last year. You could point your phone’s camera to an object and you would find information in text. The next part of the process is even more exciting.
Once Visual search identifies objects with the image. It searches for images related to those objects.
If you did a visual search for a desk. You would be able to use visual search to shop for an identical or similar desk to the one in the image.
This technology is still limited. As it has to read your mind in a way. It has to recreate the minds image processing. Before it can effectively produce a viable visual search application.
It has to recognise a variety of colours, sizes, patterns, and shapes, the same way the human mind does. We know that we make numerous purchases based on the visuals. This technology will change the way consumers shop.
Thank you to all our clients
On a personal note. Haris would like to thank all our clients for allowing us to help your businesses grow in 2018. We feel privileged to have been on your journey with you. We have worked with some amazing businesses. Wishing everyone a fantastic 2019.
