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Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends of 2019 To Implement Now

Digital Marketing is ever-changing. Any business that believes they have conquered digital marketing strategies may soon learn they are behind the trends. And while being trendy may not be your business goal, keeping ahead of your competition certainly is.

Following are 5 Digital Marketing Trends for 2019 that you’ll want to add to your strategy to stay ahead of your competitors.

1)     Conversational Approach to Social Media

If your current approach to social media is as a one-way vehicle to get your message out, listen up. Users are increasingly wanting to engage with your business in a more natural, two-way dialog. Great benefits await those companies that embrace this new trend as a conversational approach to social media is an excellent way for businesses to interact directly with their audience, gathering important details about preferences and pain points.

Specific efforts you might consider that could bolster such two-way conversations include:

  • Asking engaging but specific questions that elicit a response
  • Asking consumers for their questions and answering them
  • Encouraging user-generated content
  • Replying to all responses within 24-48 hours

Companies that prioritize this type of two-way engagement will find it increases brand awareness, builds trust, and encourages brand loyalty.

Social listening plays into this as well. You’ll want to be sure that you are actively monitoring online conversations not only about your company but also conversations about your competitors. By doing so you can identify areas of strength and improvement that your company needs to address as well as potential opportunities arising from conversations about your competitors.

2)     AI (Artificial Intelligence) Comes of Age with Chatbots

AI has been bandied about for years, but it is now finding its way into more and more marketing strategies. With the explosion of chatbot use, AI is no longer just for sci-fi movies and mega companies.

In fact:

  • 80% of digitally savvy businesses are expected to be using chatbots by 2020.
  • There are currently over 1 billion people interacting online using chatbots
  • By 2022, chatbots will save companies an estimated $8 billion per year

How can chatbots benefit your business?

  • 24-hour customer service and response
  • All engagements are remembered perfectly and trackable
  • Automation of repetitive tasks frees you up for other business functions

There was a time when many consumers did not want to engage with online chatbots. Thanks to broadly used services that rely on chatbots (think Uber), this is no longer the case. Indeed, customers will increasingly expect (and look for) chatbots to handle their inquiries. They won’t want to wait until you open tomorrow. Who knows, they may seek out your competitor’s chatbot to answer their question.

3)     Video Expansion with SEO Optimization

As the stats below clearly demonstrate, video is not going away.

  • 72% of businesses say videos have improved conversion rates
  • 70% of consumers have shared a brand’s video
  • 65% of executives visit the website of a company they are looking to do business with and 39% call a vendor after watching a video

Not only will video continue to grow as a digital marketing tool, it is now being optimized to take full advantage of SEO.  To help search engines fully understand your video content be sure to add keywords to the following elements:

  • Video title
  • URL name
  • Video description
  • Video script
  • Closed captions

Any place searchable text can be added on the front end or back end of your video, do so. This gives search engines something to crawl and will help your video rank accordingly.

4)     Social Media Stories and Live Video

Social Media stories and live video are growing in popularity among social media users and more and more platforms are getting in the game. While Snapchat created the “story” concept, it is now offered on:

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube “Reels”

Live video is offered across these same channels plus LinkedIn. The temporary nature of social media stories plays into a FOMO (fear of missing our) mindset that keeps your audience waiting for your next snippet. Both foster a sense of “current-ness” and relevancy with your audience – that you have a desire to meet them where they are…right now.

5)     Personalization

As more and more data is collected, businesses are able to provide their customers with a personalized experience. What this means is that your company needs to eliminate as many barriers for the customer as you can. Data is available to you that makes this possible. Make sure you’re gathering all that you can and that you’re using it to implement marketing strategies that cater to the needs of each individual customer.

This is particularly true with email campaigns. Yes, email remains an effective part of any digital marketing strategy, but it can’t be implemented on a broad swath basis. You must take the time to segment your list and only send out information that you know will be of interest. Remember also to only send emails on their timeline. If they prefer once a month emails, respect that.

Other Trends to Watch

There are certainly other trends to watch in 2019 and beyond, including:

  • Voice Search
  • Visual Search
  • Social Listening Tools
  • Geo-Marketing & Geo-Fencing

It is important to keep an eye on these trends as they are developing rapidly, and we expect their implementation to broaden over the next year or so. But the five trends that we have covered in depth are being broadly used NOW. So, if you have yet to add them to your digital marketing strategy…NOW is the time.

Need help getting started with any of these strategies? Our team at Mulligan Management Group would welcome the chance to sit down with you and discuss your needs and the impact a broad-based marketing strategy could have on your business outcomes. Visit our website www.mulliganmanagementgroup.com, email us at info@mulliganmanagement.com, or call Dede at 330-472-7673.

About Mulligan Management Group

Mulligan Management Group  www.mulliganmanagementgroup.com  is a digital marketing firm located in Hudson, Ohio. Our team of professionals is dedicated to helping our clients build their internet presence and expand their authority online.

Our services are range from website design and development, to professional content creation, to social media strategies and implementation. We also offer consulting services in all functional areas.

 

 

 

 

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