One thing that never changes is the inevitability of change, especially when it comes to the marketing industry. The mediums, platforms, and means have evolved, but the intent behind the advertising hasn’t — marketers are still trying to push boundaries and innovation in their communication methods and vehicles, and that innovation has pushed digital media as a mainstream marketing strategy. It is crucial that a marketer keep track of the ever-changing online marketing trends and plan their marketing campaigns with those trends in mind. The following are important marketing trends that you need to know about in 2020:
Video Content Continues to Dominate
According to Cisco, video marketing will be responsible for 82 percent of internet traffic by the year 2022. Video content marketing was a dominant online marketing trend over the last couple of years and will continue to be in the foreseeable future. Video content is compelling because they’re visually and auditorially engaging. Also, consumers turn to videos for product research both before and after purchasing. The most commonly-viewed video genres are “everything you need to know”, DIY, “how does it work”, “shop with me”, and reviews. The most popular type of video remains the live streaming event rather than highly produced pre-recorded and edited videos.
Influencer Marketing
According to a recent survey by Hubspot, influencer marketing will reach spending of $9-billion in 2020. Influencer marketing has been adopted by the digital marketing industry and is one of the most popular online marketing trends now. The reason is simple — consumers trust the opinions and recommendations of their peers, friends and favorite influencers about products. Finding the right influencers who are aligned with your niche is crucial in determining the success of your campaign.
Chatbots
Consumers use the internet at all hours of the day to shop or find information about products. One thing they are getting used to is getting customer care whenever and wherever they want it. Artificial intelligence chatbots are a futuristic solution. Chatbots can be utilized for answering common questions, customer service issues, product suggestions, and tips. Many brands, such as Sephora, already have incorporated chatbots for customer queries, and according to Servion, 95 percent of consumer interaction will be served by artificial intelligence by 2025.
Big Data
Big Data is trending in almost every industry, so it’s not surprising that Big Data is also an online marketing trend in 2020. There’s a seriously massive amount of consumer data that can be harvested and analyzed. You can gather data from your customers’ online purchases, social media activity, and internet searches, allowing you to target specific audiences who are likely to have an interest in your product.
Storytelling
Incorporating storytelling to get your brand message across online is one of the newest marketing trends. Everyone loves a good story, and people remember stories easier than facts and stats. Storytelling allows you to communicate your brand’s message by pairing it with compelling content that stirs emotional connection. Social media isn’t just a way to drive traffic to a site anymore, it also a way to engage with and communicate with your audience.
While many of these online marketing trends for 2020 are already well-established, others, such as artificial intelligence can more disruptive, or may not be well-matched to your product. However, these are the future for online marketing trends shaping the marketing landscape now. Get ahead of your competitors and leverage these trends into your future online marketing campaigns.
