There have been some dramatic shifts in marketing over the last five years. Digital marketing has changed the basics of traditional marketing, and the result is vastly beneficial for brands that manage to take advantage of the practices being driven by technology. One of the only problems with digital marketing is that it evolves so quickly. What worked in 2018 wasn’t quite so effective in 2019, and as we approach the end of this year, smart business managers are looking ahead at the marketing trends that are set to have an impact in 2020. If you want to stay on top of the ever-changing digital marketing landscape, here are the trends to integrate into your existing strategies.
Process Analysis
No marketing tactic is going to have value if it is not tracked and measured. Proactive marketing is now only of value if the results can be analyzed and adjusted according to real-world data. If your marketing department is still relying on guesswork and intangible results such as social media likes, then they are not making full use of the tools, resources, and skill developments that are the future of marketing. With such vast volumes of measurable data becoming available to modern brands, the Six Sigma RCA method can ensure that your marketing team has the tools and skills to get to the root of any marketing roadblocks and devise more productive and profitable strategies.
Artificial Intelligence
This is perhaps a much-overused term, and it’s not quite accurate. Instead of thinking of AI as a sci-fi term that holds little relevance to marketing departments, look at it instead as the next stage of machine learning. Modern AI in business is more about machine learning than killer robots, and that’s good news for marketers. Machine Learning makes it faster and easier to complete slow tasks that require repetitive manual actions, and that frees up members of your marketing team. For marketing departments that are already making use of machine learning, as much as 87% have said that it is proving to be vital. This will require developing a team with the right skill sets, but the benefits can far outweigh the potential costs. Machine Learning also allows brands to sustain an edge over competitors, engage with new clients, reduce marketing costs, and meet growing demand much faster and more efficiently.
Video Content
It is expected that video content is going to grow by a massive amount over the next ten years. The statistics speak for themselves. With up to 70% of consumers saying that they have shared brand videos on their social platforms, 72% of businesses saying that their conversion rates have improved via video, and 52% of consumers being more confident about a purchase after viewing a product video, it’s clear that video content has value. As we edge into 2020, brands need to move away from thinking that video is simply a matter of filming something on a phone and uploading it to YouTube. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram all allow for live streaming or direct video posts, and when Google rewards content variety in SEO, it’s clear that video needs to be a priority in 2020 and beyond.
As technology continues to evolve so quickly, the trends of today may become redundant at any time. As new technologies emerge, modern brands need to stay up to date if they want to thrive. The current trends that look set to dominate in 2020 should be the key areas of focus for those brands that want to stay on the cutting edge of consumer satisfaction, brand growth and a more positive global impact.