Technology has transformed the world into a global village in terms of effortlessly connecting people from different countries and cultures.
Information sharing is more accessible than ever, making it easier to create product awareness or promote your service. As we all know that currently, the Internet is such a powerful tool. That can be used to generate ROI, and investing in digital marketing cannot be ignored.
As we are rapidly approaching the end of the year, now it’s high time to look ahead. At where we are going and the marketing trends we are likely to see more of in 2020. We have already touched on how we can expect marketing to evolve on a strategic level. And in this article, we will be looking in more detail at some of the specific trends to look out for.
Technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, so of course, some of these trends are focused on technology. However, there’s also a pushback against the increased digitization and automation of interactions between brands and consumers, and a desire to make marketing more human again.
While technologies such as AI and data-driven marketing will certainly be big trends for 2020, the overarching focus will be on people, not technology.
Here we have included some Top Digital Marketing Trends for 2020.
1) Artificial Intelligence
If you haven’t already realized it, 2020 may be the year that a lot of people wake up to the dominance of artificial intelligence (AI). It’s sure to be at the heart of global business and industry in the future. And it’s already taking over many simple jobs.
For example, Microsoft and Uber use Knightscope K5 robots to “patrol parking lots and large outdoor areas to predict and prevent crime. The robots can scan license plates, report suspicious activity, and collect data to report to their owners”.
“Artificial intelligence is one of the most important business opportunities for companies, industries, and nations over the next few decades”. And “will raise global GDP by up to 14% between now and 2030″. This signifies that “AI latecomers will find themselves at a serious competitive disadvantage within the next several years”.
Artificial intelligence will soon be the driving force behind many services and, currently, we already see it implemented in such areas as:
- Basic communication
- Product recommendations
- Content creation
- Email personalization
- E-commerce transactions
2) Programmatic Advertising
Programmatic advertising means automating advertising using AI so that you can target a more specific audience. Real-time bidding, for example, is a type of programmatic advertising purchase. This automation is much more productive and faster, which means higher conversions and lower customer acquisition costs.
It is changing the face of digital advertising so fast. According to eMarketer, 86.2% of digital display ads in the US will become programmatic by 2020.
3) Chatbots
In 2020 chatbots will continue to be an important part of digital marketing. This AI-based technology uses instant messaging to chat with your customers or site visitors, in real-time, day or night.
Surveys show that:
- According to the survey, Chatbots will power 85% of customer service by 2020.
- Chatbot’s top benefits are 24-hour service (64%), quick responses to inquiries (55%), and simple questions answers (55%).
- 63% of respondents prefer to send an online chatbot message to communicate with a business or brand.
- By 2022, chatbots will help businesses save more than $ 8 billion annually.
- 80% of businesses want chatbots by 2020.
Many customers like to interact with chatbots because they are responsive 24/7, respond quickly, remember their entire purchase history, and never be patient. These virtual assistants provide excellent customer service by meeting customer expectations and automating repetitive tasks – meaning you can focus on more important work.
Many brands already use chatbot technology, including rideshare brand Lyft. You can request a ride from Lyft via chat (Facebook Messenger and Slack) or voice (Amazon Echo), and their chatbots will tell you about your driver’s current status:
4) Personalization
If you want to stand out in 2020, you need to personalize your marketing – and that means personal content, products, email, and more.
Consider these personalization figures:
- 63% of consumers are extremely angry with generic ad blasts.
- 80% say they are more likely to do business with a company if they provide a personal experience.
- 90% claim they find privatization attractive.
Kevin George from EmailMonks says that “personalized, triggered emails are 3x better than batch and blast emails based on behavior”.
When you want to study examples of the power of personalization, it’s hard to ignore Netflix and Amazon, with their corresponding recommended products or movie titles.
5) Video Marketing
Video marketing is one of the most important marketing trends likely to occur today and for the next 5-10 years. These numbers reflect the importance of including video in your digital marketing strategy in 2020:
- 70% of consumers say they have shared a brand video.
- 52% of consumers say that watching product videos gives them more confidence in online purchasing decisions.
- 65% of executives visit the marketplace website and 39% call a seller after watching a video.
Video marketing is by far the most popular and engaging way customers want to learn about new products:
And don’t just think YouTube. There are plenty of ways to drive higher engagement with your video marketing, as you can make a video post or start a live broadcast on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
One of the issues that marketers have faced in recent years is the growing shift to mobile devices. Those long-form sales pages and emails of yesteryear are fading fast. Because they’re simply too difficult to read on small mobile screens. However, video can present the same kind of content or information in a format that works ideally regardless of the device.
Here are some other video marketing trends that are gaining more and more traction:
- Live video is especially very popular nowadays with a large number of businesses who use it for interviews, product demos, and behind-the-scenes looks of any brand.
- 1:1 video is when businesses or marketers create personalized video messages rather than make phone calls or send emails.
- Video SEO. YouTube and other videos are displayed in the SERPs, so video optimization is becoming much more important. Like using text overlays and closed captions, in addition to your description, title, and file names.
- 360-degree video content. This trend toward a more interactive experience is on the rise – just look for the circular symbol in the top left corner to start sliding the moving image left or right as it’s playing, like in this 360˚ video.
For anyone in digital marketing, change is an integral part of the job. You must keep looking ahead and strive to embrace new technologies, tools, and strategies in order to gain an edge over your competitors.
