Back in the day, you would think of voice search engine optimization or Artificial Intelligence as a pipe dream. Nowadays, though, such concepts are becoming popular. So much so that marketing professionals are exploring ways to integrate it into their strategies.
However, VSEO and AI are not only there for the hype. They can help level up your marketing game.
Knowing these trends and taking immediate action gives you a first-mover advantage. This means that once these concepts become famous, you are already getting traction.
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On the other hand, your competitors would still be figuring out how to leverage these concepts.
If you want to get ahead, here are X digital marketing trends that you should not ignore this 2021:
Personalization
The need to personalize your marketing approach is not a new thing. However, there is a growing demand for personalization, and it is what can make your brand stand out.
If you do not believe us, here are some stats about Personalization:
- 63% of consumers do not like generic advertising messages.
- 80% of consumers prefer to do business with a brand that offers a personalized experience.
- 90% say that they find personalization appealing.
That said, personalization goes beyond calling an email subscriber by the first name.
You can also personalize product recommendations and the content you produce.
Why do you think Netflix can recommend movies and TV shows that you might like? It is because of data collection and personalized recommendations.
Chatbots
Perhaps chatbot is the most familiar digital marketing trend you might notice. And they will continue to be part of the digital marketing scene. So much so that digital marketing companies in India are also offering chatbot set up as part of their service.
Chatbots are commonly used for customer service support. That’s because it allows you to respond to customer queries 24/7 instantly.
But more than that, it reduces the labor cost that you will need. For one, there is no need to hire multiple customer service representatives to ensure that someone answers customer queries 24/7.
What you can do is set up your chatbot to answer simple questions. If it gets too complex, you can program your chatbot to forward the query to a CSR. Doing so relieves your CSR to answer mundane and repetitive questions.
Conversational Marketing
In line with chatbots comes Conversational Marketing. Drift defines it as a one-on-one marketing approach to help shorten your sales cycle.
Think of it as your chatbot using a conversational tone. And this is made possible through machine learning and AI.
Suppose you run an online travel agency. And then you received a message via Facebook that he “needs travel recommendations for a getaway to the Bahamas.”
Your chatbot should understand that the person is going to the Bahamas and asking for great places to visit and things to do.
But why would you use Conversational Marketing if you already have a chatbot?
The answer is simple: Who would want to talk to a robot?
Programmatic Advertising
Online ads can be cost-efficient in and of themselves. But if you want to up the ante, consider Programmatic Advertising.
In a nutshell, Programmatic Advertising is the use of AI to buy online ad space. This removes the need to bid for your target keywords or ask for quotes and make proposals. As a result, you can generate quick wins fast.
And because of the convenience it provides, it is not surprising to see that Programmatic Advertising is taking digital marketing by storm.
Artificial Intelligence
After robotics, perhaps AI is the next thing that gains traction in global business. In fact, it is predicted that AI technologies will be pervasive in almost every software and service.
Google is an excellent example of a company that uses Artificial Intelligence. For instance, they would use anonymized location data from smartphones to predict how fast the traffic is moving.
So far, AI is used to collect and analyze data. These data could come in handy when making purchasing recommendations.
You can also use AI in customer relationship management (CRM). What happens is that you will collect and analyze data to gain insight into what your leads need. From there, you get to develop the right marketing strategy that can compel your leads to become paying customers.
Visual Search
No, we are not talking about looking for images. Visual search is more like using images as search queries.
Imagine this: You were walking in the park where you saw a beautiful flower, and you do not know what it is called. You can snap a photo of it using your phone and let it run through image recognition.
Within a couple of minutes, you can identify what that flower is.
In fact, Pinterest is one of the first platforms to jump on the bandwagon. Pinterest Lens is a visual search tool that lets you take a photo of an item to know what websites sell it.
Micro-Moments
According to Google, people make instant decisions based on things they want to know, want to visit, want to do, and want to buy. Hence, grabbing these opportunities will ensure that your brand is a top-of-mind choice.
The key here is to be there, be useful, and be quick.
So, how can you do it? Here are some quick tips:
- Prep your content for micro-moments
- Install a website tracking beacon
- Always consider user experience
- Make your website mobile-friendly
Sure, micro-moments is all about understanding your target market’s customer journey. But here’s the thing: A customer’s journey is never linear.
Hence, you will need to be dynamic with your marketing approach.
Digital Marketing Is Fast-Paced
Because we live in a fast-paced world, it only makes sense consumer interest and behavior are ever-changing. Hence, it would be best to keep yourself abreast of the marketing technologies that you can leverage.
Doing so can give you the first-mover advantage. It also allows you to explore other ways to improve your brand’s online visibility and expand your market reach.
Lastly, trends remind you that nothing is permanent. They happen because consumer behavior changes, and we need to be where they are.