As we move into the new year, we want to keep 20/20 vision on 2020 trends. We’ve found 9 expected marketing trends for 2020 based on insights from trendsetters and business analysts. These trends, we hope, will give you insight into what consumers expect so you can enhance their experience on your digital platforms.
Whether you plan to reach new customers through email marketing, social media, improved SEO on your website, or other digital advertising – in 2020, digital marketing will continue its popularity.
Let’s take a look at the 9 expected marketing trends for 2020:
1. Artificial Intelligence
AI-powered technology and automation to assist marketing efforts is on the rise. The use of AI is beneficial to marketers because it’s all about personalization for the user. The use of algorithms for AI technology makes predicting when content will be most valuable to its target much easier. AI stores behavior insights from users and predicts what they will do next or things they will want to see. This personalizes their experience, making it more authentic. It also helps with capturing and converting the user with minimal effort on your part.
2. Personalization
Consumers are sophisticated at identifying and tuning out generic ads that have no real connection to them. In recent years, the rise of influencer marketing has created a culture of humanized experiences that forge a real connection between a brand and its target audience. When creating content and ads that speak to everyday life, personalization helps consumers see how a product can fit into their lifestyle. This then makes that product or service become need-to-have in their lives.
3. Voice Activated Searching
In 2020, marketing trends will continue to beef up digital efforts to accommodate the use of voice activated searching. With so many consumers using Siri, Alexa, Amazon Echo, Google Home, and other similar assistants, the original SEO is being challenged. Instead of typing search information into a search engine, people are now speaking to their devices and relying on the device to find their results for them. This kind of searching expands the need for traditional SEO, the kind that searched for keywords and meta tags behind the scenes.
4. Interactive Content
Building a great customer experience and engaging people in a long-term relationship is a must. Consumers want to support brands that give them a reason to be involved. They want to support companies that provide them with a personal experience. Brands that are best at capturing people’s interest and attention are the ones that will engage people for the longest. Using quizzes, polls, videos, or 360 views will help with this effort, making you more relevant.
5. Content Marketing
Quality content allows you to show your expertise and communicate to your customers from a place of authority. Content marketing aligns with storytelling, a process of building a relationship with your audience so that they care about your brand and convert as supporters. People are now more willing to spend time reading a post and engaging with your content to vet your credibility and expertise. Content marketing avoids the outright “Buy this now!” campaign. Instead, it is a softer message that aims to create a connection that leads to sales.
6. Shoppable Posts
No newsflash here – consumers want a quick and easy way to do things. If there are too many steps involved, the likelihood of users completing your call to action is low. Shoppable posts are an upward trend that is expected to continue. This includes ads and posts with direct links or buttons that allow the user to purchase immediately. This increases sales by capitalizing on impulse buying. It also promotes social sharing of products…leading to more sales!
7. Video Content
Visuals are a must! Video is the new go-to for many marketers. In fact, Facebook Live videos have quadrupled in a single year producing six times as many interactions as traditional videos. With the top three social sites of 2019 – YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram – focusing on the use of video, marketers expect to see this trend rising in 2020.
8. Privacy
Consumers are more concerned about their information and privacy than ever. With so much of our personal information stored online, consumers want to know that you’ve taken precautions to keep their information safe. Don’t be bashful in announcing your security features – people are comforted by them. Making security features on your site obvious makes users feel more protected. In turn, this makes them more likely to give you their information and complete a transaction.
9. Micro Influencers
A decline is expected in the use of social media influencers with thousands and millions of followers. Consumers are turning to influencers with a smaller, more trusted appeal. They want to buy from someone that creates an intimate connection, one that speaks to their real life situation. Marketers believe, because of this, both macro and micro influencers will use social stories to capture attention and grow their audience in 2020.
Click here for the Top 7 social sites of 2019.