Have you been working on your 2019 digital marketing strategy?
Great job! This diligence will help you increase your business revenue by connecting you with new clients. Additionally, it keeps your existing clientele engaged with your company and retains those customers.
However, trends shift constantly. Are you keeping up with those crucial changes? Here, we take a look at the trends that are at the forefront this year.
Making mobile friendly choices
Is your website mobile friendly? If it is not, you are missing out on getting love from Google. I’m tackling this bullet point first, as it’s the perhaps the hottest topic among the digital marketing trends this year.
To help me explain this fully, I visited Google’s webmaster blog on the topic.
In a 2018 post, they explain that in the past, they customarily ranked websites based on the desktop version of the site. However, they have moved to a system called “mobile-first” indexing which places the preference squarely on the shoulders of mobile friendly websites.
The implication of this on your digital marketing strategy is clear.
If your website is not mobile- friendly, it will quickly fall into the realm of irrelevance,
and your organic traffic will plummet.
Employing chatbots
Chatbots are everywhere; you cannot escape them, it seems.
Chatbots are an artificial intelligence-based technology that you see everywhere right now. This technology offers your customers the opportunity to engage with your brand any time, day or night.
Think of chatbots as your company’s ideal customer service agent.
They never call out sick from work, always address customer queries quickly, keep meticulous records of every customer contact, and remain calm and polite—even to the most difficult of customers.
Using chatbot technology maximizes efficiency by keeping your focus on the bigger-picture items so you can run your company successfully.
Should you decide to embrace this digital marketing trend, you will be in auspicious company. Here are five world-renowned brands who have been using chatbots as part of their digital marketing strategy with enormous success:
- Sephora: The Sephora makeup online retail site offers users access to a virtual makeup artist. Users take a selfie, upload it to the “artist,” and select custom-recommended makeup shades from the comfort of home. The app allows the user to conveniently accept the suggestion and add it to her shopping cart with just a couple of clicks or decline the recommendation and keep shopping for the perfect color.
Marvel Comics: Marvel Comics immerses users into an environment in which they become their favorite superhero and join in a storyline. This is a genius digital marketing strategy, as it engages users for long spans of time and exposes them to in-app advertising.
![1800 flowers chatbot strategy]()
1-800-Flowers: Not only does the floral industry Goliath enable customers to use their e-commerce site to order gift baskets or flowers, but they also offer them the opportunity to receive real-time delivery updates.
- Starbucks: Java lovers rejoice! The Starbucks virtual barista can accept your order from an app or the ecommerce website, complete your payment (it even offers to include a tip), and ensures that your local shop has your caffeine fix ready and waiting for pickup at a predetermined time.
- H&M: Clothing retailer H&M engages users via their virtual stylist chatbot. Users can view images of complete outfits as the stylist asks them questions about which styles they love the most. The chatbot then suggests complete outfits based on the data they gather and stores a “style profile” in their system for future shopping sessions.
Continuing on the path to long-format content
Google is like a ravenous beast clamoring to be fed. Constantly, and in enormous amounts.
While we will never know precisely how Google determines what content rises to the top of the SERPs, one thing is clear:
Google favors long-format content, from website copy to blog posts, over shorter content.
While Google still only requires 300 words for content to index, that is bare bones content which will not be likely to rank high enough to matter.
According to SEO guru Neil Patel, blog posts that make the first page of the SERPs share an essential key to success–a word count that averages 1,890 words.
Be honest with yourself. Do you really intend to crank out almost 2,000 of excellent content, week in and week out? Probably not. However, strive to consistently produce at least 1,000 word blog posts weekly peppered with occasional long-format content at least once a month.
This preference for long content is not “new.” However, it is significant for your success, so I wanted to underscore the importance of creating longer blog posts for your website.
Long format content is not a “trend” but a standard practice that you must adopt to remain competitive in the SERPs.
Getting hyper-personalized
Another trend that you can’t omit from your digital marketing strategy is personalizing the delivery of your content.
First, consider your email marketing campaign as a chance to connect with your subscribers in a way that makes them feel very special—by using their name.
Many research studies have been conducted that prove that to a human, hearing their own name is one of the most influential sounds. A name reinforces a person’s intrinsic value and connects them to their identity.
That said, you can no longer send out generic email templates that fail to address your user by name and, when appropriate, their company name.
Newsletter platforms now recognize this importance. Most have already upgraded to allow you to add fields that will parse in user names to help you up your email marketing game.
Second, consider segmenting email list by user preference, buying history, and purchase history.
Zeroing in with the right marketing at the most likely to convert prospects will increase your conversions and make your users feel that you genuinely have taken the time to understand their needs (which you have!)
So, not sure how to start segmenting new users who have found your website?
Look no further than your subscription form. Instead of collecting only a name and email address, consider adding checkboxes that allow the users to indicate their interests and what materials they wish to receive from you.
Surging voice searches
We have become dependent on technology driven by voice search. Some of these are probably very familiar to you—Siri, Alexa, Bixby, and Cortana, to name a few.
Voice search is a surging trend that shows no signs of a slowdown.
That is a fact that comes straight from Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google. In December of 2018, Pichai testified in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee regarding Google’s data collection practices.
During that testimony, Pichai revealed that 20% of Google queries that come from mobile devices are initiated by voice search.
When you consider the sheer number of cell phones in use throughout the world today, one thing becomes evident. There are more voice searches conducted every day than most of us had imagined.
So, how does this information impact your digital marketing strategy?
Think of the difference between the spoken word and the written word.
Why you enter a search term in using your keyboard (either on a laptop or a cell phone), you probably type in phrases or keywords that are short and to the point.
However, if you were searching for that same information using voice search, you talk to your device as if it’s a confidante and use longer phrases and complete thoughts.
Here’s an illustration of how different these searches are.
Let’s pretend that a user wants to learn how to bake sourdough bread. She types a very short phrase via her keyboard: sourdough bread.
The SERPs display sponsored ads for flour, a couple of videos on how to knead bread, and a local display ad from a bakery. Towards the bottom of page one in the results, she finds blogs that have recipes for sourdough bread.
Take that same user and pretend she used her voice search. She entered the following voice search: “I need a delicious recipe for sourdough bread.”
This time, the top result in the SERPs is a recipe for sourdough bread rather than bakeries that bake sourdough bread.
Why? Because she was not typing, she was speaking, and the search picked up the extra word “recipe” and located more precise results.
This illustration creates an awareness that we must pay careful attention to crafting strong long-tail keywords that have a natural ring to them to capture that ever-rising number of voice search users.
Streaming live content
Live streamed content continues to rise in popularity with users. There’s an immediate connection in a user’s mind that he must tune in and watch…right now…or he will miss out on something urgent. This sense of urgency allows you to capture users practically instantly.
This is an approachable element for most brands to embrace. It’s right there in the Facebook Live Video platform, just waiting for you to adopt it. You have the capability to reach out in real-time and influence your followers.
Your followers appreciate learning more about you and your business. People will only transact with brands they know and trust; streamed content allows you to become that entrusted company.
Streaming content fosters your creativity. Sure, you can use it to promote your products.
However, think outside the traditional marketing box. Share glimpses of life at your company, introduce your co-workers and team, let your followers into your company for a first-hand look at the inner workings.
Once your subscribers meet the faces and people behind the brand, they will become more likely to convert.
Why? This trust factor stems from you making your brand more authentic, accessible, and transparent. It’s a killer weapon to add to your digital marketing arsenal.
Social media messaging tools
Social media marketing is not dead. It remains a firm favorite of marketers and users alike. However, social media platforms have upped the game and added messaging tools that allow people and companies to connect via online chat. Aside from chatbots, social media messaging tools allow people to reach out to their favorite companies with just a few taps.
Here some amazing statistics that support the social media messaging trend.
Facebook Messenger serves 1.3 billion monthly users. Their competitor, WhatsApp, hosts 1.3 billion monthly users. Combined this adds up to 2.6 billion active users.
Why would business owners opt for this option over chatbots?
First, those who are newer to digital marketing find social messaging tools more user-friendly. Even a business owner who’s not especially technically skilled can find their way around a social messaging tool.
Second, the cost of social messaging apps (free, in most cases) entices start-ups and smaller businesses to adopt the technology.
Three, social messaging apps allow businesses to tip-toe into the pool without diving in head first. Taking the approach of using social media messaging tools allows these businesses to “try out” whether they enjoy being that closely connected to users before investing in chatbots.
While users don’t receive the instant gratification that they get from chatbots, they do feel an instant connection, unlike an email that they suspect will go unanswered.
Embracing a new digital marketing strategy
It can be scary when it comes time to welcome a new digital marketing strategy or two. But remember, digital marketing is like an ever-shifting tide. To be successful, you must adopt new strategies, try new technologies, and master new tools.
Most of all, you must continue to get inside the head of your users (figuratively speaking, of course!).
As consumers demand easier searches, more attentive service, and convenience, you should comply with these wishes.
You can no longer avoid these digital marketing trends, as they are here to stay for 2019. Embrace them so that you can continue to win more sales, satisfy more customers, and watch your business grow.
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Deborah Tayloe
Deborah is a blogger and freelancer who often writes for EmailMeForm. When she’s not blogging, you’ll probably find Deborah working on DIY projects around her home in North Carolina.
