4,5 billion people are active internet users nowadays, and many spend their days on the web and their social media feeds. However, it’s not so easy to stand out as a brand online since the competition is higher than ever with more and more businesses focusing their marketing efforts online first and foremost.
You can’t imagine any social media feed without visuals, and according to the research by Optimind technology, investing into the right images can bring you more than 90% views in general. Many businesses rely on stock images as the reliable and cost-effective source of interesting and artistic photos, graphics, and even videos.
Besides the appealing visuals, another crucial thing for the success of your digital marketing strategy is being relevant and up-to-date as a brand and always keeping up with the latest trends. This article lists the most important and insightful marketing trends you should be aware of in 2020 that might be of help when rethinking your digital marketing strategy.
- Video content is a must, not a choice
The most recent data suggests that in light of current events, video streaming traffic rates are higher than ever. At the moment video accounts for more than 60% of all the global internet traffic. It is also predicted that in a year or two video will account for more than 80% of all internet traffic.
You don’t need cinematography professionals to shoot videos for your Instagram account. You can shoot it with your own smartphone – social media users in general do appreciate authentic videos showing your products in real life. There are many awesome and free online tools to create animations and videos with graphics such as Crello that don’t require advanced design skills if you want to experiment with new formats.
- Ephemeral content and storytelling are replacing traditional publications on social media
Ephemeral, or short-lived content is the fastest growing type of content out there. Short content formats like Stories on Instagram and Facebook are blooming because the average attention span of users lasts for around 8 seconds and is predicted to become even shorter in the years ahead. That’s why many marketers try to engage users with interesting and appealing stories.
It is not enough to just post random stories from time to time. The new trend is to try to appeal to your target audience through the series of connected stories. That increases the chances of successful engagement as it keeps the user attention focused on the brand for a longer period of time. Or you can try out another form of storytelling which is a visual narrative in your feed posts.
- A creative and diverse content strategy on social media is the key to better engagement
It’s important to be creative in your social media marketing strategy. You should post different types of content on a daily basis to experiment and see what works for your audience and brings in better results. Most people don’t make an instant decision whether to buy a product or not, but when they see it several times in well-made, personalized, and intriguing ads, they might change their mind.
Think how your social media account is valuable for your target audience, and try to make your brand’s profile interesting, insightful, and appealing for your subscribers. In finding the right format and medium, you will edge closer to growing your following and appealing to larger groups of people.
- Marketers invite niche and alternative influencers for their campaigns
With influencer marketing estimated to be a multi-billion dollar industry, it’s common practice for brands to collaborate with influencers to create social media ad campaigns. Influencer marketing isn’t a new thing, but in 2020 the approach to working with influencers has started to change.
Instead of hiring a very famous influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers and spending a lot on their advertising campaign, marketers invite several niche influencers with smaller audiences to participate in their digital marketing projects. What’s great about social media communities around niche and alternative influencers on Instagram and YouTube is that their audiences really trust their opinions and are usually very loyal. So when you invite several niche influencers for your campaign, you get the chance to appeal to more of your potential clients.
- Peer marketing and user-generated content are more relevant than ever
In 2020 it’s pretty suspicious when a business doesn’t have any feedback from their satisfied customers or clients on their website and social media platforms. Clients’ feedback and reviews are the core of peer marketing and play a fundamental role for many digital businesses.
At the moment user-generated content (UGC) plays a more important role than ever for digital marketing strategies since the recent events led to limitations in producing content after the global quarantine hit the creative industry hard. That’s why many brands try to engage their audience by encouraging them to share their posts for contests or giveaways. It also allows them to significantly improve their brand awareness.
- Personalization is a new priority
In today’s competitive digital environment it’s hard to succeed with generic ads and one-fits-all digital marketing strategy. People have really stopped paying attention to boring generic content that does not appeal to them. To make your digital marketing efforts impactful, you should use a personalized approach since personalization is the key if you want loyal customers and followers.
You can implement personalization in different ways. For example, you can create several more personal social media ads since many platforms provide tools to choose the location, gender, age, interests and preferences of those who will see your ad on their feed. You can create several ad posts to target different groups within your target audience. Or you can offer the similar products on your website based on the links a user is clicking. You can also boost your email marketing by personalizing your messages and content to individual users.
- Marketers add interactivity to their email marketing
In 2020 it’s not enough to send boring text-only emails and newsletters since catching a user’s attention is not an easy task. The emerging trend in email marketing is interactive emails with thoughtful design and layout.
Interactive emails include animated ads, GIFs, and clickable CTA buttons. Making your email marketing efforts polished and beautiful is your way to engage more of your newsletter subscribers and boost your conversion rates since interactive ads work significantly better than text links.
- Chatbots and other AI-based technologies are on the rise
Although chatbots aren’t a new thing, in 2020 implementing artificial intelligence into your brand’s website is something worth exploring and paying attention to. According to Gartner, this year chatbots will cover 85% of customer interaction on websites, which means AI will manage most of such interactions without a human.
Of course, not every business can afford to spend on the latest technologies in these unstable times. However, if you haven’t lost your digital marketing budget, AI-based technologies are definitely worth considering since chatbots offer 24-hour service and instant response to clients. It is predicted that in a couple of years chatbots will be saving billions of dollars for businesses annually.
- Engaging employees on social media might change the game for many
Many businesses often overlook the power of professional networking through their employees’ advocacy. However, in 2020 more and more companies are encouraging their employees to connect their job positions and working titles to the brand’s page on their profiles. This underestimated approach can bring great benefits in terms of brand awareness.
Your employees have friends on their Facebook and connections on their LinkedIn which basically means the networking has already been done for you. Among those who stumble upon the job position update on their feeds might be a lot of your potential clients.
Being up-to-date with trends gives you a competitive advantage
To adapt and thrive as a company in these unstable times and with high competition, you should always monitor trends and adapt them to your digital marketing strategy frequently. With global digitalization speeding up, always learning something new and useful and being aware of the recent digital marketing trends is a must to remain afloat as a business.