top digital marketing trends 2020

Top Digital Trends We Expect in 2020

As 2019 draws to a close, the buzz is around digital marketing trends that will shape the landscape in 2020. With technology, the battle lines are ever-changing.

Not only are new tools emerging fast, but they can also be implemented with relative ease quickly. While the list of game-changing marketing technology is long, we reckon the list discussed in this article are potential big winners.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

It’s no longer a buzz; it will make a significant difference in marketing as it would in other areas of a business. In an HBR article published earlier this year, it stated AI is not only getting better but it is also permeating every aspect of a business. The economic value of AI and machine learning is too big to be ignored. According to Techgrabyte, AI “will increase global GDP by up to 14% between now and 2030”. From marketing communication, e-commerce, content development to personalisation, expect AI to have a big role.

Chatbots

Conversational marketing will be in the playbook of successful marketers in 2020. To this end, we expect chatbots to have a central role in this development. It has been reported that by 2020, nearly 9 in 10 points of customer service will be driven by chatbots. The fact that customer service will be available 24/7 is a big draw. With the help of AI, chatbots will not only sound more human but can be programmed to be humanly intelligent too!

Shoppable posts

Two things drive this trend – the fact that consumers save time when purchasing items and the fact that people trust recommendations from their peers. In a nutshell, shoppable posts shorten the sales cycle. Think of shoppable posts as window shopping in the digital age. You may have started without purchase intent but eventually end up buying something.

Visual search

Why will this trend pick up? Because humans are visual creatures. We perceive, learn and store information faster with visuals. Thanks to smartphones, people can ‘outsource’ this job. We don’t have to rely on our brains to do it. It’s not surprising, then, that Pinterest and Google have been perfecting their visual search capabilities.

Growth of micro-moments

Our personal smart devices have become an indispensable part of our lives. We turn to it for almost everything – thanks to Google. This has created the phenomena of micro-moments. Google has identified 4 of I-want-to moments:

– Know
– Go
– Do
– Buy

With advances in voice and video search technology, we expect the growth of micro-moments to experience a sharp uptick. To leverage from this, marketers need to be present in social and digital marketing mediums when these moments occur.

Omnichannel marketing strategy

Marketers are spoilt for choice when it comes to digital and social media channels. Omnichannel marketing is not about being on any and every platform for the sake of it. It’s being where it matters most according to the buyer’s journey. Consumers may turn to our blogs for information, Facebook for reviews, Pinterest to make comparisons and back to our online store to buy. Understand their journey first before building your omnichannel marketing strategy.

Interactive content

People love to be entertained and interactive content is a great way to achieve this as it breaks the monotony of reading. In addition, it allows the reader to pause, think and visualise how they can apply the facts and information shared in the content. From quizzes, polls to 360-degree videos, make your content interactive to increase engagement.

Content marketing

9 in 10 B2B marketers believe content positions their brand as a credible authority in their field. With ad blockers being a common feature in personal devices, great content will put you in front of more consumers than an ad. Its cost-effectiveness is another reason for you to have it in your marketing playbook.

It’ll be an exciting marketing year ahead in 2020 with more goodies in store. Connect with us to learn more about the trends we’ve shared here.