It is the age of the digital marketer. Large agencies to individual freelancers both have similar abilities to promote a product. Here are the digital marketing trends and how you can stay ahead of it.
Work with Influencers
Many influencers have a steady following. A simple post with the right influencer can help your product or service go viral. These influencers have spent years building up their following.
Instagram influencer marketing is big business. The exciting thing is that you can still work within your budget and get a lot of great content – produced for you. While you should be responsible for the overall message, the leg work is done by the influencer.
User-Generated Content
Unlike the above, this is not paid for by you. In fact, this is content created by consumers who approve of your product – and wish to share. Bazaarvoice reported that user-generated content impacted the buying decisions of 84% of millennials and 70% of baby boomers.
Word-of-mouth and referrals are still very powerful. User-generated content is another form of referrals. To maximize the potential, you should encourage users to but never force the conversation. Have appropriate hashtags, so that you maximize the audience and so you can track its impact.
Accelerated Mobile Pages
Consider how many times a day you are using your mobile phone. In fact, you might be reading this currently on your mobile phone. People are also making a lot of purchases via their mobile device. A slow website can greatly reduce your sales.
AMP, which was initiated by Google, has a range of tools and information to help speed your site. AMP pages take less than 0.5 seconds to load. Your website speed is your business’ first impression and very important to keep visitors on your site. This tool also includes the ability to create websites, stories, ads, and emails.
Video
Cisco reports that by 2021, 82% of internet traffic will be through video. So if it isn’t something you are considering, then you will need to change your plan. Videos on social media sites are the most likely piece of content to go viral.
Facebook Lives are a great way to communicate directly with your audience – and is free to use. The reason live videos work is that humans are visual beings.
They like to see the product more than just on a flat lay photo. People are more interested when someone is talking about the product while displaying it. Video is very effective for the following reasons:
FOMO – videos of people enjoying something, triggers the fear of missing out. That fear then triggers the response of either searching for more information – or purchasing the product. If it is marketed at the right people, of course.
Cost Effective – A live video requires no editing. Everything that you intend to display will be prepared beforehand. ‘Going live’ is also free.
Real – there is a big call for brands to be authentic. Keeping the originality and personality that allows people to begin to feel like, this is a brand that they can identify with.
Events
Fuse digital with the real world. Creating spaces where people can feel like they are part of something is important. While in attendance, they will share images, lives, stories, and take photos.
Local events, festivals, pop-ups, and networking events are also important to be involved in. Bright, colorful, memorable with a unique offer will give you a real-world experience that can be shared digitally.
The face of marketing changes rapidly, with the consumer now being part of, and in fact, driving the conversation. It has never been a finer time to reassess your marketing plans and adjust to meet 2019 trends and beyond.
Great marketing means great connections with your audience.