By now, 2019 marketing strategy plans are underway. We've all heard it before - "New Year, New _____". But, is your company actively keeping up with projected trends for mobile and digital marketing? RadioMax took a deeper look into the most anticipated shifts in trends for the most effective marketing efforts...and some should come as no surprise. Check out our research-based predictions for 2019!
1. "Smart Marketing" - Video Ads, Voice Search, Augmented Reality
Video: Across the internet, video ads and video marketing is dominating. Over the last few years, it has become increasingly popular, mostly because of the ability of a brand give the consumer an interactive and engaging experience, while spreading a message. According to Cisco, 82% of internet traffic will be through video by 2021. But, video marketing isn't the only driving force behind this traffic. Voice search is booming.
Voice Search: At home smart speakers like the Google Home and Amazon's "Alexa" are almost a staple. Because of this, marketers need to be aware of how people are searching for their products - especially those with mobile apps being launched through these products. Business 2 Community shows latest statistics reporting 50% of all searches being voice searches by 2020. As of now, popular search engines Google and Bing are showing more than 20% of all searches being voice searches. Optimizing this feature will be critical.
Augmented Reality: This trend was one that came as a bit of a surprise initially, but this technical capability goes beyond gaming...especially in 2019. Large brands like Apple and Google already utilize this feature for demos, and it's going to continue to grow. The reason behind this deals directly with engagement levels. According to Smart Insights, the total count of augmented reality/virtual reality based apps will go beyond 5 billion by next year. Developers have understood the need to deliver more immersive, innovative, 360° experiences to users.
2. Real-time Interaction
What mobile devices have allowed, is the ability for marketers to reach consumers at times they were otherwise "unreachable". On one hand, this allows brands an incredible amount of access to consumers. On the other hand, brands have to be aware of a consumers need for convenience. At any given moment, a consumer may be digesting information, and it must be presented in a way they want it. Immediacy is key. When planning, keep in mind the necessity of calls-to-action that are not only effectively engaging and entertaining, but also are allowing the user to take action immediately. Users react to what they like, and conversions/click thru rates will be seemingly higher when they are able to to do this from the palm of their hand.
3. Personalization
One of the top trends in 2018, personalization maintains its popularity through 2019! Of course, the goal of marketing is to gain new clients/consumers, and to retain the current ones. However, what gets lost in translation a lot of the times is the way we craft our messages. We've heard it many times, but the client/consumer wants to feel important. Our messages need to be tailored to what they want, not what we want. In fact, Forbes reports 52% of consumers say they’re likely to switch brands if a company doesn’t make an effort to personalize its communications. Knowing your audience helps you to create the most effective messages and campaigns.
4. Transparency
Along with personalization, transparency is another trend keeping its strength in the new year. Leveraging "ethos" gives a personality to the brand, and holds them accountable. It's no wonder this became a popular form of marketing. Inc. states positioning product benefits as a seamless part of an intentional lifestyle results in a slow and steady conversion. If there's any second guessing this concept of transparency one step further, 2017 has taught us that a brand’s most valuable product benefit is "ethos".
5. Social Media
Social media is everywhere. Our number 5 isn't so much a prediction as it is a fact. So long are the days where this is an optional or experimental medium - now, even having just one dominating platform is simply not enough. To go off our real-time interaction prediction, clients, consumers, and potential consumers want to be able to to stay up-to-date (in real time!) with brands, at their convenience. In addition, according to We Are Social, there are 3.196 billion global social media users, which equates to 42% market penetration. And, to top this off, We Are Social has also reported internet users have now surpassed the 4 billion mark, and more than 2/3 of the world's population are smart-phone users. In conclusion? Make sure your social media marketing strategy plans are in place.
Something to keep an eye on in 2019: Artificial Intelligence
Developers are continuing to find more uses for artificial intelligence (AI) - specifically in the development stages of mobile apps. However, this is not limited to app production. These capabilities reach mobile, in-app use, too. Smart Insights states "the tech enhances the efficiency of voice commands and predicts decisions you make before you execute them on your device. AI improves efficiency for marketers on mobile platforms. Tech like Facebook’s “pixel,” allow marketers to push products and services you may be interested in consuming, directly into your newsfeed. Mobile apps with built-in AI support will become even more mainstream in 2019 and beyond. ‘Intelligent’ digital assistants like Google Assistant, Siri and Amazon Alexa are showing the way – and the impact of ‘robots’ in day-to-day activities will increase considerably in the foreseeable future."
One interesting aspect of AI within a mobile app is the concept of chatbots, which plays on the importance of "real-time" interaction consumers want with their brands. Moreover, this growing trend of utilizing this feature has the potential to cut back costs exponentially.
