By: Caroline Berryman, CMMP
As we begin a new year, it’s time to start creating our marketing plans. Before we do any strategizing, we need to take a close look at the marketing landscape and see what the 2019 trends are. One of the biggest trends is visual and voice searches. A recent report by Slyce, a US based visual search company, revealed that 74 per cent of customers found text-only searches to be insufficient when searching for products.
Today’s customers respond to images and the old adage that a ‘picture is worth a thousand words’ holds true when making a purchase. Visual search has been used by Pinterest and Google with great success.
Websites are valuable sources of information for customers. But only if the content is current and the search links are not broken. Also important are the naming conventions and alt-tags, which should be as descriptive as possible. All images should be accompanied by alt-tags and captions to provide context.
Today’s consumers are receiving simultaneous messages and to capture their attention and stand out from the crowd of multiple advertisers is not easy. Micro-moments is a concept that was introduced by Google in 2015. Micro-moments occur when people turn to their devices to act on a need to learn something, do something, discover something, watch something, or buy something. They are intent-rich moments when decisions are made and preferences shaped. In these moments, consumers’ expectations are higher than ever. Customers want to know more than the basic product details. Instead, they want to read reviews and evaluations from those who have already experienced the product and brand, before deciding for themselves. In 2019, companies need to invest in review marketing and incentivize customers to leave reviews.
Companies need to incorporate shorter advertising formats into their marketing strategy. Creating shorter content such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook Stories, where content disappears after 24 hours, allows companies to tell their stories in micro-moments.
Native advertising is a paid media strategy that matches what is on the website. It often contains a headline and description to entice users to click-through, which leads them to some form of sponsored content. Some examples of native advertisements include in-feed ads, promoted listings and paid search ads. According to FIPP (the network for global media), 54 percent of companies are using native advertisements, while 38 percent are likely to do so in the future.
Educating customers about products so they can better understand your brand is an important part of a marketing strategy, but companies need to ensure that they execute this in an authentic and engaging way. This can be achieved through interactive content such as personal interviews and or videos.
Influencer marketing will continue to be a great strategy for brands looking to expand their market, especially on social media. The three-way engagement between brands, influencers, and consumers is nothing new, but its use is growing at an enormous rate. Due to the popularity of social media, consumers are now more exposed to influencers, who often appeal to niche markets such as fitness, food, beauty, etc. According to ZDNet, one in three millennials revealled that they trust what an influencer says about a brand more than what the brand says about itself.
But being aware of these upcoming trends is not enough in today’s competitive markets. Timing is important so businesses must learn to be get on board early to distinguish themselves from their competition. It is critical that they find ways to relate to their customers and build trust and authenticity, which will lead to increased customer loyalty.