January 13, 2020
Author: Ben Halverson
Organization: Lorman Education Service
As we enter the decade of the 2020's, new digital marketing trends are appearing on the scene, and older paradigms are transitioning into more relevant forms. It's important for business owners and entrepreneurs to stay abreast of the latest developments in the world of online advertising. The following information discusses 7 key trends to be aware of in 2020, and beyond.
SERP Position Zero Marketing
"Position zero" refers to the featured snippet that Google often returns as its primary search result. One study found that over 60% of Google search results include a featured snippet. The businesses that grab position zero will have a key advantage over their competitors.
While many companies are still investigating how to achieve position zero, expect to see an increasing number of SEO specialists and marketing agencies offer this service in the years to come.
Use of Visual Content
Visual content marketing includes in-site videos, YouTube channels, and even visual search. In fact, about 62% of Millennials are more interested in the development of visual search technology than any other marketing tool.
Many businesses will likely continue to focus on building a strong content generation strategy focused around visual content, and may also begin investing in visual search development and strategy.
Voice Search Optimization
Approximately one-fifth (20%) of Internet users employ voice search. It is likely that this statistic will be much higher in the next few years.
Businesses are preparing for the voice search explosion by crafting content that includes long-tail keywords and FAQ pages crafted to be more conversational (e.g., pages that answer questions a user may verbally ask).
Customer Experience (CX)
Research indicates that at least 73% of consumers view customer experience as an important factor in their purchase decisions. Customer experience involves every aspect of the customer's journey through the sales funnel, including marketing, sales, POS touch points, and support.
With each passing year, more companies are investing in CX optimization. For example, many businesses are implementing programs to lower their Customer Effort Score (CES), a measure of efficiency (or lack thereof) within transactions.
Shoppable Posts
Social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are attracting an ever-increasing number of users. Instagram alone claims to have approximately 1 billion users, 90% of which are followers of commercial brands.
Innovative marketers are taking advantage of the popularity of such platforms by developing and publishing "shoppable posts;" in other words, posts that show a certain product, and link to the product vendor with the click of a button. Expect to see this trend gain momentum in the new decade.
Live Video
As mentioned above, consumers enjoy visual content. Interestingly, on average people spend 3 times more time watching live video streams than they do pre-recorded content.
Companies are leveraging customers' fascination with live video by using this medium to promote their brands and products. For example, some businesses use live product demonstrations to generate interest in a new line, or increase engagement levels with current users.
Chatbot Usage
In the digital world, chatbots offer several key advantages over human agents. For instance, they can be available 24/7 for customer inquiries, can handle most routine tasks in a matter of seconds, and can serve as helpful lead-qualifying "screens" for live agents.
Chatbots are already a common sight around the Internet; expect more businesses, no matter their size, to utilize these robots for customer service and marketing.
2020 promises to hold new and exciting channels, tools, and techniques for digital marketing. If you'd like to learn more about the latest developments in the digital marketing world, reach out to us today for information on our catalog of continuing education courses. We'd be happy to help you find the curriculum most relevant to your field.
Article Sources:
- https://sparktoro.com/blog/google-ctr-in-2018-paid-organic-no-click-searches/
- https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/why-visual-search-will-be-one-of-the-biggest-digital-marketing-trends-of-20/545999/
- https://www.pwc.com/us/en/advisory-services/publications/consumer-intelligence-series/pwc-consumer-intelligence-series-customer-experience.pdf
- https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-effort-score