Marketing has been around since long before the internet appeared, but, with the advancement of technology, many aspects of our lives changed, and that includes the ways of advertising our products and services. Digital marketing is a new trend that is constantly being renewed. Year after year, new channels, trends, tools and strategies appear, seeking to be more efficient for both salespersons and customers alike. Before defining what the trending marketing channels will be for 2020, it is necessary to analyze the new strategies that will lead.
- Live video streaming. This is the new trend that social media influencers, celebrities, sportspersons and so on have been using to approach the audience in a more personal way. It provides customers with many insights and day-to-day occurrences, making them feel more connected.
- On-SERP SEO optimization. Google’s new trend is about providing zero-click results. They are a search result in which Google provides the search answer with automated snippets, i.e., asking for the weather and getting an instant answer, instead of having to scroll down (which prevents the user from actually seeing the AdWords results and organic search results). The snippets sometimes come from websites that rank on the first page of SERP, so the new goal of marketers and advertisers is to figure out On-SERP SEO.
- Smart Speakers advertising. According to Google, people are likely to ask to their smart speaker before using their phones to type. 20% of mobile searches in the Google App are done through the SS. Therefore, it is natural to think of Smart Speaker Marketing. There are no advertising slots built for this feature per se, but it is because of this that marketers have become creative when it comes to using this new feature to advertise, from building the so-called “Alexa Skills” to buying ad slots inside contents designed specifically for the smart speakers.
- Native advertising. According to the Wall Street Journal, the spend on native advertising for 2019 is likely to reach $41.1 billion, and the Native Advertising Institute expects an increase of 46% in revenue generation from native advertising for 2021. As you can see, although this tendency has been around for a while, it’s becoming increasingly popular. There’s a good customer response to ads that naturally blend with the platforms they use to reach their audiences.
- Hypertargeting. How many times have you encountered an Ad that has nothing to do with your tastes or interests? It is likely that many times, and it is also likely that you have ended up ignoring the Ad completely. According to Forbes Magazine, brands that bombard audiences with irrelevant ads or content that does not match their interests, will be disregarded by 49% of people.
- New costumer behaviors. Creating good content is not enough anymore. Some recent studies show that 86% of women consult social media before deciding to buy a product. That means that working with influencers won’t be so much of a choice for companies and businesses, but a new step in the list of their marketing and sales strategies. Also, according to Wyzowl, about 95% of people watch videos of products or services explanations, which leads to video marketing.
There are still some strategies that are to be leading in 2020, but the ones we have mentioned are, so far, the most popular. That said, we can proceed with the marketing channels that will be trending for this next year:
- Google. Search Engines will always be at the top of the list. People always go to Google or another search engine when they have a problem that needs to be solved, either by organic search results or by the new voice command (smart speakers) feature. Old strategies like paid search traffic along with newer ones like On-SERP SEO and artificial intelligence take place on Google.
- Social Media traffic. Social networks will continue to be an important part of digital marketing. Many of the strategies mentioned above take part in social media: live streaming through Facebook, Instagram or Periscope, native advertising (Tumblr’s is an excellent example), influencers, video marketing, basically all of them.
- Referrals traffic. While it is true that costumers spend a large part of their time on social networks, they also have websites that they often frequent. News, blogs, recipes and any type of content. That is a fact that will not change and that regardless of the innovations that come, you should take advantage of that. You can use these websites to publish useful information about your products and add links or, you can publish advertising banners on said websites.
- Omni-channel selling. This strategy puts your customers at the core. It removes the boundaries between marketing and sales channels by treating them as a whole instead of independent silos. In short, it merges all channels (onsite, email, social, mobile) in order to create an excellent and smooth customer experience.
It is not so much about which channels will displace others for becoming more relevant, but about the new ways of using each one.