Five Marketing Trends of 2019

In today’s marketing scene, it may seem like technology is taking over the job. Algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI), and robots are doing all the work and there is no need to spend effort to promote your brand or to engage a marketing consultant. However, this is not case. In fact we still need to be involved in our marketing. We still need that human element in our campaigns, after all, our clients and customers are all human! These are the five marketing trends of 2019 which incorporate both technology and human interaction together. It is something that you could use with your conventional marketing techniques!

 Artificial Intelligence Marketing and Machine Learning

We are sure that you have noticed that the related search queries on your search engine are automatically appearing all the time. And they are eerily accurate. This is the work of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms. It is due to these components that search engines are able to predict what you want to search on the internet. They are able to make sense of everyone’s data and identify the latest trends people are interested in. They prowl all over the internet and deliver relevant content and suggestions, all within seconds of your search. The best part is that they are smart and they continuously learn about new trends happening all around the world.

The AI and machine learning algorithms can help you propagate your message and products to the right audience. This will lead to more potential sales as the people that see your website and message would indeed be interested in what you have to offer. AI also can analyse the consumer trends and send that data to you for your analysis. You can plan your marketing strategies better. For instance, you can check out what is the latest trends happening around the world with Google Trends and see how many people are visiting and staying on your website with Google Analytics. From there, you can plan your next marketing campaign and see how well it is doing. The possibilities are endless, and AI and algorithms will only get better over the years.

 Chatbots

Still onto the theme of artificial intelligence, chatbots are something increasingly being used in many websites and companies. The idea of a chatbot is that it is a program that mimics the way a human talks. These chatbots are able to process human written and spoken language and deliver an appropriate response to the query to the best of its ability. Though sometimes, the AI may not be able to understand the natural language and deliver a completely wrong response to the user. However, they are always analysing the language and improving their response to the user. Even some chatbots are indistinguishable from human interaction.

Chatbots are getting popular amongst many people as they may not want to directly talk to someone on the phone. They provide quick answers for the people’s queries and in return, people can understand better what your company or brand is doing. For instance, if someone just wants to know the opening hours of your shop, he/she can just type that question to the chatbot and it will give her the answer. It save his/her time from calling/emailing and waiting for someone to respond. Moreover, it can free up manpower where employees can take more complex queries human to human.

Mobile Websites and Videos

This may sound like a simple reason but it makes a big difference to many people today. Many people are spending a lot of time on their phones, during their break times, on their commutes, and at homes too. This amounts to around four hours per day! Most of the people are on social media sites where they are looking through posts and videos. And most of the time, their phones are on the upright position.

For the convenience of your audience, it is better to optimise your website to make it more mobile friendly. You would need to ensure that your website does not take too long to load and that it is easy to read on the mobile screens. Short, informative videos can be made to capture the people’s attention to your company or channel. These videos can be shared across social media pages where people will be more aware of you. Ideally, the user would not have to turn their phone sideways to view your videos properly so that they would have uninterrupted engagement.

Social Media

It is no doubt that social media has a big role to play in all our lives. Most of the people will definitely have at least one social media account where they are scrolling through multiple posts, comments, videos and advertisements. Advertisements come in the form of sponsored posts where they appear on the user’s newsfeed. The types of ads that appear on the newsfeed would depend on the demographics of the target audience (eg. gender, age, occupation). So, if you create an ad on social media, it will reach to the right type of audience and gets more people to check out what you have.

Social media is also an excellent platform to connect with your audience. Your audience will be ‘liking’ and commenting on your posts where you can see what they like and what they do not. They offer important feedback, especially if you were underperforming in your services or products. Though the feedback can be intimidating, they are important to take note as they are the ones telling your what can be improved.

There are also social media influencers. They are essentially people who can influence the purchasing and lifestyle habits of a large number of people. They can be like celebrities, bloggers and even regular people (also known as micro influencers). Brands often engage these influencers to promote their products to a larger audience. Unlike the other forms of marketing, influencer marketing offers a form of interaction with your target audience. Even better now is doing it through micro influencers as their opinion will be seen as more genuine instead of being paid to promote.

Live Streaming

Live streaming is becoming a popular video tool for individuals and companies. It is a great way to connect with your audience and talk to them directly. Companies also collaborate with internet celebrities to market their products live for their fans. In return, your audience will feel that their views are being acknowledged and feel that they are participating in the growth of your company.

There are many ways to conduct live streams. One way is through YouTube where you can easily start a live stream. The stream can be about introducing a new product, how to use a product/ service or even just to have an informal chat with your audience. It is also a good way to listen to your audience questions and feedback. However, you would need to be proactive in the live stream and interact with the audience. After the stream, you can take the next step in social media and continue interacting with your audience.