The 8 Marketing Trends to Watch in 2019

2018’s a Wrap! It’s time to catch up again with these marketing trends to watch in 2019 if you want to keep driving those sales to your online store.

You finally mastered 2018’s marketing tactics and now 2019 rolls out with it’s new marketing trends to watch out for.

Just when you believe you know all there is to know about the best online tactics for your business, consumer demand shifts, a new technology emerges, or a platform makes a big update that can impact your strategy.

So, what marketing trends do you need to keep an eye on this year?

Great Question!

 

If you want to grow your brand and revenue this year, check out these following 8 marketing trends to watch in 2019 when devising your next campaign.

 

1. Chatbots

Customer service should be at the heart of every business.

If you want to build trust, encourage loyalty and boost your reputation, you would be smart to utilize chatbots in 2019.

The AI technology is providing a convenient way for customers to receive answers to their questions, rather than having to telephone a real person.

You can trust many of your competitors will be turning to chatbots, as a Grand View Research report stated the market is expected to reach $1.25 billion by 2025, as it will grow annually at a rate of 24.3%.

 

2. Voice Search

Search Engine Land has estimated voice search commerce sales will reach $40 billion by 2022.

If you want to gain a head start, you would be smart to embrace the growing trend in 2019.

Customers no longer need to click a button to make an order online, as they can say a command out loud to their closest smart speaker. It also makes it simple to find information without the need to pull out a smartphone or computer.

The artificial intelligence is also become smarter with each passing year, as the number of errors the likes of Siri, Google and Alexa make have considerably reduced.

It is, therefore, essential to optimize your site for voice searches so that you can benefit from the growing annual sales.

However, voice search optimization will be different from traditional SEO tactics. For example, you will need to produce well-written meta-descriptions, so the content reads better when read aloud via a smart speaker.

 

3. Cybersecurity

One trend you cannot afford to overlook is cybersecurity, which is becoming an increasingly big threat for businesses large and small with each passing year. It is crucial to gain a thorough understanding of the latest cybersecurity trends, so you can continually protect your business and safeguard your consumer data, which could otherwise affect your online reputation and profitability.

Cybersecurity threats to watch out for include:

• Crypto jacking
• GDPR violations
• Ransomware
• Spear phishing

Thankfully, there are several cybersecurity tactics that many businesses are expected to utilize in 2019, such as multi-factor authentication and cybersecurity tools. You can also consult the finest software development companies to create custom software to secure your data effectively.

 

4. Vertical Video

Modern audiences don’t always want to turn their mobile devices to the side to watch a video on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram.

Thanks to the introduction of IGTV on Instagram, many businesses are now watching online videos in vertical mode. It is a worthy consideration to keep in mind when creating videos for a social media campaign.

Vertical videos have a higher completion rate.

According to mobile advertising platform, MediaBrix, vertical videos see a 90% higher completion rate compared to horizontal videos.

Their data also states that less than 30% of users turn their phones sideways to watch an ad and those who actually do only watch 14% of the video ad.

 

About 52% of global internet traffic in the 2nd quarter of 2018 came from mobile traffic alone which shows that the way we access content is changing.

 

 

5. Authentic Influencer Collaborations

Modern consumers are now well-aware that many influencers promote false views or products they don’t use, but influencer marketing is far from over.

If you want to connect with your target market effectively, you must work with influencers as if they are respected broadcasters or publishers, and create collaborative, authentic and credible promotions on their channel to engage your demographic.

 

6. Increased Email Marketing Personalization

Email marketing will continue to be a major communication channel in 2019, but generic emails might no longer prove to be as effective. If you want to run an effective marketing campaign, you would be smart to move towards automation and, most importantly, personalization when sending newsletters to subscribers.

If you can send an email that relates to a specific action, such as a subscriber browsing a select product on your website, they will be more likely to engage with your brand and buy the product. For example, you could send them a demo video or a promotional price within a personalized email, which can encourage a subscriber to become a customer.

 

7. Site Speed

It is believed the many changes Google made to its algorithm in 2018 will evolve in 2019, which could impact many websites’ visibility in the search engines.

One change you will want to watch out for is Google’s Speed Update, which will lead to the penalization of sites with slow speeds. It’s thought Google might change the algorithm this year, which could impact even more websites that have failed to improve their speed.

It is one ranking factor many marketers will be paying close attention to in 2019 and beyond. To boost your site’s speed and avoid penalization in the search engines, you can:

• Minimize HTTP requests
• Combine and minimize files
• Decrease server response time
• Change web hosting
• Run a compression audit
• Reduce the number of plugins on your site
• Use web caching
• Implement Gzip compression

 

8. Visual Search

Visual search enables users to upload an image to perform a search and receive more specific results.

Many social media channels are utilizing its power by integrating visual search into their platforms. For example, Pinterest has launched the new visual search tool Lens, which can help its users snap a photo of a product and discover where to find it online or find something similar.

Pinterest isn’t the only one embracing visual search, either. Google Lens can recognize items, landmarks and other objects via a camera app on Google Pixel phones. For example, if you are standing in New York, you could take a photograph of the Empire State Building, and you will receive more details about the world famous landmark.

With Google and Pinterest providing visual search capabilities, don’t be surprised if other channels jump on the bandwagon in the near future. Gain an advantage in your industry by preparing your business for visual search queries, so you can drive more traffic to your website and increase your customer base.

 

 

If you’re looking to increase customer engagement, attract new customers and improve ROI for marketing dollars then these are the marketing trends to watch in 2019. Actually, these are the marketing trends to master!