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Digital Marketing trends are ever-changing and will change even more in 2019.
According to Digital 2018: Q4 Global Digital Statshot by We Are Social & Hootsuite, here are the essential headlines for digital in 2018:
- There are almost 4.2 billion internet users around the world in October 2018, up 7 percent since this time last year.
- Around 3.4 billion people around the world used social media in September 2018, up 10 percent versus September 2017.
- More than 5.1 billion people now use a mobile phone, with most using a smartphone.
2018 was the year of data privacy issues. In March 2018, news broke that consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested 50 million Facebook profiles in a major data breach. In April 2018, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of a congressional hearing. U.S. committees began looking into how Facebook gathered advertising data and how and why it showed articles from untrustworthy sources. Amid the data breach scandals, the #deletefacebook movement was trending on Twitter. General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) came into effect in May 2018, it regulates the processing by an individual, a company or an organisation of personal data relating to individuals in the EU. Just recently in December 2018, Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified in front of the U.S. congress on privacy & data collection.
Digital marketing trends that has worked for you in 2018 might not be as effective in 2019.
Here are some of the biggest digital marketing trends that you need to pay attention to in 2019.
1. Conversational Marketing
Pix credit: Chatbots Magazine
“Conversational marketing or conversation marketing is a one-to-one approach to marketing that companies use to shorten their sales cycle, learn about their customers, and create a more human buying experience.” says Erik Devaney of Drift. Conversational marketing is very effective when you engage with people that are on your website that are looking for something specific. Instead of forcing people to fill out static lead forms and wait for follow-ups or emails (that might never come), conversational marketing focuses on engaging people in real-time, both with human-to-human conversations and human-to-chatbot conversations.Thanks to the rise of intelligent conversational marketing platforms like Drift and Intercom, any time a potential customer asks a question, your company can now be there to provide a real-time response — 24/7, 365.
2. Audio
Pix credit: Thomas Le on Unsplash
Audio is the most convenient form of content to consume, according to Podcast Insights, 49% of podcasts are consumed at home and 29% of podcasts are consumed in a car. According to Fast Company, in March 2018, Apple Podcasts passed 50 billion all-time episode downloads and streams. We are also witnessing the rise of voice-controlled speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home. Vaynermedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk says, “If you consider podcasting to be the current go-to-destination for creative, then Alexa skills are the beachfront property vacation, yet to be discovered and booked up by the masses.” In 2018, top brands like Tide are using voice assistants to engage their consumers.”Voice is a good medium to build relationships at scale, when people are consuming your content through audio, you have most of their focus, that focus is priceless attention,” says Eric Siu of Single Grain.
3. Facebook Advertising
Pix credit: Will Francis on Unsplash
Despite its negative turn of events in 2018, Facebook still experienced quarterly growth. The world’s largest social site added 38 million new users in the three months to June, representing 1.7 percent growth quarter-on-quarter, Facebook still accounts for roughly two in every three of the world’s social media users. According to Digital 2018: Q4 Global Digital Statshot, Facebook’s advertising platform is reporting growth of 65 million users since July 2018. Not forgetting Facebook advertising manager is also used for Instagram. Instagram advertising is reported to reach 196 million global users below the age of 25. Facebook and Instagram advertising remains a powerful tool to deliver highly engaging video or visual advertising to a clearly-defined audience. Facebook advertising targeting options in 2018 includes extensive demographics, interests and behavioral targeting.
4. Live Streaming
Pix credit: Annie Spratt on Unsplash
“2018 is the prime time for live streaming, and if you miss the boat, you could be missing out on huge traffic numbers and the ability to create a viral buzz,” says Neil Patel. Twitch.tv is one of the biggest live streaming sites in the world right now. In 2018, Twitch had over 3 millions Live broadcasters each month. Brands like HubSpot and LinkedIn have found great success using it as a way to promote and share live webinars. Live streaming is not only for video games anymore, it is the future of video content, and it’s only going to continue to grow through 2018.
5. LinkedIn
Pix credit: LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Unsplash
According to Omnicore, LinkedIn has over 500 million registered users and 260 million monthly active users. Since Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016, the platform has ramped up its organic reach for video content. LinkedIn is the leading social network for B2B traffic and lead generation as well as a hunting ground for new career opportunities. On top of that, LinkedIn Sales Navigator allows users to search for high-potential prospects and filter the results. Make sure that your LinkedIn profile and company page is optimized with the right information and credentials for 2019.
Never Stop Learning Digital Marketing
Lastly, you have to acquire the right digital marketing skills and put it into practice to leverage the digital marketing trends. Join us for a face-to-face mentor guided Digital Marketing Product Launch Bootcamp in 2019!
