As the year 2019 comes to a close, we can’t help but wonder what adventures await us in the new decade. There are always a few defining styles, technological advancements, or celebrity drama/feuds that distinguish one decade from the other. Some trends span decades but others come and go. The same is true in the world of digital marketing.
Industry professionals are already analyzing the data and predicting what trends from 2019 will be seen again in 2020 and what new trends will take the decade by storm.
Content Marketing
This is something that will never go out of style. Marketers will always need to create quality, compelling content, meaning that content will always be king. After all, your content is what drives your search engine optimization.
Video Content
If you hated creating videos in 2019 you’re about to read some bad news. Video content isn’t going away any time soon, but it is changing. Marketers are starting to move towards conducting live videos rather than recording, editing, and then publishing to the web. And it’s working! Live videos are reportedly watched 3 times longer than recorded videos and videos published through Facebook Live specifically produce 6 times as many interactions as their traditional opponent.
Search Engine Results Page
Another 2019 trend with a twist coming your way is SERP positioning. In the past, the goal was to be listed on the first results page, then the focus shifted to being listed as the first three results, and now the desired position is to be listed at position zero. In other words, it is featured in the snippet of text that appears above the search results. Oftentimes, SERP position zero is the only result that a user will view.
Shoppable Posts
If you have an Instagram, you’ve probably started to notice the small icon of a shopping bag that appears at the bottom of some photos or a story with a bottom border instructing you to “swipe up.” And if you haven’t, you might be living under a rock because 72% of Instagrammers have purchased at least once from the app already. Another popular social media site that is experiencing shoppable posts is Pinterest. In 2020, it is forecasted that such post-models will be the norm. With the average consumer’s attention span shrinking, it’s more important than ever to minimize the steps to convert interest into sales.
Interactive Content
While virtual reality was once the newest and coolest trend in a marketer’s toolbox, expect to see augmented reality take the lead. AR provides a unique way for users to interact with and test your products before they buy. 91% of buyers are seeking more visual and interactive content from companies. And while VR and AR aren’t the only types of interactive content, they are certainly the loudest around right now. Any type of interactive content, be it an alternate reality or a style quiz, can increase the amount of time spent on your page by visitors and the likelihood that they will share it with others.
Personalization
You read it now, 2020 will be the year of personalized marketing. Done are the days of generic email blasts. Expect to be making segmented lists and sending out more personalized messages to your audience members. Don’t think personalization is worth the time? Think again, 80% of shoppers surveyed said that they are more likely to give their business to a company offering a personalized experience.
Google Ads
While the concept of automation isn’t new, the updates that Google will soon be rolling out to Google Ads are. Industry pros see the update making automation and smart bidding the new normal for digital marketers everywhere. With the update, users will be able to choose conversion actions at the campaign level, set bids to change automatically when sales start/stop and optimize bids over multiple campaigns with a chosen set of conversion actions.
Being able to spot trends early on and adapt campaigns accordingly is one of the best skills you can have in our fast-paced world. To keep your company in the conversation, you need to be able to change with the times, not after.
