The global pandemic significantly impacted digital marketing, with face-to-face interactions diminishing and attention and activities transferring to the digital domain. Marketers responded by investing heavily in social media, email campaigns, mobile apps, webpages, landing pages, blogs, webinars, and other online platforms to create stronger connections with the newly tech-savvy customer base.
It has left us with a changed digital marketing landscape now that the pandemic is behind us; many tactics are here to stay for the long haul. It is difficult to predict the future of digital marketing, but there are a few emerging trends that could shape how marketers approach their target audiences. Here are five areas that may affect digital-marketing strategies soon:
Marketing Automation / Personalization
Given today’s abundant computational capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) are all integral to success in the marketing industry. To elaborate on their distinctions, AI allows computers to simulate the cognitive processes humans usually perform. With ML algorithms, data is parsed, observed, and decisions are taken based on what has been learnt. Lastly, DL sets up those algorithms into levels so an “artificial neural network” can autonomously make information-based choices.
Marketers now have access to numerous tools and systems using ML to discover patterns in user data or observe behaviours. Automating an array of activities formerly completed manually makes it possible for marketers to spend more time honing their strategies and plans to captivate and lure prospective consumers.
Early adopters are already taking advantage of marketing automation, and there is expected to be much more growth in the future. Though many of these technologies are still nascent, machine learning can help marketers refine their strategies and optimize their activities.
Programmatic Advertising
Programmatic advertising is an automated technology used to purchase advertising space. Data-driven insights and algorithms are employed to deliver the right ad at the right time and price. Marketers input content, goals (brand awareness, conversions, etc.), budgetary limitations and campaign boundaries (location, demographic etc.) for the system to optimize campaigns for maximum return as per given parameters.
Computers can keep track of market changes more swiftly than humans, resulting in increased ROI, wider coverage and a higher number of ad placements. However, these systems tend to be pricy, may not always precisely match ads with the designated target audience, and have been subject to online click fraud. Ensuring automated processes fully meet one’s needs is essential for gaining the desired outcomes from programmatic advertising.
Personalisation / Recommendation Engines
A personalization engine (PE) – referred to as a recommendation engine – leverages insights from a user’s behaviour in conjunction with data from comparable users to serve up a tailored experience. This content should be relevant in context and meet the user’s requirements and tastes.
Using sophisticated AI and machine learning algorithms, these engines make predictions of what users need; the more data they access and examine, the more precise their forecasts are. PEs are commonly deployed for e-commerce to supply product recommendations, but they’re also prevalently used by media institutions like news outlets, music, or streaming services. Advantages of utilizing such engines include:
- Customer segmentation can be improved by breaking target audiences into smaller, more precise groups and still being able to provide for their needs.
- Allow companies to increase their customer base size, reach new customers, and increase profits.
- The customer journey has been greatly improved, leading to shorter conversion times.
- Promoting related products and services that best suit users’ needs can generate more revenue.
When considering the implementation of PEs, it’s important to be aware of both the potential rewards and the associated costs. These can include a significant upfront investment of time and money to properly set up the tools. Once done, however, there are many advantages to be gained from its use by the target audience.
Conversational Marketing
Conversational Marketing strives to build strong customer associations using live chat, messaging apps, and conversational AI. This approach creates a streamlined customer experience, and marketers are taking advantage of the power of chatbots to implement it further.
Chatbots can greatly help marketing communications, providing customers with instantaneous and timely responses. By incorporating conversational AI into marketing plans, businesses can adeptly guide their clients through the customer journey, potentially leading to more conversions. Incorporating chatbots into marketing has numerous advantages:
- Cost and time savings.
- Improved customer engagement.
- Faster response times.
- Greater customer data from captured interactions are assessable and reviewable.
But setting up chatbots takes effort and can only sometimes supplant human interaction. They are useful for responding to common queries or sharing useful information but need more finesse regarding emotional nuances. Therefore, chatbots should only assist your customer service rather than replace them entirely. To better understand Chatbot Platforms, follow this article on AI Chatbot Technology.
Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics uses historical data to anticipate future trends, events, and potential scenarios. This feature is becoming increasingly popular as more analytics systems transition from simply reporting past occurrences to providing forecasts that could assist their users with planning and preparation. Google Analytics 4 is a prime example of this evolution. Launched in October 2020, it integrates machine learning to give better insights and predictive analysis about conversions. It’s expected that the future of digital marketing technologies will soon concentrate on machine learning for improved conversion triggers. This is because digital marketing trends are emerging from time to time.
Voice Search & Commerce
Nearly two-thirds of individuals aged 25-49 use voice commands on their digital devices at least once a day, according to recent PwC research. It has become increasingly popular for people to search for information via vocal commands, whether through their mobile phones or with the help of a voice assistant service such as Google Nest or Amazon Alexa.
Therefore, marketers must start thinking beyond just keywords and key phrases when aiming to reach out to buyers; instead, they should focus on potential sentences and questions that could be asked while searching for products or services verbally. Voice search is also gaining traction in mobile SEO optimization, with users often opting for this method over typing when circumstances don’t permit, e.g., whilst driving.
Voice search and commerce are no longer just about providing facts but are also enabling customers to buy products or services with their voices. To ensure that the right message is delivered at the correct moment to each consumer with minimal fuss, these tools have become essential in meeting their needs exactly where they are.
Marketers must plan for these incoming search inquiries by considering how customers may look for information about their offerings. This usually translates into longer searches incorporating various phrases, queries, etc. Ensuring your content covers these will help you stand out as this space expands. As voice search and commerce become more popular, now is the best time to try different strategies and understand them better before the market starts to boom.
Social Commerce
The ongoing global pandemic has shifted many activities to an online space, with platforms like Instagram and TikTok making these changes even more accessible. Many people can now follow their favorite brands on social media, enabling them to convert easily from fans to buyers.
Brands increasingly find success in social commerce as tech-savvy consumers become more involved. To compete effectively, marketers must look to influencer marketing, creative calls to action, and user-generated content. China has established itself as a leading force in this industry, with over $350 Billion in sales. Consequently, those just entering the marketplace may use them as a model for their strategy.
Extended Reality (XR) & Immersive Experiences
Marketers have been mulling over virtual reality (VR) for years, and now we can observe fascinating growth in extended reality (XR). XR is an expansive concept comprising both AR and VR that allows users to bridge the gap between reality and virtual worlds with the help of computing. Consumers are clamoring for more stimulating engagements, so marketers must give up basic text-based communications, striving to furnish captivating experiences instead.
In contrast to VR experiences, AR experiences offer an immersive experience with minimal hardware required–often just a smartphone. This allows many people to enjoy them. Crafting these immersive experiences may necessitate a sizeable investment in both time and money; however, we’ve seen the cost associated with media production technologies drop in the past. We could observe costs slipping even further, enabling marketers to create more fascinating and alluring productions, such as 360 VR marketing videos.
Final Note
As the future of digital marketing is very bright and its services help businesses strongly, certain trends and developments will likely have a considerable impact on marketers in the future. Amongst these, some of the most significant ones will be those that emerge over time. Digital Media Line is helping their clients with these cutting-edge digital marketing services. To learn digital marketing, consider the top informative digital marketing training course.
