Charged with the evolution of SEO, content marketing and social media strategy, digital marketing’s powerful suite of business opportunities is set further explode come the New Year. In 2019, the space won’t slow, sprinting full-speed ahead to offer businesses both small and large the change to amplify their brand awareness and sales performance more than ever before. But in order to access this level of success, businesses need to get savvy with the trends that are set to dominate in the next 12 months.
Pillar content and clusters
Search engine optimisation isn’t what it used to be, and that’s all for the better. These days, search giants like Google have become so highly advanced with algorithms, that they rapidly roll out tweaks to optimise and adopt to the demands of consumer behavior. Rather than prioritising keywords throughout content, engines are favoring ‘cluster content’ that’s centered around certain themes and topics. That means marketers are quickly catching onto linking content together to create relevant webs that suit the given category.
Brands that are effectively adopting this tactic are utilising pillar content to drive their overarching strategy. These pages cover a broader topic – for example, ‘Australian digital marketing agencies and the clusters that are formed off this content are considered the ‘secondary’ themes in the tree. For instance, the cluster themes will be focused on certain long-tail keywords, and in this instance, may relate to ‘choosing the best agency’, ‘agencies in Melbourne’ etc. the content on the pillar page then links to each of these smaller pages, with the cluster then linking back to the pillar as a result. This creates an intricate cycle that allows the entire web of content to benefit when just one piece of it sees a boost.
Snackable advertising
This isn’t a new concept, but it’s evolved over the last few years. Knowns as ‘snack ads’, these video snippets are shorter videos that span over a few seconds. Thanks to the decrease in attention span for audiences across the globe, advertising needs to be quick, sharp and effective, so shorter videos are a must if you’re using them to market your products and services. In fact, 89% of audiences are more likely to engage with ads if they sit below 10 seconds or less in length. So in 2019, you’re going see a whole lot more snappy videos out there, creating a more influential wave of marketing.
Automated customer service: Chatbots
Consumers’ demand for instant support and customer services means they seek answers now, not later. Catered to feed this requirement, chatbots are allowing for businesses to resolve their prospects and customers’ biggest challenges through automated messaging. While the accuracy of these bots is still in its infancy, they’re rising up quickly, taking over the customer service process for a lot of brands already. It’s estimated that in the next decade, around 85% of customer service interactions will be replaced by chatbots – so there’s a lot happening in this space.
Influencer marketing in the social sphere
Social media influencers have been dominating the field for a while now, but consumer trust has blurred the lines on best practice for many marketers. However, they’re still evolving their influence, making it a key marketing tactic in current and future strategies. Previously, influencer advertising meant just utilising a renowned figure to leverage audience engagement and conversions, usually through endorsing a specific product. These days, it’s far more complex, including strategic blogging and sponsored placements that are all carried out in subtle, natural ways. The result? A campaign that doesn’t look like an influencer endorsement, but is.
These trends are only a few in the list, and the book on marketing in 2019 is actually a long one waiting to be written. Consumer demands and on-the-go consumption means the need for 24/7 support is critical. Meanwhile, driving influence still relies on utilising those with authority to amplify brand messages. Including the above as part of your strategy in the next year will mean you’ll further solidify a successful path towards marketing success.
