While digital marketing is by no means a new development, digital transformation for businesses and individuals is a rapidly growing trend that is changing the way digital marketing is done.
Because of this digital transformation, marketers are recreating the new norm in digital marketing in order to appeal to an incredibly tech-savvy and permanently online audience.
Digital marketing has already started to outgrow its original mold. Let’s dig a little deeper into what we can expect from digital marketing in the future:
1. SEO Going Voice
In 2008 Google released its Voice Search tool that allowed users to trigger search queries by speaking to a smart assistant instead of manually typing out a query in a search engine. But it wasn’t until 2011 when Apple’s Siri was released on the iPhone that voice search really became popular and a viable replacement to manual search.
Voice search is quickly and consistently growing as more and more users are starting to realize the time saving and convenience that voice search can offer both desktop and mobile users. This technology has caused a shift in focus in digital marketing, particularly in SEO as marketers are now optimizing their websites to be voice search compliant so that their content can take advantage of fast-paced voice searches.
Neil Patel mentions that voice searches are usually very conversational, often involve the mention of a location, and are usually delivered in the form of featured snippets. With that in mind, it is important to include the correct keywords on your website so that they can be delivered to a user when then search using a command such as ”Hey Siri, find me a hair salon close to home”. If a hair salon has used keywords such as “hair salon” and “Venice Beach” (provided the searcher’s home is in Venice Beach), and the salon has featured snippets activated, contact details for their website will be delivered to the searcher by the voice AI on their device.
2. Mobile Is King
Gen Z loves everything mobile and is currently setting the precedent for how digital marketing is changing for the future. Because the use of mobile phones has become almost a must in the 21st century, marketers are capitalizing on marketing to audiences through a device that is constantly attached to them. While their marketing tactics can be used through a range of channels all accessible via a mobile device, it is the optimization of websites and digital marketing content as a whole for a mobile platform that is changing and becoming more popular.
In 2020 mobile search is almost just as popular as searches on a desktop, growing to a point where it will overtake desktop search in just a few years. Because of this rapid increase, it is crucial for marketers to optimize their websites for mobile devices so that users can make use of either a portrait or landscape aspect ratio, and navigate the website without the use of a mouse or keyboard.
3. Algorithms
Algorithms are a pain for every marketer! Platforms such as Google, Instagram, and Facebook change their search and discovery algorithms on a yearly basis, meaning that marketers constantly need to be changing their tactics in order for their website and content to be found through organic search.
Google alone has started to do around 12 updates a year to the algorithm on their platform. It is now up to marketers to keep up to date with every change that is made and be flexible and efficient at tweaking their marketing efforts in order to maintain their reach, traffic, and effectiveness at reaching the right audience.
4. Multi-Channel
Google Ads is oversaturated and more often than not, does not offer marketers as good ROI as other search channels. Because of this, marketers are exploring the success of using multiple channels simultaneously such as running Bing Ads, creating Instagram posts, optimizing website SEO and the list goes on.
Basically, the rule of thumb here is to use as many channels as possible to reach potential customers or generate more traffic to your website, provided you are able to maintain your efforts on these channels consistently.
5. Social Media
Social Media such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube were initially developed as a way for individuals to interact with other individuals and communities through various forms of media. Since its early days, social media has transformed into a powerful tool for both individuals and businesses to deliver marketing messaging and promotional content to an audience.
The use of social media for marketing purposes is growing rapidly day by day as these platforms are being used either as a replacement or addition to a website. Affiliate marketing is also incredibly common on all social media platforms and there is no sign of it slowing down.
So how is this changing digital marketing? Well, marketers have realized that the best way to reach an audience is to use a medium that they already spend a lot of time on ie. social media. So expect to spend a ton more time on sponsored social media content in the future. Read more about Social Media for businesses in one of our other blogs.
6. Up-Sells and Down-Sells
So this one may raise some eyebrows at first… marketers are focusing on up-selling and even down-selling to their existing customers more than they are focusing on acquiring new ones.
The reason for this? Well, it’s cheaper. To put this into perspective, the cost of acquiring a new customer through digital marketing methods can often be more than 2x the initial profitability of the customer, depending on the product offering.
To combat this, marketers are focusing on either making their existing customers more profitable by up-selling them to a more profitable product/service, or even by down-selling them to a product/service that is a better fit for their needs so as to not lose the customer in the future.
Futureproof
Ask yourself, is your business geared up to tackle the digital marketing problems of today? Try applying some of these points to your own business and futureproof your company and stay ahead of the game.
Still not digital marketing content yet? Well then take a look at our Oviond blog to catch up on trends, insights, and tips for making your business a success in digital marketing!
