In just a blink of an eye 2019 is almost coming to an end and we move forward in entering a new era of Business 4.0. For those of you are not in the loop, Business 4.0 is the result of Industry 4.0, the fourth evolution of how industries are enhanced and modified to fit that current era’s needs using the technology that is available at our disposal.
Essentially what it means is that businesses are required to adopt as well as utilise new technology and services so that you are still relevant in the market. This also makes sure that you are able to grow and adapt your business efficiently. A great way to do that is through digital marketing.
Stepping into another year of new technologies and trends can be an intimidating feat so let us give you our predictions of next year’s progression when it comes to digital marketing.
1 . Marketing taking over social media stories
You might be wondering why is this the first thing on the list but rest assured that it is with good reason.
Personally, no matter what platform I’m on, 3 out of 5 times I’ll be viewing the stories instead of actually scrolling through the feed. So when I see an ad or a shop now option on the stories, then chances are I’m gonna click and see what product that is.
When people have purchasing power on their fingertips, it’s a given that we as marketers and business owners have to evolve and cater to their needs. Not only does it increase brand awareness, but it also helps be engaged with our users.
Social media stories are also a great option for digital marketers to take advantage of FOMO (that millennial slang for Fear Of Missing Out, in case you were wondering). Since stories only for a set period of time, this makes the ads more exciting and exclusive.
2. Paying attention to content experience
Content experience is a combination of content and context. The content experience includes elements like design, placement, environment and other elements that influence the user experience and how they perceive the message /ad.
Gone were the days where we thought emojis make us look unprofessional and silly. These days emojis are a great way to connect with the audience and seem relevant. Even Apple is out with exciting animoji to make interaction more fun.
If you are planning to attract the younger audience, these days Tik Tok seems to be the way to go. Not only is it the current hype, but it is also a great way to advertise the product that you want while seeming effortless.
A couple of months ago Chinese designer Loora Wang and her sister were the talk of the town when their fashion Tik Tok video went viral. Loora promoted her clothing line by simply recreating everyday scenarios with her sister and the response from the audience was huge and the designer has gained much popularity since then.
Check out the video below and you’ll know what we’re talking about!
Cool isn’t it?
This is just one of the ways you can use the latest media for your advantage. Imagine all the other possibilities!
3. Marketing that’s driven by insights
Gone are the days where marketers do campaigns based on gut feeling. These days data is everything. Even with years of experience, additional data is always welcomed so that you get to have a measurable goal and not just quoting a number on a whim.
With additional insights, we as digital marketers get to know more information about our customers than ever before. This not only helps us have a more focused campaign strategy but it also aids us in estimating the platform and mode of advertisement more accurately.
You can even find this information by looking into your in-market segments section in your Google Analytics.
Did you know that due to this increase in data consumption, more and more people are looking to hire data analysis? Based on a survey done by Altimeter Digital Marketing for the year 2019 almost 41% of desired skill for digital marketing hires is data analysis!
4. Chatbots as conversation starters
If you’ve noticed over the last year chatbots are rapidly making their appearance on website and online stores. Not only are they present at all times, but they are also equipped with FAQ’s and give instant replies.
To be honest, personally, I prefer talking to chatbots for minor issues rather than contacting a real human and endlessly waiting for their reply. There, I said it.
For me, chatbots are a much more efficient way to communicate and get more information in real-time. Not only do I get straight to the point and save time, but I can also be sure that the receiver of my message is not temperamental and can answer my questions without being moody.
These days the chatbots are eloquent enough to accommodate me the best it can. Especially with chatbots like ManyChat. Now everything from making reservations to even sending recipes is fun and easy.
5. Make it personal
I’ll be the first one to admit that I adore personalised messages. Yes, I know sometimes it’s a template, and yes, a thousand others receive almost the same message as me. The point is, despite knowing all these techniques, it’s always nice to receive an email that has my name on it. It makes the user feel special like the message is just intended for them which is exactly what we want.
In some cases, the message is specifically intended to us. For example when you use the Grammarly app, each week it gives a personalised report of your previous week. Not only does it give you an insight into the previous week but it also keeps you motivates to do better.
Making people feel good increases the chances of users recommending our service or product to their friends and families. You have to make them think, “Hey, this makes me happy and feel good. I want my loved ones to feel as good as me too”.
A great example of personalisation is by Spotify. End of every year, Spotify shows you what music you’ve been listening to the most and who is your favourite artist. Each list is very unique and is sure to make us smile, cringe or both. The best part, you have the option to share it in your social media!
Now everyone can judge your music taste (just kidding, or am I? Hmmm).
6. Video & live-stream are the order of the day
Ever heard about watch parties? It’s basically joining a group of people to watch a live video online either on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or even Snapchat.
In the live stream above you can see how Lian Huat Seafood, a fish market in Singapore is using Facebook life steaming to promote the fishes. The viewers can now bid for the fish that they wish to buy on the comment section too.
If you’re up to it you can even sell clothing online too like Ample Couture! The possibilities truly are endless.
Another trend we foresee in 2020 the rise of streamers. From video game streaming to soft porn videos, you can bet there is a streamer that caters to that audience’s needs.
One of the bigger players of live streaming is Twitch. Find videos about games, food, art, hobbies and loads of other stuff. A raw unedited video with raw opinions about the game, for example, seems to engage the audience more.
These days you can be sure to find an app to cater to your needs. Now streaming is made easy and efficient with iOS and Android smartphone apps. Did you know you can even live stream and flirt with people online?
Live streaming isn’t your thing? Don’t worry, these platforms offer advertising spaces for brands to make use of. Not only does it maximise exposure, it also helps you find your niche audience easily and effectively.
7. Conditioning search engines
With the launch of products like BERT models to the Google search engine, our queries are better answered even though the search is not accurate. In case you were wondering what BERT is, it stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. Essentially what it does is that it helps you to train your search engine to answer correctly based on intent.
Cool isn’t it? The way it works is that instead of looking at each individual words, BERT processes the words in the sentence as a whole. It tries to understand the intent behind the sentence by referring to the words that come before and after the main keyword.
This is why we as digital marketers need to start thinking about the intent of a topic or content instead of just churning content based on the keywords that we want to rank for.
For example, let’s look at Google’s blog.
Packed with content that sounds like how a person would normally type instead of just focusing on keywords.
8. 5G, IoT and beyond
When talking about the latest trends, the list will be incomplete without 5G. We’ve constantly heard about how 5G is going to be all the rage in the coming years but that future might be closer than we think. In the latest article by Intel, they talk about how 2020 will be the beginning of a new technological era. Did you know our very own Maxis are already getting ready for 5G?
5G is able to change the way we live and work for the better. It’ll be able to ensure a fully-mobile and connected society. Not only does it help us reach our technological possibilities, but we can use it to fuel business and financial opportunities too.
Internet of things (IoT) on the other hand also helps to send data to not only smartphones and tablets but to industrial sensors, medical devices, vehicles and more providing services and capabilities that have not been possible before. It’s said that IoT devices are expected to see growth from 7 billion to 22 billion by 2025.
This allows us to manufacture and connect machinery with one another even if we were from the other side of the world. Forbes mention about how IoT is also forecast to be a big part of vehicles, healthcare and even create smart cities.
For now one of the ways we can try is to virtualise our physical businesses and service so that we are still relevant to platforms like Alibaba, Shoppe, and Amazon. Another way is to implement cashless payment. With Asia getting on the wave of going cashless, it’s about time we join the ride too. Check out the E-Wallet app trends done by iprice Group for 2019.
Well, that’s it, folks! Hope this was an insightful and useful article. Think there are other trends worth mentioning here? Let us know in the comment section below. We would really appreciate it.
Happy new year!
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