The biggest change that surfaced a couple of decades ago is the onset of digital marketing and ever since, it has changed the way businesses grow, advertise and even the way they expand their consumer base.

With new trends emerging each year – voice search, optimization through video, email outreach – the marketing world should look out for the changes to quickly respond to them and stay ahead in business. Only being aware even provides you with a competitive edge and enables you to modify your business accordingly and generate new leads!

Internet being easily accessible in the modern world, Australia holds the highest infiltration rate, as per We Are Social’s research in 2018, with the digits scrunching up to;

• 88 per cent of the population using the internet;
• 69 per cent active social media users;
• 78 per cent mobile users.

Furthermore, spending an average of 5 hours 34 minutes daily on the internet, the integration of digital technology into everyone’s life indicates that the future of digital marketing is evergreen.

Being versatile, it changes its form and name time and time again. This piece will focus mainly on some of the latest trends to take into 2020’s digital world.

1.   Google Marketing Platform

Google combined its Doubleclick Advertiser and Google Analytics 360 under the name of “Google Marketing Platform”. Launched on July 24, 2018, it is a complete bundle that helps you in planning, buying, optimizing your digital media and enhancing customer experiences altogether.

As an integrated advertisement and analytics platform, it facilitates closer coordination between your marketing teams through building on an existing combination of DoubleClick and the Google Analytics 360 Suite.

With the Google Marketing Platform you’d be able to:

• Smart Marketing – with basic marketing processes being automated, your business would be able to focus more on strategic planning.
• Insights Analysis – all the data and its automated analysis in one place, your company will be able to have an outlook on your audience interaction and results to review and revise your marketing strategies.

To unearth more benefits, explore the platform.

2.   Video Advertisements

Whether you’re making videos for YouTube, Facebook or your website, video advertisements are an extremely effective tool that are being used increasingly by brands to generate leads. It provides a personalized interactive user experience that persuades customers to slide down the sales funnel much more effectively.

Helping in conveying your brand personality, in 2018, AUD 1.4 billion were spent on video advertisements with a prediction of it touching the AUD 3.7 billion mark by 2023; safe to say this is something you should carry into 2020.

Switching to mobile devices have left marketers confused as to how to convey all the information in lengthy posts and forms because they are simply too hard to read on the mobile screen. Video advertisements, on the other hand, can convey all these necessary details and are mobile screen friendly.

Stated by iMPACT, 52% of consumers worldwide are more comfortable in buying a product online after watching respective product videos.

With features like 360-degree view, video ads provide a more enhanced experience, thereby, dominating the advancing marketing industry.

3.   Influencer Marketing

Marketing through influencers, the modern age celebrities, is increasingly becoming popular as time passes by. With a vast social media following, they are being used to drive your brand’s image to their followers.

Being amongst the consumers, their words and reviews are trusted more than a sales pitch. According to a study by The Exposure Co., in 2018;

• Over 70 per cent of Australians use social media when it comes to reviewing a product or a service they are interested in.
• More than 40 per cent of consumers buy the product they see their favourite influencer talking about.
• Offering these personalities a discount code for their followers has proven to be a smart tactic in generating sales – 1 in 4 people generally use these codes.

4.   Artificial Intelligence – Chatbots!

Artificial Intelligence integrated marketing software is helping Australian businesses by improving their interaction with the customers and growing its turnover.

The advantages that an organization reaps by implementing artificial intelligence are increased revenue, an increase in customer satisfaction with less time being spent on manual campaign marketing.

The rise of chatbots in Australia is really mind-blowing. Huge businesses like Domino’s and Jetstar use them to interact with their customers. They provide a competitive benefit as they are available round the clock.

Moreover, in 2018, 8000 shoppers worldwide were surveyed by Avaya and it found that 80 per cent of those surveyed expected banks, hospitals and the government to respond immediately. This draws attention to the need for fast and effective customer service.

Moreover, in order to carry out marketing data analytics to support decision-making processes, future companies will be relying on AI to optimize the quality of their customer service.

5.   Social Media Marketplaces

When the powers of social media and e-commerce are combined the result is a market place with millions of active users.

One such combination was introduced by Instagram with its shoppable posts where the brand could link the product to their websites. The recent addition of a “Checkout” window by Instagram has helped increase revenue as the chances of a customer abandoning the sale – because of switching apps for completing the purchase, has reduced.

Being available only to certain high-end brands yet, this feature will be available to all brands soon enough.

6.   Voice Search

The reality of voice search is that simply put, it is a more convenient way to interact. Businesses are finally catching up to the new preferred method of search and purchases used by customers.

According to We Are Social’s study, nearly 25 per cent internet users are using voice search or voice command. All the studies are suggesting its increasing usage, due to no one having the time to see and choose which article to read but will rely on their voice assistant’s choice.

Two of the most important tips for optimizing your content for voice search are:

• By making your content answer interrogative questions such as what, who, why, when, and where.
• Make it mobile-friendly – Your website must adopt a responsive design as voice searches are usually made by customers through their mobiles.

The descriptions and content of your website might need revision for a voice-based approach as the results to these are usually read out aloud – for it to have increased readability.

Adding this feature and optimizing your content likewise, will result in better ranking for your business.

Ignoring this trend will not be wise as consumers are relying on voice searches more than ever now.

7.   Omni-Channel Marketing

Representing yourself on multiple channels such as social media, apps, online market places, storefronts, gives a constant and consistent voice and presence to your brand. It gives your user an all-round experience across all channels.

Practising omni-channel marketing prevents the traffic loss which is bound to happen if your brand is not available on the user’s preferred online medium.

According to CBRE’s report, Australian online sales are expected to increase up to 43.1 billion dollars by 2022 with their millennials shopping for about 4.9 days a month, all thanks to omni-channel marketing.

8.   Email Marketing

Companies sending out generic emails have seen a fall in action by consumers. In 2018, Campaign Monitor’s study showed the average email open rate to be 19 per cent whereas the average click-to-open rate to be 14.1 per cent for all industries in Australia.

Though email marketing is not a new technique, a touch of personalization to your emails transforms it from old and obsolete to new and effective. With the competition getting tougher, the only way you’ll be able to stand out is if you show you’re different and you know your customers.

Email is often a final stimulant that seals the deal with your customer.

A business has various types of marketing emails. Starting from welcoming emails to accustom new users with your brand, a brand can also improve their loyalty with post-purchase emails including the delivery emails, the review emails, and the product advice emails. In the end, reactivation emails help you bring back dormant subscribers.

Further, follow-up emails, specific to your customer’s search, might prove compelling in driving them to action.

9.   Content Marketing

Curated content – aim specific content – implicitly encourages consumers to meet their needs with your product and thus increase brand loyalty. Having various advantages – such as life-long advertisement, increase in sales, and being highly cost-effective – makes this form of digital marketing highly useable.

Apart from increasing your credibility, it helps to attract new leads which are already aware of your product and the services you offer.

According to Content Marketing Institute’s research in 2018, of all the Australian respondents, 85 per cent agreed to use content marketing as a part of their strategy, with 34 per cent of the organizations being very committed to this form of digital marketing.

Moreover, amongst all the companies, 57 per cent declared this approach’s success as “moderately successful”.

Owing to such statistics, it can be said that content marketing is a benchmark when it comes to the leading digital marketing trends.

Why Is It Necessary To Keep Up With These Trends – The Benefits!

Technology is certainly bringing about a huge change in the future of digital marketing. Smart tech, among many others, is changing the techniques in which businesses are interacting with their viewers – who prefer a personalized touch to everything they come across on their screens.

Creating customized and colloquial content, especially audio and video based content, to share with your customers is crucial to come out at front and boost conversions for years to come.

These statistics and trends show that there is a steep decline in any worries or distress relating to digital marketing. Australians are willing to shop online across all platforms which might require you to invest in devising a strong and competent digital marketing strategy!