As the digital marketing landscape continues to change and grow, so to must you. If you don’t want to be left behind, then you need to stay ahead of the trends, and certainly keep abreast of them.

As a social entrepreneur or a small business owner, you might not have the deep pockets larger companies have to throw money into every single trend in the market and that is why having a greater understanding of the trends, so you can choose the ones that will have maximum benefit for your target audience is a must. With the right digital marketing plan, you can increase your brand awareness, traffic, leads and of course sales.

To help you remain ahead, we have outlined SEVEN top digital marketing trends affecting the digital marketing space below:

    1. The Future is A.I.

Artificial intelligence (A.I.) is the biggest trend in the digital marketing space and it’s only going to get bigger.

Why would you want to include A.I. and machine learning tools into your digital marketing plan? Below we look at a few of the reasons why you should be including them:

• They help streamline marketing processes and make business more effective. Reducing time and costs, for example chatbots which can respond to questions in real time (24 hour, 7 day a week service), without any human input;

• They enhance customer experience. Learning machine tools have the ability to analyse large data and can anticipate customer behaviour. For example, Amazon has generated 35% of their annual revenue through personalized product recommendations;

• They ensure online store items never runs out of stock (particularly helpful in ecommerce), or provides alternatives if stock is low; and

• They help enhance the Paid Per Click advertising campaigns, through automation tools to aid decision-making. For example, split testing and google analytics.

    2. Chatbot and Messengers continues to Grow

With the increase of mobile phone and touch screen users, technologies such as chat bots (not to be confused with live chat systems — which involve real people answering the user’s questions), messenger and live chat systems continue to grow.

Customers are always looking for a better user experience and part of that is having their needs met instantly. A chatbot (while not as perfect as talking to a human) at least gives them some real-time help, dedicated support, and answers to some of their more frequently asked questions. Based on research by Grand View, 45 percent of end-users prefer to use Chatbots as a major means of communication in customer service.

Latest research has shown that about half of all websites now use a chatbot, and the number is growing weekly. According to Gilliland (2020) 80% of businesses claim they want to start using chatbots this year.

Here is another example of machine learning (ML) at its best. ML allows the chatbots to continually learn from interaction with visitors, collecting data and interpreting it to provide more accurate answers over time.

Another trend is the increase of messenger usage. According to the Digital Marketing Institute (2020), there are currently 1.3 billion monthly users active on Facebook Messenger, sending more than 10 billion messages every month. While on WhatsApp there are currently 1.6 billion active users, sending over 55 billion messages every day. Other popular messaging services include Viber, WhatsApp and WeChat.

From a customer user experience, this is one of my favourites and that is, the increase of live chat systems. In recently published studies by Tidio (2020), 43% of consumers prefer to communicate through live chat systems than by telephone, as it often results in quicker turn around times, without having to worry about time zones and international/local call charges.

    3. Video Marketing is KING

Let’s face it, people love to be entertained and what’s more entertaining than mini movies in the form of videos? They are an easy way to digest information, they can be engaging and can be watched at the viewer’s own pace and as many times as they like. If your business is not already using video marketing, you need to do so pronto!

Don’t just take our word for it, according to Brightedge (2020) videos in a post increases organic traffic from search results by 157%.

YouTube is currently the biggest platform for video content, with one billion hours’ worth of video watching every day! Many other platforms support video content, for example, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter and many are transitioning to become ‘video first’ social networks. So start dusting off that camera if you haven’t already done so, as video marketing is KING.

    4. Webinars

Following on from videos, is the webinar. As the online education marketing continues to grow, so too does the webinar.

Webinars in the form of training, and education tools are an excellent way to get opt-in customer email addresses and engagement. They allow customers to participate from anywhere in the world, anytime.

    5. Voice Search

Another advance machine learning technology, that continues to grow is the use of voice search, as a form of digital assistance. They are easy to use, multi-adaptable, and can be used on a global scale. One of the most well-known of course is the beloved Siri, I even hear my children talking to her at times.

    6. Micro Moments

As the rise of smartphones continues, so too does the rise of the micro-moments.

Consumers expectations and their desire of instant gratification are higher than ever, with the ‘I want it RIGHT NOW’ culture which goes hand in hand with what has been termed by Google as ‘micro-moments’. The need to learn something, to do something, to discover something, to watch something and of course to purchase something. They are intent-rich moments when decisions are made and impulses want to be satisfied!

To gain the competitors edge, our money is on the Smart Marketer who factors in Micro Moments into their digital marketing Plan. In this case, having numerous digital touch points is key, such as learn more and buy now buttons on your website and in your copy. Remember though, quality, relevance and usefulness of content always wins the day.

    7. Keep it Personal

Keep your marketing personal! People want to feel seen, understood and cared for. To cater for this basic human need, your content needs to be even more tailored, more focused, on the wants and needs of your target audience than ever before. Research shows that 52% of customers are likely to switch brands if they don’t feel a company is making enough effort to personalize their messaging.

This is where advanced learning machine technologies are helpful in analysing your customers behaviours and anticipating their desires and needs. It may seem somewhat ironic, but machine learning helps to create a more human experience.

Customer enhanced user experience and satisfaction breeds loyalty. Customers will tend to trust a brand that makes them feel like they are being listened to. This is supported by recent statistics that showed 44% of customers will keep coming back for more after having a personalized shopping experience.

The digital marketing landscape continues to radically change and evolve. If you want to keep up or even get the edge on your competitor then identifying and understanding the latest market trends is key.

Really get to know and understand your customer’s wants and needs. If you don’t know, ask them. Send out surveys, and participate in online forums for your industry. Knowing this will help you to tailor your digital marketing plan accordingly and will help you determine which trends to implement into your business for the best results.

At the end of the day, it’s about giving your customers the best possible user experience which will have them coming back for more.