Digital Marketing Trends that are Shaking (Not Stirring) Up 2020

4 minute read

‘There's a saying in England; Where there's smoke, there's fire’, and with 2020 only just beginning, marketers and business owners must prepare for upcoming digital marketing trends that are generating some serious heat. The landscape of marketing is constantly changing, and if you don’t keep up, you’ll miss out on ways to bring your business to new Jetpack heights.

Forward-thinking strategies will drive Aston Martin like traffic to your website, grow your email list longer than Q’s gadget dossier, generate sales and bring customers back again and again. Imagine if marketers used the same tactics they used decades ago. They wouldn’t be able to appeal to their target audiences, and their businesses surely wouldn’t thrive off of old processes. Keeping up with the trends is important if you’re going to advance your business and market to consumers the way they want. So here are five digital marketing trends you should pay attention to in 2020.

Video Content

Barack Obama was about to enter his first full year in the White House, Farmville was the flavor of the month with 83 million monthly users on Facebook, and Avatar had just hit movie theatres worldwide, becoming — at the time — the highest-grossing movie ever. But even then, eleven years ago, people were already starting to make huge predictions about online video, and its impending change in the world of marketing. Savvy marketers, take note: video is here to stay. The sheer volume of video content online is growing exponentially, as these stats demonstrate.

6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television
By 2022, videos will make up more than 82% of consumer online traffic
75% of all video plays are on mobile devices

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing shows no signs of slowing down in 2020, having evolved into a booming marketing strategy that is practiced by over 93% of marketers. Projected to be a $10 billion industry by the end of this year, the role of influencers will clearly continue to help brands connect with their consumers in highly relevant ways.

65% of consumers discover a new brand or product through an influencer at least once a week
31% of consumers recommend an influencer to friends and family at least once a week
63% of consumers trust influencers’ opinions of products much more than the brands themselves

As one of the most effective marketing tools today, influencers aren’t going away any time soon. But how we partner with them will continue to evolve in 2020. Brands need to be willing to test and learn to find the strategies that work best for them.

Social Commerce

What is social commerce? As the name suggests, social commerce is shopping that takes place on a social media platform. It’s important to make the distinction between social commerce and social media marketing. The latter will usually redirect the user to your online store or app, while the product must sell directly through social media to be defined as social commerce. The user can “add to cart” and checkout without ever leaving the social media platform – going one step further than simply showing ads on the platform.

80% of users use Instagram to decide whether to purchase a product or service, and 83% use it to discover new products
30% of online shoppers say they would be likely to make a purchase from a social media network like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat

Additionally, remember social commerce is fundamentally social in nature—if your business doesn't also engage and communicate with your followers, then your brand won't get much out of social commerce as a long-term strategy.

User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is essentially any content created by unpaid contributors. It can include anything from pictures, videos, and blog articles to testimonials and discussion boards. User-generated content is typically created or uploaded online, where it is easily shared. Social authenticity is a growing trend online, and sharing honest user reviews through UGC will keep your brand ahead of the curve.

Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to view user-generated content as authentic compared to content created by a brand, so it’s a good idea to strike a balance between your ‘selling posts’ and UGC content.

More than 86% of companies today use user-generated content as part of their marketing strategy
When users create and share content on social media channels, they receive 28% higher engagement compared to standard company posts
A whopping 84% of millennial consumers claim that user-generated content on company websites has influenced the way they do online shopping to some extent

Branding

As the business world continues to evolve year after year, so does the way companies need to market themselves to be most effective in today’s competitive marketplace. This is common knowledge for areas of marketing like social media and digital publishing, where the landscape seems to experience momentous updates every few months as new platforms are launched and algorithms change.

An aspect of marketing that changes less frequently though, and as a result is often overlooked when it comes to finding new strategies, is branding. But it is critical to stay current on how to evolve your company’s brand image to reflect the present needs and expectations of consumers.

Your brand is arguably one of your organization’s most important assets. It gives your company identity, makes you memorable, encourages consumers to buy from you, supports your marketing and advertising, and brings your employees pride.

89% of marketers claim building brand awareness is their top goal
82% of investors want the companies they invest in to have a strong brand
Less than 10% of B2B companies say their branding is consistent

From PH3 With Love

The future of marketing is looking to become a more responsive, authentic, and analytical as we embrace new media, platforms, and opportunities. But what stands as the primary goal, as it always has here at PH3, is to choose the best option for our clients as we guide them through the changes in the years to come. So let’s grab a shaken vodka martini (or a special PH3 brew) and let’s talk!

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