Staying ahead of the competition nowadays calls for, among other things, a smart marketing approach. The recent years have witnessed an explosion in the marketing space. Marketers now have many convenient tools at their disposal. Consequently, the marketing space is more competitive than ever before.
Staying ahead of the competition in 2019 will require the best marketing tools and strategies. Here are recommendations for 9 promising marketing tools and strategies to use in 2019.
1. Native Advertising is Shaping Overall Advertising
People across the world are tired of ads. This has been proven by the growing popularity of ad blockers among a majority of people. As a result, marketers are unable to reach a wide range of people as they would wish. That is why smart marketers are adopting native advertising.
Native adverts sound natural and conversational,but in reality, they are funded by companies seeking to increase their brands’ popularity. For instance, a seemingly ordinary article on a blog about transport, talking about a certain transport company, may sound objective but in truth is it’s suggestive. This gets consumers to let their guard down, thus giving you better reach.
Several major brands such as Visa and Airbnb have realized the potential of native advertising and have invested considerable resources in the space. You should also be able to achieve the same with your brand.
2. Voice Searches are Taking Over
Consider a typical internet user, searching for a product related to whatever you are marketing. Typing will limit how this user expresses self. Verbal words, however, remove all barriers. Search engines have realized this and have advanced voice search technology. The technology is now more accurate and getting better by the day. Internet users are also catching onto this and making more and more online searches using voice commands.
It is estimated that voice commands will constitute over 50% of all online searches by 2020. As such, it would be prudent to leverage early come 2019.
3. Visual Search is Also Catching Up
How many times have you seen something and wish that you could get one just like it even if you don’t know how? Thanks to visual search, internet users can now take photos of objects and find exact replicas and related items online without typing or uttering a single word.
Visual search is a relatively new technology that is still in its early stages. However, just like voice search, Google and other search engines are working to refine this technology owing to its growing popularity among users. It is also something that you should look out for in 2019.
4. Virtual and Augmented Realities are Unlocking New Possibilities
Virtual and augmented reality technologies are awesome for gaming, but they are much more lucrative for marketing. They give the audience an immersive, life-like experience that gets much better results compared to most other marketing tools. The result is higher sales and increased brand popularity.
IKEA is one of the many companies leveraging the potential of augmented and virtual realities, and it has so far enjoyed great results. It does this so easily by using a mobile application, so it shouldn’t be difficult for you to get onboard too.
5. People Prefer Videos to Articles
Today, people are always on the run trying to fit in their tight schedule not to mention their increasingly short attention span. Due to this, reading an article or a blog has become an uphill task to many individuals. Videos, however, are engaging and even enjoyable to watch. In fact, major search engine Google estimates that videos will account for 80% of all internet traffic by 2019.
Video marketing is effective,but success depends on how well you design your videos. They should be short, to the point, and engaging. They should also be creative on all fronts.
6. AI is Easily Accessible and Increasingly Popular
AI technology has come a long way. Advances in technology have made it possible for AI technologies to learn and conform to their environments. To the end, bots on a commercial website can easily handle all communications with customers. Some advanced bots can even identify individuals and personalize their interaction for a customized experience.
AI technology is growing in popularity with marketers not only for its advanced functionalities but also affordability. The technology has become so widespread that even small merchants are using it.
7. Be More Interactive
The reason why so many people are rejecting ads and applying ad blockers is that ads always seem to tell you what to do. Marketers are all about the bottom line, and they treat their audience more like test subjects than people. This approach is failing.
Marketers should adopt a different approach in 2019 and make your marketing campaigns more interactive. This means that they should take more time to know what their audience has to say about their products and services. This will not only help them know how to improve their products (and consequently boost sales) but also make their audience feel valued, which will get them, several loyal customers.
8. You, Will, See More of Influencers
Notable influencers can drive sales in virtually any industry thanks to the loyalty they command. For marketers, influencers are proving effective at reaching a specific audience in a big way. For instance, ICO campaigns have been using celebrities such as Floyd Mayweather for their marketing campaigns with great results. The trend is expected to peak come 2019 and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
It takes certain connections and resources to get an influencer behind your brand, but the effort will prove worth it.
9. Leverage Micro-Moments
Again, internet users prefer to ignore adverts whenever they can. However, they do need these adverts at times – these times are referred to as micro-moments. The average person will take time off work to find an answer to something on the internet: where to eat, the price of a certain product, and so much more. Offering an advert that answers these questions for them at these opportune moments will most likely result in a successful conversion.
The concept of micro-moments is still new,but it will grow in leaps and bounds through 2019. So keep your eyes peeled for developments in this space.
Bottom Line
2019 promises to be a lucrative year for marketers across many industries, but your success will depend on how you conduct your marketing campaigns. These recommendations have been tested and proven, so go ahead and give them a try.
