Digital Marketing Trends to Look for in 2019

Digital marketing trends: 2018 recap

This year changed the marketing landscape like never before. We saw Instagram TV launch, Google AdWords evolve into Google Ads and the Facebook algorithm completely transform. In 2019, even more digital marketing trends will occur.

As January looms over agencies like us and brands like you, it’s important to get a head start on new 2019 marketing trends. Digital marketing trends took new forms, such as influencer marketing and native advertising. 2019 will be no different — professional marketers will adjust their strategies with new changes coming more quickly than ever.

Here are some of the biggest changes that brands will most likely face in 2019:

Mobile updates: 5G is coming

Carriers like Verizon and Samsung announced that they’ll roll out their 5G software in the first half of 2019. This is a big deal in shaping digital marketing trends: Mobile content and web design will have to change and high-data videos will load faster.

Mobile advertising is crucial, since that’s where about 70 percent of consumers spend their media time. You’ll obviously be able to download things at a faster speed with 5G. For marketing, that means videographers will be able to tackle more complex video projects without dreadful lagging. It also means that websites will load faster. Web designers in 2019 can then add more intricacies and interactive elements to their brand’s website.

Voice searches will increase

Amazon’s Alexa memes didn’t go viral for no reason — it’s because more and more consumers could relate to experiences with the popular voice assistant. In fact, almost half of Americans as if 2017 have used a voice-controlled devices to make online searches. (That’s a huge jump from 2016, where only 20 percent used voice devices.)

It’s safe to say that in 2019, this trend will likely skyrocket. That’s why if you haven’t already started building your “Alexa skills,†you should. That consists of making your website copy more conversational, so voice devices can easily read it aloud. Finding new keywords and analyzing new sets of voice analytics will be an essential part of 2019.

Hyper-targeted emails

Get ready to rethink your email marketing campaign in 2019. If your strategy was successful last year, there’s a simple way to make it even better: Start making them more targeted.

Think about and research niches within your targeted audience. There are simple personalization tactics that brands can use like using receivers’ names and catchy subject lines — but it’s time to go the extra mile. Segmented emails managed to earn a 75 percent higher open rate in 2018 than non. Although creating more emails takes more time, it’s likely to earn a higher ROI in 2019.

Quality content matters

Of course quality content always matters, but it will matter even more in 2019. RankBrain, one of Google’s main SEO judges, will crack down on poor user experience.

You’ll need to provide your consumers with even more value. RankBrain bumps links up and pushes them down based on surf time and how much people jump back and forth from page to page. If your page doesn’t provide much value, people page-hop until they find one that takes care of their needs. From that data, RankBrain can bump up the more valuable page in front of yours.

RankBrain is currently ranked third as Google’s most important SEO feature, but we predict that it might move up.

Video marketing is a must

People undoubtedly want more authenticity and interaction on social media. That’s why we expect people will crave and consume more video content in 2019.

Videos on Facebook and Instagram Live performed well, which showed influencers and marketers that they don’t need to rely solely on fully-produced videos to be effective. Unscripted and less scripted video provides a powerful element of authenticity in the consumer mindset. In 2019, people are looking for the real, the raw and the relatable (from influencers, at least). Video content continues to be an exciting and engaging way to attract new customers.

This trend has been twirling upward for a while now, but we think it will solidify itself in 2019. At a time where buying followers and other unethical strategies have become the norm, 86 percent of people say that authenticity is important. Videos will give you that authentic touch people are looking for.

Brand collaborations

What do Spotify, Red Bull and Uber all have in common? They all successfully collaborated with other big brands to expand their reach.

Small businesses can take parts of their strategy and apply it as well. Some of their strategies included:

• Social media takeovers
• Case studies
• Video collaborations
• Podcast features

Make sure that when you partner with other brands in 2019, those brands’ audiences intersect with yours. In other words, make sure that their audiences are relevant to your mission. Collaborations with other brands are a win-win for both parties, since you’ll gain new leads as well as access to new information.

Make way for artificial intelligence (AI)

Marketers have gravely underestimated AI for some time now. But in 2019, it will be a huge help to agencies and advertisers in particular.

AI will make cross-platform integration and sifting through analytics a breeze. Forbes predicted that “AI-powered analytics tools can be used to take in the outputs of all the tools, platforms and datasets to identify new patterns that can give managers an even better… integrated view of things.â€

In other words, AI will allow marketers to see the big picture. Being able to see how your emails, social media and website are all working as an integrated unit will make a huge impact on your marketing.

Let Into the Blue help your business adapt to and benefit from the digital marketing trends in 2019. We are brewing up new, innovative concepts for to make a dynamic impact in the New Year. Contact [email protected] to get started.