With the new year comes new trends, improvements, and evolving strategies in digital marketing. We discuss in this blog what you should look out for and what you should focus on to bring your marketing to the next level this year!
Chatbots
Chatbots are a huge benefit for any company while providing top-quality customer care. Chatbots let companies interact with customers seamlessly and provide a premium experience. By automating responses, customers get answers to their questions quickly and efficiently.
Engaging with customers at any hour isn’t possible, but it is when you use chatbots. Chatbots that are AI-Driven can provide a smooth experience for customers, give them answers to any questions, and shorten the purchase flow. Chatbots will provide simple prompts to lead customers to purchase through more information and simplifying the process.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is a new and upcoming trend in digital marketing that creates an interactive experience. Big companies such as IKEA have made use of AR in an app to show customers how their furniture would look in their own homes. You use your camera to survey the surroundings, and the app will place furniture so you can see what your home would look like before purchasing anything.
Augmented reality can provide customers with a unique experience that could mean the difference between someone purchasing from a company or not going through with it.
Personalised Marketing for Customers.
Knowing your target audience is vital for successful marketing. Creating personalised marketing communications and campaigns can help your business connect with customers. Customers will feel seen and heard through personalisation, which means more leads and conversions. You can display personalisation by showing gratitude towards customers with emails wishing them a happy birthday or thanking them for joining an email list. A little goes a long way, and customers will feel special with the extra attention that is specifically for them!
Product Recommendations
Recommending products based on customers’ past purchases is a great marketing tactic and an up-and-coming trend. People tend to buy similar products and offering them recommendations based on their purchases will lead to more purchases. Emails can be utilised so that recommendations are sent straight to customers, which means less looking around for the customer and an easy flow to purchase.
It’s been proven that product recommendations will improve conversions, which is exactly what you want your marketing to do for your business.
Private Messaging Apps
Private messaging apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat create a direct link to businesses, which means more convenience for the customer. Marketing to an abundant amount of people becomes possible on these platforms without directing people to the company’s website. Using messaging apps is ideal because customers look for practicality and a quick way to contact a business if they want information. A WhatsApp business account can also be used in conjunction with Facebook Ads to direct people to a support team with a single click on Facebook. This makes it easier for customers to get the answers they need to make a purchase or use a service.
Interactive Content Marketing
Interactive content is way more engaging than static content. This makes interactive content more effective in marketing as it grabs your customer’s attention. You want your customers to be as engaged with your brand as possible.
Use quizzes, polls, calculators, eBooks, videos, and animated infographics (engagographics) to invite users to connect with the brand. Provide users with the information they are looking for in a way that isn’t boring or dull. Interactive content will help personalise the user experience, get users to share the content socially and create more engagement to bring brand awareness.
Social Commerce
Social media platforms have been consistently aiding businesses in marketing their brand, products, and services. Using the shop features on Instagram and Facebook allows customers to easily purchase products straight from these platforms. A new feature that has recently been added is a ‘Show Now’ option for products when a live video is being recorded. This lessens the time it takes for customers to find a product and buy it. The
easier it is for customers to be directed to a product, the more likely they will buy it.
With trends ever-changing and digital marketing evolving every day, it’s important to keep up to date with what is new. Use these marketing strategies to supply customers with an enhanced experience. With so many avenues to advertise products and services, you can choose what works for your business to target your ideal audience.
Don’t forget that your customers aren’t just users; they are people with feelings, thoughts, hopes and dreams. Your company can use marketing to help people get what they want, and marketing will make it easier for them to do just that.
Need some assistance with your company’s digital marketing? Polkadot Digital can help boost your business with a variety of marketing strategies. Contact us at hello@polkadotdigital.co.za and 064 8077 268, as we love helping businesses grow!