Digital Marketing Trends 2020 & Beyond

Digital Marketing Trends - 2020 and Beyond

It’s of no surprise that our future, and our not too far off future, is going to be driven by digital disruption and advancements in tech.

As a marketer, we live in a time that’s observing changes at a size and scale we have never experienced before. And at a pace that most companies and people are struggling to keep up with.

With great advancements in digital and tech, comes great opportunities for marketers and consumers alike. It’s the companies that lean in and make it a priority to truly put the customer first and adopt these technologies into their activities and offerings that will be ones that are going to thrive [and survive] in 2020 and beyond.

But what does the future of Digital look like and how can businesses embrace these changes and use them to facilitate greater connections with their customers?

Let’s take a closer look into some of the digital trends we’re going to see and what the future of digital looks like in 2020.

Mobile Like Never Before

Mobile usage and mobile as a channel to reach consumers has been on the rise for years now, but we are going to see a big shift in how companies allocate their marketing activity and spend towards mobile - think site experience, apps, games, advertising, geo-targeting and more.

With Google indexing mobile sites, you’re going to need to make sure your mobile site is up to scratch with your desktop site and adopt a mobile first mindset if you haven’t already.

With the increase in mobile usage, we will continue to see more brands adopt geo-targeting strategies into their marketing plans and use data and AI technologies to offer real-time, relevant offers to their customers to build engagement and drive revenue.

Artificial Intelligence [AI]

AI has been a hot topic across all departments for a number of years now, and we’re already seeing and experiencing how leading brands are incorporating this into their marketing efforts and products, taking personalisation and predictive-personalisation to new levels, like we’ve never seen before.

We’re going to see huge leaps in AI and what this technology is capable of in 2020 and in years to come. Chatbots will become the norm when it comes to customer service across all company channels delivering a level of personalised service that will at first seem a little scary and real!

Marketers can the value of AI, so it will be a matter of working cross-department and with business heads to access and interpret data and so it can be used in a way that is going to be meaningful and of benefit to the end user.

The Growth of Micro-Influencer Marketing

With the explosion of social media in recent years, we’ve seen the rise of micro-influencer marketing and insta-famous personalities making a big impact and even bigger earnings off the #laptoplifestyle movement.

Whilst influencer marketing is still very much a hot topic, it’s important to note that relative to other channels [which have been around for some time], influencer-marketing is still relatively new and a few things still need to be ironed out in terms of value, authenticity and importantly, marketers being able to measure ROI.

That said, we know consumers still value word-of-mouth and referrals when it comes to brands and services, so micro-influencers, those with a smaller, more engaged following, will continue to be present in 2020 and beyond.

Voice Powered Everything

It’s estimated that Voice Recognition, also known as VR, is going to take over the search experience and make significant change in how consumers interact with brands.

For example, it’s estimated that over half of all search queries will be powered by voice search by 2020. And approximately 30% of all searches will be done without a screen by 2020.

With the popularity of voice search and the rise of the likes of Siri, Cortana and Alexa, users are increasingly using voice search to perform tasks and specific queries. As this continues to grow, marketers are going to need to work closely with SEO specialists and their web departments to optimise their website and offering to recognise voice search and stay ahead of consumer demand.

Like most of you have experienced, I can now send a text message while driving to let someone know I am running late, or when I’m at home use Alexa to find me a chilled-out playlist to wind down after work. Watch this space.

Augmented Reality Will Become Mainstream

In Australia, we’ve only seen a few brands do AR well. Think back to 2016 with the Pokemon Go mania that swept through all major capitals. A great example of the power and impact of AR and how a brand can incorporate AR into it’s marketing activity.

And whilst, Pokemon Go will likely be the first example of AR that comes to mind, what it’s capable of is by know means limited to the gaming industry.

Disney has already started to incorporate AR into its offerint through their Play Disney Parks app, as a means to entertain families who are waiting in line for their next ride. For example, while standing in line near the Peter Pan’s Flight ride, players can make Tinkerbell appear inside a lantern.

And Ikea now offers a virtual reality catalog where you can place pieces of furniture in your own home.

In 2020 we can expect to see more brands incorporate augmented reality into their marketing efforts and this technology becoming more mainstream and measurable for marketers.

Video Will Dominate

Marketers who are at the forefront of their game already know the power of video and have been increasing their usage of video throughout all paid and owned channels.

In 2015,The Washington Post predicted that video would account for 80% of all online content by 2020. And I don’t think we’re going to be too far off given the rise of live video streaming, mobile usage and social media.

If you’re reading this and thinking your brand hasn’t really embraced video in your marketing activity, then you’re already a few steps behind. But it’s not too late to make this a priority and start to incorporate video content into your overall content strategy and plan for 2020.

Content Marketing in 2020

Content Marketing has been a priority and another hot topic for marketers for a number of years now. I think it was back in 2008 when I first heard term “Content is King”. But what does the future of Content Marketing look like?

As consumers are becoming more conscious, brand’s are being forced to level up and open up sharing more about why they exist and importantly why consumers should believe and join them on their mission. Employee Activation is going to be a strategic tool all companies are going to want to adopt.

This movement is being influenced by AI, as smart tech is helping us to understand what users want and how they interact with brands. The job of companies is to use this information and incorporate it into a strategic Employee Activation plan that closes the loop and sets out to share employees stories and AI insights back to the end user to better the overall user experience - and drive company revenue.

Companies that understand the importance of story-telling and Employee Activation are going to thrive and set themselves apart from their competition in ways they have never experienced before.

The added benefit of activating employees to become storytellers of your brand taps into the fact that people trust people and consumers becoming more discerning of brands, especially those brands who are still using old marketing tactics pushing product rather communicating the value that their product or service will bring to their audience’s lives.

Activating employees as part of your overarching content strategy also creates internal brand advocates and micro-influencers, spreading the good word about what you do and why you do it, which is a pretty big bonus really.

The saying, people buy people is still true and couldn’t be more relevant as we enter into 2020.