If you plan to kick off the new year with the same activities that got you by in previous years, you may find yourself slowly losing ground with your ROI. We’re breaking down what to expect in 2019’s marketing trends.
The big buzz in the old year was privacy. We saw a crackdown with information oversharing and extreme targeting. Facebook spent time in court defending their information collection policies and the European Union introduced the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that narrowed down how and when we share information.
In 2019, we expect to narrow down on our niches, continue to create respectful cyberspaces and, above all, stop guessing about what our audience wants.
- Permission-Based Marketing
In the wake of GDPR and the privacy revolution, people are placing an increased value on their attention, now more than ever. Asking your followers to opt-in to your email list and letting them know exactly what to expect from their subscription is going to be paramount in 2019. This goes for social media, too. Brands should expect to nurture the people who reward you with their attention or be ready to be left in the dust. - Informed Design
Smart insights about key targets will continue to drive effective design. Brands and designers must work closely together to leverage data about audiences to inform smart multi-channel campaigns. - Human-Centric Marketing
Brands that demonstrate emotion will thrive in 2019 and beyond. Authenticity must be inherent in our work and brands that fall short will feel it. By focusing on reaching the right person, rather than all the people, we’ll see increased engagement in marketing activities. Instead of quotas and impressions, we can look to engagement and resonance for markers of success. - Continued Focus on Video
Not only do the moving pictures stop the scroll and snag attention, putting a face (human!) on the monitor adds a personal connection for brands. Facebook introduced stories as well as dynamic ads, which added movement to static photographs. And landing pages that feature an introductory video from a brand spokesperson have shown to have higher conversion rates. To top it all off, social platforms favor videos with their algorithms, giving more weight to video engagement for increased distribution and reach. - AI and Bots
Artificial intelligence and bots are seeing greater acceptance and usage in both business and personal settings. The challenge will be in ensuring these technologies augment the humans behind the brand, rather than replace.
Historically, brands moved away from a know-your-neighbor marketing approach for the sake of convenience. And it made sense when you could put an ad on TV or in the newspaper and everyone saw it. But today’s marketing landscape is different. Instead, the infinite details of getting to know your audience can be managed with the intelligence of digital marketing solutions and social media. We’ve seen this work well for both B2B and B2C audiences.
For ideas on how to identify those targets and visualize your brand-audience interaction, you can subscribe to the Studio Chronicles for business growth tips and inspiration.
And our expert team is always here to help. We can work with you to create a brand strategy that incorporates informed design and human-centric marketing while ticking all the boxes of permission-based marketing (always with some fun peppered in!). Contact us to get started.