The Future of Digital Marketing: Things to watch out for all marketers
The digital marketing and technological landscape evolve so often and quickly that it feels like a puzzle no one has ever been able to master. The past year has had a lot of marketers scrambling to keep it up with the ongoing situation and unless one’s been living under a rock, the current events are shaping the digital marketing trends of the future.
At one point in time, topics like artificial intelligence, voice search, and data-driven marketing were ambitious concepts but now these innovative trends are one of the top priorities of businesses today.
With the chaos of 2020–21 now behind us, it is time we look ahead to what can be expected in this space in the next 3–5 years.
Here are 5 trends that marketers should definitely pay heed to in the coming time and consider:
- Artificial Intelligence
This is the biggest commercial opportunity for companies, industries, and businesses in the coming years. It is cutting edge and can be deployed for various potential applications in marketing. AI can help companies analyze search patterns and consumer behavior and use data from different platforms to help them grow.
Netflix is one organization that has put AI and data at the heart of its operations. The company uses developed AI algorithms brilliantly to recommend new content to its users and curate a personalized content feed.
2. Chatbots
Chatbots are drastically changing the way businesses interact with customers, manage campaigns for lead generation.
Instant messaging to chat in real-time with customers and potential prospects will help businesses save billions of dollars and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty which will, in turn, result in improved customer lifetime value.
One exciting example of an organization putting chatbots to effective use is MasterCard. Mastercard created a Facebook messenger bot that uses natural language processing software to decipher what the customer wants and responds to it like a real person- to automate the handling of payments
3. Voice Search
This concept is gaining momentum and will become the norm of the industry. All digital strategies would be tailored to voice devices and optimization of these strategies would really help brands succeed and stay relevant.
15.8 billion people will be using digital assistants by 2023
The increasing prevalence of AI-powered devices means search algorithms must evolve to not only accommodate machine learning, but also the unique use cases rising from how we use these devices in our everyday lives.
Optimizing for voice search has become a necessity in today’s time. Those who are not prepping for the same may risk losing ground to businesses that have positioned themselves to capitalize on voice search. As voice recognition continues to improve, and usage of voice assistants like Alexa, Cortana, Siri, and Google continues to grow, it will become even more difficult to stay ahead of your competitors.
One of my favorite brands which has already adopted voice search in their digital marketing strategy in the early phases is Domino’s Pizza. They allow pizza lovers like me to order from the comfort of my couch without me having to call them and place an order online.
4. Augmented Reality/ Virtual Reality
Augmented and Virtual reality marketing will be predominantly used to bring static environments to life directly to customers sitting at home. This will definitely change the way people shop and we have seen glimpses of it in the pandemic.
For Instance, Ikea has its own AR app called the IKEA PLACE, which allows the users to test Ikea’s Furniture in their room just by taking a picture of their room on their camera.
Brands are increasingly using this technology to enhance customer experience and increase sales and with AR growing rapidly, we will see a huge uptake in brands that implement similar technologies.
5. Mobile-First Content
Today, the main platform for online activities for searches and even online purchases is Mobile. Businesses need to develop and transition towards mobile-first content and change their mindset in the coming years.
We might start noticing that the SEO keywords also pivot towards mobile.
As mobile content takes precedence, long-form content could start falling sideways. Smartphone audiences are the largest in numbers and this will continuously evolve with better mobile and internet penetration around the globe.
To conclude, for marketers, especially people in digital marketing, change is inevitable and one must be looking ahead and embrace new technologies to stay ahead in the game.
