6 Digital Marketing Strategies to Focus on in 2019

2018 has seen many advancements to the digital marketing world, and technology is showing no signs of slowing down in 2019. AI and machine learning are on the rise, bringing forth  serious innovation for the future. The digital landscape is progressing at a rapid pace — and businesses need to stay on top of these latest trends and strategies to find success in 2019.

Voice Search  

Advances in smart speakers and voice listening dialog systems are evolving the way we optimize search results. Products like Alexa, Cortana and other search engine voice recognition options are changing the SEO landscape, so businesses need to focus optimization efforts towards voice queries.

How are voice search results different from text search?

• The amount of words in the search query and word usage: text searches average 1-3 words per search, voice queries average 7+ words. Businesses will have to adjust keyword usage in both paid and organic search as a result.
• When people voice search, they usually do so in the form of a question: “Where is the closest gas station?” “What is the best pizza restaurant in Morristown?” It will be important to phrase your keywords in the form of questions for content in 2019 in order to rank for voice searches.

Google is the most commonly used search engine for text searches; however, voice dialog systems and smart speakers are switching this up. Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa make up a large portion of voice search interactions, and both use Bing as their search engine. In 2019, this may cause slight disruptions to SEO, as businesses will have to focus more on optimizing for both Google and Bing’s algorithms.  

It is predicted that in 2020, 50% of search will be voice — so it’s important to start focusing on voice in 2019 to stay ahead of the game.    

Programmatic Display Advertising 

As 2018 nears its end, we are all now well versed with the Google Display Network, or GDN. But what about publishers that are not in the GDN? How do we reach them?

Traditionally, ad buying for web publishers takes place in two main areas: the open auction marketplace and the private marketplace. In the open marketplace, publishers auction off digital ad space and advertisers bid for the placement. The private marketplace works in the same manner, but only certain advertisers are selected by the publisher to be eligible to participate. In the past, both of these marketplace processes required a certain amount of human effort to execute.

This is where Programmatic Display Advertising enters as a key player for the future. PDA uses machine learning to automate the real time ad space bidding process in both open and private marketplaces. Basically, the bidding and auction process is being outsourced to machines that are able learn and optimize quickly, while also eliminating human error. These programmatic platforms automate the decision-making process of media buying by seamlessly placing ads in front of consumers based on interests, locations, demographics and most importantly, online behavior in the blink of an eye, all while constantly adjusting based on results in real time.

Programmatic ads can reach 98% of the internet across all digital devices, and will be a driving force for digital marketing strategy and online growth in 2019. Programmatic ads are predicted to account for 67% of digital display advertisements in 2019.

Live Video Content

Social media live video sharing has been growing in popularity throughout 2018 and shows no signs of stopping its growth in 2019. Current research indicates that 80% of viewers prefer viewing live video streams to reading a blog, and 82% prefer live video to a social media post. Live video streaming increases engagement and has a longer average view time than standard video.

Live video provides the opportunity to communicate and engage with your audience in real time, and gives viewers opportunities to preview events, which can increase sales. For instance, 67% of viewers state that watching a live event increases their  likelihood of purchasing tickets to that performer’s events. The same study showed that 45% of viewers are willing to pay to see their favorite celebrity, athlete, or musician perform on a live steam.

Live video also offers new opportunities to preview and promote live events, answer questions in real time to a large engaged audience, and serve as a revenue generating platform for live content that viewers are willing to pay to watch. Live video streaming is definitely something to add to your marketing strategy in 2019.

Native advertising strategy

Ad blocking technology has recently created roadblocks for online advertising efforts. In 2019, marketers will have to rely heavily on the use of Native Ads, or ads that are incognito.

Chances are you’ve clicked on sponsored content without even knowing that you were consuming an advertisement. These ads in disguise usually prompt viewers to click with captions such as “recommended for you” or “suggested post” and look no different than the content on the website you are visiting. This creative technique helps ads to feel less abrasive and salesy to the viewer.

Moving forward into 2019, marketers will have get creative in their advertising techniques in order to stay ahead of the curve.

Social Media Influencers

Social media influencers represent an opportunity to get advertisements in front of  very specific target audiences. Social media influencers come in all shapes and sizes, and you’ll find them in almost every industry. The average web browser is bombarded with ads of all types on a daily basis, which can range in both relevance and usefulness — this is where social media influencers can help. They have credibility with their loyal followers and have relationships of trust with their audiences. They are viewed as an authority on their topics and as thought leaders for their area of expertise. One huge opportunity with these influencers is that we know the interests of their followers.  For example, if a fishing accessory company wanted to spread awareness about their fishing poles, it would be very beneficial for them to form a business relationship with a popular YouTube fishing channel influencer to promote their products. In doing this, you can guarantee that your ads are going to be seen by your target audience. As social media influencers grow in popularity and in numbers, there will be a vast market for them in 2019.

Chatbots 

Chatbots are evolving the customer service industry — bots can now answer simple customer inquiries with efficient response time and 24/7 accessibility. It has become apparent that chatbots are a great way for companies to cut customer service labor costs. What is not as apparent however, is the AI’s ability to collect data on your website visitors, generate leads, or collect consumer insights on your product or services. Chatbots can also help with SEO, as they cause users to spend more time on your site to chat and use them as a guide to navigate your website and products. Chatbots are improving in functionality at a rapid rate and will play a big role in digital marketing strategies in 2019.

Need help staying on top of all of this technological madness? Hudson can help you secure your digital presence for the present and the future; visit www.hudsonintegrated.com today to learn more.