10 Reasons You Need A Digital Marketing Plan in 2019

With the year coming to a close, it’s time to think about creating a new digital marketing plan for 2019. Even if your company’s fiscal year doesn’t end in December, getting ready to work on a new digital marketing plan for the upcoming year is timely and important. If you don’t make a plan to control your company’s digital marketing, you will lose opportunities and may overspend your budget trying to play catch-up. Here are 10 reasons you need a digital marketing plan in 2019:

1. Video is Hot

How much do you know about online videos? If you aren’t the type of person who is on social media such as Facebook, or you don’t watch videos on YouTube, you might not be aware of how much video has permeated the internet. Videos are easily searched on Google or on YouTube itself. And of course, there are numerous other video sites to watch and share videos. If you haven’t considered using video in your digital marketing plan for 2019, you should.

2. Social Media is a Thing

You probably are already aware of some social media sites. Large sites such as Facebook and Twitter are in the news often, but you may not be aware of more niche social media sites that your customers spend a lot of time on. According to We are Social, there are 3.196 billion global social media users. Penetrating that market is essential. You can reach niche customers on the big social sites. In fact, Facebook in particular offers excellent tools to focus your ads, but do some research on smaller, niche social media sites where your top customer persona hangs out. Whether you like it or not, social media marketing is a good way to interact with potential and current customers.

3. Voice Search is Growing

Voice search is growing with the popularity of Google’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa. These and other similar programs are becoming more adept at search as they are used. Voice programs are not solely for disabled people anymore. Mainstream customers are using voice search increasingly. In 2019, this trend will continue to grow.

4. Artificial Intelligence is Here

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a sci-fi movie fantasy. AI is here and your customers are already using it in some fashion. On the internet common AI tools include the chatbot, which can be found on numerous websites. Chatbots often interact with customers for simple customer service requests that don’t require a human touch. Using a chatbot is one way of lowering your budget while providing excellent customer service. Look for new AI implementations in 2019.

5. Virtual and Augmented Reality are Popular

With the vast upgrade of cameras in smartphones and tablets, it isn’t surprising that VR and AR are becoming popular in marketing and advertising. Customers are already completely used CGI in movies and on TV. VR and AR help customers visualize products, decorate their homes, try out colors, exercise and more. How can you add VR and AR to your digital marketing plan?

6. Visual Search is Trending

We discussed voice search, but visual search is also trending. Remember when you wanted to replace that pair of shoes, but you couldn’t remember what brand they were or where you bought them? You can take a picture of them and use the image to search. The big question to ask yourself is how often your company will show up in all of these new searches.

7. Customer Feedback is a Priority

With the ability for almost instantaneous interaction, feedback from customers has grown in importance. While it should have always been a top priority, now you have no choice. And truthfully, feedback can give you an opportunity to improve your product or service, potentially growing into an area that you haven’t considered before.

8. Vertical Video is Up and Coming

Instagram has recently instituted IGTV which offers brands a platform for longer-form videos. These are popular and can be used to drive your brand’s voice, show off new products or answer customer questions. You may even want to give clients a chance to create their own videos for your channel.

9. Native Advertising is Key

A native ad is a piece of writing or other material in an online publication that resembles the publication’s natural, organic content but is paid for by that advertiser as a promotion.With so many ad blockers on customers’ devices, native advertising offers a way to continue to reach people. This trend brings marketing full circle with written content remaining crucial. Experienced content writers will be an asset for all media channels.

10. Programmatic Advertising has Arrived

A big change to look for in 2019 is the wave of programmatic advertising, soon to become two-thirds of digital display advertising by 2019. Once the purview of media-buying, now this technology is spreading to automated ad buying. Traditional media is expected to follow suit.

If your company is looking to organize a new digital marketing strategy for 2019, don’t hesitate to give the digital marketing planners here at SocialSEO a call and get on the right path to reaching your goals. Our marketing team can help improve your online presence and keep your business on the right track for optimal success quicker than you might think!