It’s hard to believe the year is already coming to an end. Hopefully 2018 was a successful year for you and your business or organization. It has been a big year as far as marketing and advertising trends go, so that means our business strategies have to adjust alongside them.
With the constant increase in internet use, social networks especially adapt their platforms to conform to consumer demands. Research shows that in 2019, people’s time using of the internet per day will catch up with the hours spent watching television-that’s close to 2.6 hours a day! With this in mind, businesses must acknowledge that consumers are surfing the web for almost three hours a day… making your online marketing and advertising strategies there even more important.
Let’s look back at the major marketing changes and trends of 2018, as we plan for 2019.
Social Media Algorithms
Change was on the wind in 2018. Facebook Founder/ CEO and now Instagram owner, Mark Zuckerberg, said, “you’ll see less…from businesses, brands, and media..[posts] should encourage meaningful interactions between people.” As a result, content posted by individuals in close circles and families is now prioritized, making it more difficult for ads and promotions from businesses to show up on feeds. So what does this mean for your business? Perhaps, Facebook and Instagram won’t be as reliable as they have been in previous years for encouraging visibility and driving traffic to your business or website. You may want to try branching out into an alternative marketing strategy on social media, such as using paid ads or micro-influencers. Micro-influencers are non-celebrity individuals who nonetheless have a strong, established following on social media, and can therefore promote your business or product to thousands of people through their social media channels.
Content That is Voice-Search-Friendly
Voice searches aren’t just a feature on our phones anymore – devices like Amazon’s Alexa are carving out a significant niche in our homes. So as consumers increasingly perform searches on devices like this, businesses’ content must also accommodate for such searches. Incorporating natural conversation language, framing content around questions, and using longer phrases (or even full sentences) for keywords now has to be common practice for writing online search marketing content. As of now, 2 out of 5 adults perform a voice search at least once a day. Analysts say that in 2020 it’s possible that 50% of all searches will be made through voice prompts. Will customers be able to find and purchase your products or services this way? Make 2019 the year to implement changes to your plan if necessary.
The Views Are in The Videos
The dominating trend for posting on social media platforms has become videos. It also helps that Facebook and Instagram algorithms favor videos, so that’s a plus! Videos evoke emotion, they show your current and potential customers that you’re credible, vulnerable, and authentic, ultimately leading to higher conversions, compared to photo and text brand awareness, yielding higher return on investment. It doesn’t hurt that smartphones nowadays capture amazing videos, so you get to give viewers an appealing inside look at your business. And statistics don’t lie. According to research, 82% of consumers say they would rather watch live videos than read social media posts, 67% of live viewers say they are more likely to purchase a concert ticket to see a band or attend an event if they’ve seen a live stream of a similar event online, and 64% of consumers say watching a marketing video on Facebook has influenced a purchase decision in the last month. Time for your business to get that video rolling.
Make Your Plan For 2019
Being ahead of the game means not only staying current with the latest trends, but also looking ahead at the ones currently forming for the upcoming year. Want your business to stand out in 2019? Let us help you incorporate some of these new marketing strategies into your plan for the new year. Brockett Creative Group is a full-service marketing and advertising agency with that exact goal in mind – to know and grow your business with the most up-to-date strategies performed with excellence.