Marketing in 2020 is going to be challenging and exciting. Tomorrow's marketing trends will be shaped by the millennial market and huge leaps in technology. Businesses need to keep their ear to the ground for the latest trends and leverage them quickly. By staying on top of the major developments that impact marketing, you can drive business growth.
Let's explore three of the key trends that could arise in 2020 and guide your marketing strategies.
AR and VR in marketing
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology are now commonplace in business-user interactions. These technologies offer immersive experiences to users and enable people to interact with your products. Adding AR and VR tech can also build brand awareness for your business.
Very often, just the buzz around AR and VR can spike interest in your brand, making it more memorable. By adding AR and VR content, you can boost engagements that lead to greater conversions. There are several helpful use cases that illustrate how virtual and augmented reality can benefit your business.
Today, tools like Google Lens and Apple's ARKit allow people to point their camera at an image and get data. Image recognition algorithms can identify an image, download information, and display it on a user's screen.
Augmented reality in the beauty industry allows people to try on makeup virtually to see how it looks. Brands like Estée Lauder, Lancôme, and Sephora have created AR tools that let people try lipsticks and nail polishes virtually. In this way, users can be more confident about buying a product.
Ikea has launched the Ikea Place app with AR tech that enables users to virtually place furniture in their homes. It not only helps users feel more comfortable buying furniture online, but it's also a fun experience.
Virtual reality is used to create an immersive experience for customers. It's already entered the real estate industry; buyers can tour a home without being at the physical location. It's also being used in the auto industry. Volvo, for example, used VR technology that allowed users to test-drive its XC90 SUV. It created significant buzz around the company and boosted traffic and engagement.
Such examples highlight how the adoption of AR and VR can boost engagement and drive conversion rates. These technologies facilitate interactivity with brands and help users get in-depth details about products. Buyers are more comfortable making purchases online because their doubts and uncertainty are removed.
There are many ways you can use AR and VR technology to tell your audience richer stories. It's essential to learn about these technologies early on and to incorporate them into your business. They're becoming more accessible and affordable, and can play a significant role in helping your business grow.
AI and digital marketing
Artificial intelligence can power your marketing strategies to create striking customer experiences. AI supports data-driven decisions and improves business communication, lead generation and more. In 2020, AI will continue to feature significantly in marketing strategies. Here are several ways AI will support your business's marketing strategies.
Search functionality
For e-commerce businesses, AI can transform how people interact with products. For example, a customer could use an image-recognition solution to take a picture of an outfit. AI tools can retrieve similar or related pictures and display them. This allows users to get ideas about styling and accessorizing which can lead to more sales.
AI-powered computer visions can also support search actions. Users can find a product they want by uploading an image, and the AI tool can then find and display the product in a brand's catalog.
Sentiment analysis
Artificial intelligence can be used in sentiment analysis and social listening. Sentiment analysis attempts to understand the feelings that underlie a text. It helps you understand what the audience is saying about your brand.
You can use sentiment analysis to understand whether people have a positive, neutral or negative opinion about your brand. It can monitor social mentions and the opinions being shared on blogs and social media.
These features are valuable as you'll discover negative content sooner so you can step in and manage your brand's image. It can also assist with evaluating your customer support to help you understand how customers feel.
Greater personalization
You can improve your brand's engagement rate by using AI to create personalized experiences. Many publications use AI to deliver customized content based on a person's search history, location and interests. AI can help you create personalized product recommendations and content suggestions.
You can also use AI to automate advertising. It can help segment your email lists to a fine point where you can target them with highly personalized email marketing campaigns.
Chatbots
Chatbots are already popular and available on many websites as a way to provide quick customer support. They save time and helps users get the information they need fast, especially when the information they need can simply be retrieved from a database.
Chatbots can serve marketing goals by accumulating user interaction data and adding it to CRM databases. They can enable a 360-degree view of your customers, so you can communicate better and offer personalized services.
Social media marketing
Most businesses already know that social media platforms play an important role in online marketing. Content is the beating heart of social media marketing and is what drives engagement, traffic and conversions. When it comes to content, there are a few golden rules that help you connect with your audience
- Create high-quality and informative content
- Trigger emotional reactions through power words
- Use a conversational tone
- Focus on relationships, not transactions
Here are other practical things your brand can do to make an impact in 2020:
Work with influencers
There are people who have a significant number of followers in every business domain on social media. These influencers create detailed content that provides useful information. They are typically fair in their analysis of different brands and products and very often, their audiences trust their content. Your brand can leverage this by collaborating with influencers.
Influencers can provide a human touch where brands are often faceless and impersonal. There are many ways you can get reach out and win over the support of an influencer:
- Invite them to use your product for free
- Create an affiliate marketing strategy with a membership site
- Offer discounts to their audience
While working with influencers is not new, the approach is what matters. Focus on building a relationship and a loyal brand following as a way to grow long-term.
Create video content
Visual content creates more views than any other content format. Posting videos to your social media pages can boost engagement significantly. You can add videos and images to a popular feature available on all social media platforms today: Stories.
You can share an image or a short video that stays for a limited time period, like 24 hours. It creates the fear of missing out (FOMO) which compels users to take action and buy immediately.
You can also create interactivity by adding hashtags and polls to get users to engage with your stories. When users interact with your content, they play a part in its co-creation. This helps you build a relationship with your audience, which leads to brand loyalty.
Try to focus on interactivity, emotional connections and authenticity in your content. By offering value and engaging with users you'll have successful social media campaigns.
Boost your marketing strategies in 2020 with top trends
With the new year at hand, it's beneficial to watch out for trends that can help improve your marketing strategies and grow your business.
Technological advances are happening faster than ever in the AR, VR and AI spaces, and there are many applications that can have a profound impact on your business's success. It's also important to leverage social media and the many features it offers to reach your audience. By staying on top of the major marketing trends of 2020, you'll see a welcome boost in business growth.