I had an interesting encounter at a young professionals’ group the other day. I ran into the head of an analytics company with a lot of experience in big data.
When I talk to people from analytics companies, they usually emphasize the technical aspects of their profession. This man was different. He talked extensively about the types of clients he worked with the most. He said that there is a growing need for big data in the marketing profession.
He isn’t the only one to make this observation. Forbes’s Louis Columbus wrote a great article on 10 ways that big data is influencing the marketing field. Big data is playing a huge role in the digital marketing profession in 2020. Savvy marketers are starting to realize that they can no longer ignore the massive changes it has brought to their profession.
Digital marketing trends (like omnichannel marketing, AI, VSEO) that were once seemed outlandish to the average business owner are now essential to their success in 2020.
And why wouldn’t they be? For businesses wanting to stand out in this competitive world, they have to adapt to the constantly changing digital marketing landscape. They recognize that big data is changing the nature of marketing in glaring ways. James Wagner points out that big data is invaluable at understanding industry trends and past activities within the company.
Read on to discover 5 digital marketing trends that PR firms in Greenville, SC believe are going to dominate the business world in 2020.
Personalization
You cannot avoid personalization in 2020 if you want to entice your customers. And by personalization — we mean products/ services, emails, and content.
Machine learning has given birth to a ton of new personalization capabilities. Criteo has talked about some of these breakthroughs with machine learning and personalization, which include a greater availability of real-time data and ability to mine and process it more quickly.
Today’s buyers appreciate a flawless purchase process, and expect brands to customize offerings according to their needs. That said, understanding what the customers want and shaping your strategies accordingly is essentially very crucial.
Here are some facts that show personalization is the need of the hour.
- Personalized offerings attract 90 % of consumers.
- 80% love doing business with brands offering personalized experiences.
- 63% look past generic advertisements. In fact, they find them annoying.
None of this would be possible without the sophistication of big data technology.
Interactive Emails
You may have heard that email marketing is dying or is dead from a lot of people. But that’s not true at all. Big data has made it more effective than ever. Here’s why we shouldn’t believe it.
- Email marketing has a potential ROI of up to 4400%/.
- Despite the rise of social media apps, 75% of teenagers still use email.
- Email’s average open rate is 22.86% which is 22.26 % higher than the engagement rate of the BIG 3 of social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
All these facts loudly say that email marketing is hot, but clearly not new. The difference is that big data technology has made email more powerful than ever.
If you want to make the most of this interactive channel, you must use data analytics to:
- Review it with a new coat of paint.
- Look at it from a creative angle.
- Adopt tricks that make emails more appealing.
- Create UX-centric visuals and designs.
- Include clickable buttons.
Focus On Micro-Moments
In today’s world of digitization, the battle for a dollar is lost in micro-moments. Now, you might be thinking, what are these moments that matter so much?
Micro-moments are those intent rich moments that shape the decisions throughout the user’s journey. These moments happen when people turn to a device to discover something, buy something, watch something, do something, and know something.
To acquire more customers and cater to their needs, brands must be present at places where people are searching for these moments. They must adopt strategies and tricks to create a marketing funnel that provides users with instant gratification.
Omnichannel Marketing
If you were keeping tabs on the marketing trends in 2019, you might have come across the term “omnichannel marketing” more than once. Although most people confuse this term with multi-channel marketing, both have a different meaning.
While multi-channel marketing is about growing the reach of a brand on various digital platforms, omnichannel marketing is about nurturing prospects on these touchpoints towards a purchase. The latter is about a customer’s journey at various stages of the buying process and beyond. And hence, it involves personalization.
When you do omnichannel marketing, you can make the entire journey feel more natural to the customers. You can offer them a customized experience that drives them to take action — an action that promotes your brand message and increases your engagement rate.
Now that you know why omnichannel marketing is essential, let’s look at certain tactics you must follow to implement the same:
- Balance time and place with authentic content.
- Properly segment your customer’s journey.
- Have a mobile-friendly website.
- Always put the customer first.
Dealing with Gen Z In Their Own Way
Lastly, marketers in 2020 should be ready to welcome Gen Z in the purchasing funnel.
According to the new data, Generation Z will make up to 40% of consumers in the coming time. Having said that, they are forming the topmost market with their varied interests and personalized demands. And to cater to such needs, brands must focus on developing authentic content, unique products, sense of humor, and offering privacy to the users.
Big Data is Driving Massive Growth in Marketing
Big data is making some major changes in the marketing field. You can’t ignore the benefits of machine learning and other data-driven technologies. The 366 days countdown has already begun, and if you want to make the most of the time that’s left, you need to plan and execute what’s going to help the most. If you want to focus on things that you are best at, leave the digital marketing part for the firms that specialize in marketing in Greenville, SC.