The beginning of the year is a busy time for marketers. Online marketing trends are constantly shifting, after all, which means that not everything that mattered last year may still carry over now. As a marketer, it’s very important to know which trends are worth incorporating into your system and which ones to pass up. To make thing easier for you, we rounded up five online marketing predictions that will matter for 2019—and even beyond:

1. Online videos will reign supreme over TV screens

According to a study, the average person will spend at least 2.6 hours a day watching videos online in 2019, and this trend will continue in the coming years, as evidenced by Zeniths Online Video Forecasts 2018. The data showed that the average consumer will be spending at least 84 minutes every day watching online videos by 2020.

China will have the biggest market with an average viewing time of 105 minutes followed by Russia and the United Kingdom at 102 and 101 minutes respectively. This means a 17% increase in online video advertising budget annually, which is significant if you’re mapping out your marketing path for this year and beyond. If you still haven’t done it yet, this is the perfect time to incorporate discussions, video blogs, reports and interviews that easily attract almost any type of audience.

2. Consumers will look into who gives them the best mobile experience

With almost half of the world’s population owning a smartphone, it’s no surprise that more consumers are expecting businesses to give them a faster and better mobile experience. In fact, 53% of consumers say they will instantly leave a website or app if a download takes more than 3 seconds. That’s how fast you can lose a customer, which means that proper website and mobile optimization strategies should be applied to both your website and apps. Start by reading a reliable SEO guide where you can learn about the best SEO strategies to apply in optimizing different online platforms.

3. Voice services will increasingly influence consumer decisions.

H&M Home recently launched an application that is connected with Google Assistant, a voice service from Google. The app offers advice on designing a room in different styles to help the consumer find the right products to buy from H&M Home’s catalog.

This is the perfect example of how voice service can now be used as a smart digital marketing tool. In fact, this trend will grow with forecasts that smart speaker sales will increase by 50% at the end of the year and its market will reach $2.7 billion. Voice service is the new way for consumers to shop for what they need because it speeds up orders. For instance, people can now reserve products or order their favorite pizza just by saying them out loud.

4. Omni-channel marketing will create a complete experience to consumers.

With the goal of creating a single, unified communication system to give consumers the complete experience, omni-channel marketing uses strategies that combine social networks, mobile apps, and other online resources to capture consumers in time and make their experience smoother.

A good example of this is Starbuck’s loyalty card where consumers will create their own profiles on the company’s website. They can just log on to their account, use their phone or go directly to a shop to replenish their card, check their points and redeem rewards. Starbucks even has a feature that when a consumer orders through the app, it can calculate the time traveled from the consumer’s location to the nearest coffee shop so the drink is ready once the consumer arrives.

5. Content marketing is and will always be king

Good content will never go out of style, so they say, and this year is no different. In fact, it only gets better. Since the way people consume content keeps changing, marketers should keep up by consolidating both online and offline content.

From a single content with multiple edits for different platforms, content will now come in different types to suit the needs and tastes of each viewer. This will result in more collaborations between marketers and content specialists, influencers and creators in creating better quality content that’s personalized for every platform. Custom content will also become more relevant, especially with 86% of consumers now putting a heavy weight on reliable information as a way to trust a brand.

The Takeaway

Trends come and go, for sure, but these five will remain critical in online marketing not only for this year but in the coming years. So, if you are going to invest in something that will supercharge your marketing efforts, these five trends will be your best bets.

By Dylan M.

© 2019 Copyright Dylan M. - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

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