Fast Forward 2020: Top Digital Marketing Trends to Watch Out

Increasing competition in the digital landscape has played a vital role in revolutionizing the industry. Let’s rewind several years and compare the digital landscape of that time with the present landscape. We will notice that there have been many significant changes. 

Today the digital marketing has become much more streamlined, organized and focused. The innovative factor can never be taken out of the digital marketing but today the increasing use of technology and analytics have helped in enhancing the overall impact of digital marketing exercises. 

Another thing that we can observe is that the huge increase in the changing rate of digital marketing landscape. We don’t have to wait for an entire year or more to study the development or changes. Within a few months, the hot trends start fading away, sophisticated tools and techniques are introduced and new trends emerge- some of which stay for long. In such case, it would be interesting to know the possible growth rate and major trends that can redefine the digital marketing industry in 2020.

Let us fast forward and peep into the future to see how the digital landscape of 2020 would look like:

Connection with reality

If we closely study the recent trends in the content scenario we can find a huge shift in the working style of the content creators and marketers. A significant part of the content is presented in form of the quotes by the authority figures of the industry. 

Besides, today the real-life events, conferences, and seminars are acting as the fertile ground from where the content creators and marketers are harvesting the fresh, crisp ideas with a subtle viral factor.

• By the time 2020 will knock, we would see that the content creation and marketing experts would base a huge part of their strategy around real-life events, case studies, excerpts by authority figures and interaction with the clients as well as professionals.

• It would be a leap from providing the writer’s thoughts or tips to presenting the excerpts of the authority figures, interviews, speaker notes etc. that will help the reader to make a quick connect with the content. Besides, it will also require the content creator or marketer to change the direction of research.

• They might need to make some real life industry connections, attend the seminars and conferences, watch the relevant videos and carry out other similar exercises. How deftly a digital content marketer or writer does that would define their success in 2020.

B2B will spend more on digital marketing technology

While B2C businesses form the prime layer of clients for the digital marketers, the last year i.e., 2017 experienced some pleasantly surprising shift in the trends. The B2B clients significantly increased the budget of digital marketing technology that underlines the growing awareness in B2B sector with regards to the digital marketing.

• However, the major part of the increased budget is spent on the marketing technology rather than campaigns or social media activities. As per one of the studies more than half of the businesses- 43.2% to be precise- spent above $50,000 on digital marketing technology.

• Another important figure revealed by the study is 28% of the businesses incurred <$100K only for marketing technology. SO there are 2 major things to note here.

• The B2B sector that is generally don't take the digital marketing exercises as serious as the B2C sector- is now showing an increased interest in the same and going by the various past trends in the digital landscape it would not be unrealistic to expect that by 2020 the interest, expenditure, and activities are related to digital marketing would significantly rise in B2B sector.

•  The second important thing to note here is the blend o marketing and technology. The clients of today are more interested in the concrete data. The marketing technologies allow them to get the data that is really useful and can offer the tangible business profits if used strategically.

• Besides, it also offers them the valuable insights that can further help the businesses to use the data more effectively. Hence we can certainly expect that it will redefine the digital marketing strategies as people would have the real data promising tangible benefits and also the insights.

(Hopefully) Harmonious correlation between the talent and tools

The increasing use of tools in the digital marketing exercises can redefine the role of experts in this particular field. Much of the data can be fetched by the sophisticated technical tools and a number of related activities are automated like customer data segmentation and integration as well as the campaign management.

• In other words, the marketing technologies tools are not limited to providing the passive reports but can play a direct and more interactive role in the digital marketing ecosystem.

• However, it needs the human creativity to work on the data fetched by the technology and decide the character the digital campaign that can later e managed by the digital technology tools.

• Hence it would not be a surprise if we see the interdependent coexistence between digital marketers of 2020 and digital marketing tools.

• It would be interesting to see how it will affect the employment, expertise, and demand for digital marketers in 2020. More importantly, it can also impact the competition in the digital arena.

More focus on customer retention

Widening the customer base is one of the primary objectives of digital marketing. However, the increasing number of players in the digital ecosystem makes it difficult to acquire the new customers. Besides, there is an element of uncertainty as you cannot predict the success of such attempts. That is why much of the exercises are directed towards exploring the ways to enhance the business coming from existing clients.

•  It has also impacted the post sales activities and we can see that the companies are now offering much better services to their existing clients and a hike in client relationship and support management can be observed.

• By 2020 the growth rate of overall expenditure on retention might be equal to even more than the expenditure on new custom re-acquisition. It will also affect the quality of the customer services.

Reasonable use of well-researched strategies

While there is kind of huge revolution in the digital marketing arena today, it is clearly perceptible that the volume of efforts is rising significantly. However, the major point is that the quality should match the quantity. Today, we can see that the serious digital marketing experts are now focused on enhancing the quality of their campaigns.

• By 2020, it is expected that the unnecessary high volume of digital marketing strategies would be replaced by the judicious use of well-focused strategies.

• It will also change the marketing process where the experts would pay more attention to the homework before executing the final task.

•  That can also result in filtering the real talent from the general dabblers.

Author Bio:

Annette is a content writer and director of operations. She writes for various industries like travel, wildlife, history, art, and of course technology! She works with B2B and B2C businesses providing digital marketing content that gains social media attention and increases their search engine visibility.

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Facebook Ads, How they Work and How to use them?

Are Facebook Ads Effective?

When most people think of social media, they think of the ways they use it in their personal lives. While social media plays a significant role in the personal lives of millions of people, it also has a significant presence in the world of business.

Modern companies look to social media for opportunities to reach and connect with consumers. With more than 2 billionmonthly active users, Facebook has a reach that far exceeds the competition. It’s for this reason that it plays a central role in most social media advertising strategies.

Even with its massive reach, there are still some businesses that wonder whether Facebook ads are effective. Marketers know that by working with a Facebook marketing agency they can reach a wider audience than they could through other channels, but the question of whether that reach will translate to sales remains.

For businesses that are still wondering whether Facebook ads are effective, the short answer is yes. Research has shown that Facebook does increase purchasing intent among consumers, and it can achieve many of the same goals as traditional advertising at a fraction of the cost.

For a company that is looking to grow their brand and sell products, asking whether Facebook ads are effective is the wrong question. Their benefit has already been demonstrated through research, and countless case studies are available online. Instead of asking whether it works, brands should be thinking about what goes into creating an effective Facebook advertising campaign.

Running an Effective Campaign

A successful Facebook ad campaign is going to look different for every business. Each brand has its own unique goals and markets to different audiences. Most will need to do a little experimentation if they want to get optimal results from Facebook advertising. Nonetheless, there are some best practices that can help any business start their campaign on the right foot.

Set Goals

The first step is to identify the goals of the ad campaign. The more specific goals are, the more well planned a campaign will be. Common Facebook advertising goals include increasing sales, raising brand awareness, lead generation, and driving traffic to the company’s website.

Target Your Audience

Facebook’s wide reach is impressive, but the most successful ad campaigns narrow their audience down to the people most likely to act on the ad. Brands have to know their customers and target them with ads that are relevant to their experience and needs.

Create Custom Audiences

The targeting options can be a great way to define an audience that is more likely to act on an ad, but custom audiences can be good for reaching a very specific group. With custom audiences, companies can send ads to people who have visited or taken specific actions on their website before. Another option is to use use something like a list of email addresses or phone numbers for targeting.

Optimize Your Images

Images can be important for getting the attention of Facebook users. Firms wanting to increase their chances of success should look to optimize graphics to give the maximum effect.

The first rule is t to use an image that is relevant to the ad. Beyond that, avoid images that are too cluttered. A person should be able to look at the image and understand the point right away.

Use Social Proof

Social proof can be a powerful tool for steering consumers in the right direction. When users see that others have benefited from a company’s products or that other consumers have signed up for a service, it’s an indication that they should do the same. Finding ways to include social proof in an ad can provide a boost to  results.

Test Your Campaigns

No marketer is going to get the best results possible from their first campaign. While results may be good, there is always room for improvement. To find what works best, it’s helpful to do some A/B testing.

Along with testing different versions of the same ad, also test different audiences. By studying both, marketers can find the ads that have the greatest impact, as well as identifying the audience that is most receptive to different types of ads.

Try and apply these tactics and analyze your campaign's performance. Let us know in the comments how these tactics work for you or do you have any other tactic that can work?

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Elaborating JotForm Cards - A New, Friendly Way to Ask

The famous online form builder JotForm recently launched its new platform to ask questions from customers, employees etc. called JotForm Cards. For those who aren't familiar, JotForm was Founded in 2006 by Aytekin Tank as the first drag-and-drop online form builder, today they have 3.3 million registered users worldwide. The aim behind introducing the JotForm Cards is to create some motivational, friendly & easy to use forms that incredibly improves the response rates.

Unlike traditional forms, JotForm Cards interact with respondents like a real person would. JotForm Cards are motivational, friendly, and incredibly easy compared to other types of forms. The end result is greatly improved response rates.

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What are Conversational Interfaces (CI) and their Benefits

Although no chatbot has passed the Turing test yet (or so we assume…), it’s clear that the technology has developed rapidly in recent years. Chatbots like SmarterChild, the artificial “buddy” users could communicate with via AOL Instant Messenger, bear little resemblance to sophisticated products like Siri and Alexa.

Companies throughout numerous industries have triggered this rapid growth by funding the development of chatbot technology designed to make interactions more closely resemble conversations with an actual human. Until recently, Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology supported most of these products. NLP innovations allowed chatbots to comprehend and respond to basic user requests.

That being said, the results companies get from the NLP approach have been far from perfect. No one is going to mistake an NLP-based chatbot for a real person. Thus, organizations have shifted towards a Natural Language Understanding (NLU) approach, hoping to develop chatbots that can learn how to understand language more efficiently and reliably.

Still, the results can be cumbersome. Chatting with a website’s bot is often a slow, drawn-out process. In the age of digital distraction, chatbots should be able to communicate with users through a variety of means.

Image source: https://chatbotsmagazine.com/to-build-a-successful-chatbot-ask-these-5-questions-b7fe3776c74c

That’s why many experts are beginning to recommend Conversational Interfaces (CI) as the ideal solution.

Understanding CI: The Basics

Essentially, a CI is a hybrid chatbot interface. It incorporates voice, text, graphics, and any other available language interface to facilitate the most efficient communication between user and chatbot. By using multiple forms of communication, this type of chatbot also guards against user distraction.

Slack’s chatbot is a good example of a CI. One of the distinguishing characteristics of a CI is compatibility with multiple devices and platforms. You can interact with a CI through your phone, tablet, laptop, and even smartwatch. The ideal CI chatbot will respond to both voice and text, whichever is more convenient for you at the time.

A CI-based chatbot also reduces the frustration a user experiences when they’re unable to explain to a bot what it is they’re trying to do. For example, many people have encountered chatbots on websites that introduce themselves with general inquiries, like “How can I help you today?”

Image source: https://www.cio.co.ke/it_strategy/makes-great-chatbot-laser-focus-customers/

The problem is, the chatbot often doesn’t understand the user request. The syntax of your request must be comprehensible to a computer.

With a CI chatbot, instead of asking a general question, the bot may offer users a list of options. While this might seem like it limits what a person can actually use a chatbot for, it actually makes the bot more functional in a practical sense; the less chances there are for confusion, the less chances there are for a user to get frustrated with the service.

To understand the potential applications of this type of chatbot, take a look at Typeform. It’s an informational article that allows users (if they choose) to occasionally stop reading in order to interact with a chatbot that provides information about the topic. In the future, companies could use this kind of chatbot to gather more personal information about a customer. Imagine reading about a new product or service, while a reasonably natural chatbot asks you questions, answers your questions, and generally takes the time to learn about your reaction to the product.

It’s important to realize that CI technology is still in its infancy. That said, it represents one of the most promising innovations for developing truly realistic virtual people.

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What You Need to Know About UX vs. UI for App Development

When designing a mobile app, prioritizing UX is essential. That said, UI is an equally important part of good native appdesign. If you don’t work in the field of software and app development, you may wonder what the difference is. Many people mistakenly use the terms UX and UI interchangeably. However, they actually refer to distinct elements of a mobile app, both of which play a crucial role in attracting and retaining users.

Understanding the Role of UX

UX is short for “user experience.” When a customer uses your app, the processes should be intuitive and simple.

The UX designer works behind the scenes to ensure a smooth experience for all users. Thus, you’re unlikely to even notice the quality of a UX designer’s work unless it’s poor. You expect an app to be easily understandable; you’ll only pay attention to the general user experience if it’s confusing and flawed.

To ensure a quality UX, designers study industry best practices, research user behavior, and take other necessary steps to better understand what customers are looking for in an app.

What a UI Designer Does

UI refers to the app’s “user interface.” The UI designer is essentially responsible for the concrete visual elements of the program. This includes typography, graphics, color scheme, widgets, buttons, and more.

The discipline of UI design can be compared to graphic design, where every discrete visual element must contribute to a consistent overall style. UI designers take on the added challenge of designing visuals that are interactive in nature: when a user clicks on a button, it needs to do something other than simply look appealing.

Also Read : How to Become a Master Designer

How They Differ

Both UX and UI designers play critical roles in the app development process, and often coordinate with each other to ensure the finished product is cohesive.

UX designers are particularly focused on making sure a user is able to complete specific tasks within an app. A visually-appealing product won’t succeed if customers can’t figure out how to use it for its intended purpose.

In this respect, UX is a science. Designers study their goals to determine the most logical way for an app’s processes to flow. Users should never be confused about what steps they should take next to complete a task. Even if they’re not confused, too many steps can result in a cumbersome UX – simplicity and efficiency are paramount.

UI design is more of an art than a science. The UX designer determines what a person actually experiences when using a specific feature. Meanwhile, the UI designer determines how that experience will look and feel. The app should be useful, but it should also “feel good” to use.

Both roles are critical. Quality UX ensures that users intuitively understand how an app functions without reading through instructions, while quality UI ensures that they enjoy the overall experience. Although there is a lot of overlap in their goals, UI designers and UX designers approach their jobs from different starting points. When they both do their jobs well, the result is an app that looks good and serves a legitimate purpose for the user.

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