While digital marketing is constantly changing and evolving, 2018 was a particularly big year. We’ve summarised the top 6 areas that you should have under control, or at least have started working on, before 2019 starts – and brings with it a whole new bunch of changes once again!
1. Personalisation
You’ve been hearing this for years, yet there are so many businesses still under-utilising the power of personalisation. Over 50% of people consider personalised messages and communication to be more important to them. No longer can businesses get away with mass-market messages if they truly want to resonate with their consumers. If you have customer information such as names, purchase history & their interactions with your business – then you need to personalise.
One of the simplest ways to get started with personalisation is through your email marketing (Read our top tips for email marketing here). A study by Marketo shows that personalised emails based on the consumer’s behaviour perform 3x better than batch-and-blast emails. You don’t even need to get super complicated with personalisation – start by using your customer’s names in your communications with them and slowly build up from there.
2. Mobile First & Online Security for SEO
Websites are the heart of any digital marketing strategy. Without one, you simply cannot market effectively online. Google made an interesting update this year which prioritises your mobile site first for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), so it has become crucial to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly before anything else. This just shows the increased adoption of smart phones and how much people search on their phone these days.
With all the online security breaches going around, including Facebook’s very own breach in 2018, Google finally put its foot down earlier this year. You must have an SSL Certificate on your website to be ‘trusted’ and ultimately perform better in search engine rankings. This next bit should only scare you if you do not have a great SEO campaign in place – but 75% of people searching online do not even look beyond the first page of Google. If you’re unsure about your website having an SSL Certificate or how you’re performing on Google Search, get in touch with us and we’ll help you sort it out.
3. Content Marketing
You’ve probably heard ‘content is king’ (maybe even several times) and it is so true. Having quality content on your website helps with your SEO, gives you content to share on your social media platforms, gives you content to use for offline marketing purposes, and it also gives your followers something to share online about your brand too. Regular content does wonders for your business online, and the best way to start is with a content calendar. Having a rough outline of the types of content you can share each month gives you a plan, with enough flexibility to change things on the go. If you don’t know where to start with this, give us a call.
4. Social Media
There’s no denying that social media has transformed the way we do business, and the way we do marketing forever. We used to hear “If you don’t have a website, you don’t have a business” and now it’s become even more common to hear “If you don’t have social media for your business, you’re not in business”. With over 70% of Australians now active on social media, it is the go-to place for consumers to find out about your business, feel a connection to your brand, communicate with your business and even make purchases. The prediction for 2019 is that Instagram will take over Facebook as the most used social media platform, so don’t fall behind – get posting and hash-tagging today.
Some important developments with social media marketing in 2018 revolve around influencers and in-app messaging. We’ve all seen influencers, from the nobodies to the celebrities. The thing about influencer marketing is that it works. People want to follow trends. Consumers believe their peers more than they believe the actual brands at times. However, the key with influencer marketing is to keep it genuine. Partner with influencers who truly believe in your brand and have some credibility to promote your product or service.
Chat bots and in-app messaging have also gained momentum this year, and is set to increase even moreso in 2019. We’ll be sharing more on this in our next blog post.
5. Video Marketing
Over 50% of consumers say that watching a company’s video makes them more confident with purchasing online. Professional videos make your brand stand out, help your business to gain credibility and gives you content to share online (and your followers can share it too). Videos are content, and YouTube is a great place to start sharing them through your own branded channel. With Google owning Youtube, there are some obvious benefits for your SEO too.
A key focus area for social media has become the live video functionality through Facebook and Instagram Stories. These short snapshots create a more human connection between your brand and your audience, they allow you to share behind-the-scenes footage and let you show off your brand’s personality. There aren’t too many rules with these live videos, and the more honest you are with your audience, the more trust and credibility your business will gain.
6. Google AdWords is now Google Ads
OK, so this isn’t a huge update from 2018, but it gives us the opportunity to remind you about the importance and effectiveness of Google Ads. Did you know that 70% of all mobile searches result in an action within 1 hour? That’s massive. And do you know to be part of those mobile searches? Google Ads. It’s fast, effective and can be highly targeted so you’re not wasting budget on useless clicks. When over 30% of people searching online consider the businesses in the top positions to be leaders in their field, it’s no wonder that Google Ads is a focal point for many digital marketing strategies.
