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No matter what industry you belong to, no matter what products or services you offer, you cannot deny the impact that digital marketing has had on businesses.

The ability to reach a wide audience on social media, track conversions and develop marketing strategies based on data are just some of the reasons businesses have strived to create a space for themselves in the digital landscape.

The thing about digital marketing is that it’s a relatively new field and like all any other new field it’s also rapidly evolving with each passing year.

Beginning of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing had humble beginnings. The industry started back in the early nineties when the first-ever web ad banner was created. Over the years, there were various innovations like LookSmart, Alexa, and Yahoo that further helped the industry.

However, it was the creation of Google that kick-started the digital marketing revolution. The search engine was launched in 1998 along with MSN and Yahoo web search.

Then in the year 2004, Facebook went live, and the world as we knew it changed completely. Mark Zuckerberg’s creation was as addictive as it was unique and within no time people all over the world were signing up on the new platform. The platform already had a million users by the end of its year of launch!

By 2006, search engine traffic had grown to more than six billion in just a single month. It was also in this year that Amazon’s e-commerce sales went over $10 billion.

Businesses were keeping an eye on all of these trends. They knew that if they wanted to reach out to these audiences, they needed to change their marketing tactics. This is where digital marketing, as we know it, came into being.

We use the phrase ‘digital marketing as we know it’ because this field is always changing. With digital marketing, something that’s working today might not be as effective a couple of years, or even months, from now. This is why you always need to be on your toes and stay up to date regarding the latest advances in this field.

Here’s a look some of the emerging trends in digital marketing in the year 2020:

Facebook Is No Longer Cool

You remember how Justin Timberlake’s character in the film ‘The Social Network’ referred to Facebook as cool? Well turns out that’s no longer the case anymore.

In fact, according to new research, 41% of Facebook users are people above the age of 65. Younger people prefer platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok because of the visual and interactive experiences that these social media platforms offer.

Facebook was already getting a lot of flak on account of cyberbullying, propaganda, and proliferation of fake news and the data breach scandal of 2016 only made things worse.

The company was hit with even more bad news in the year 2020 when more than 1000 companies boycotted Facebook. Some of these companies included major players like Verizon, Coca-Cola, and Unilever.

Based on everything that the company has gone through in the last couple of months, it’s safe to assume that Facebook is no longer the first choice of social media for majority of the population.

Since young people are no longer using Facebook, it doesn’t make any sense for digital marketers to continue advertising on this platform. After all, marketing is all about reaching the right audiences using the right channels and at the moment Facebook doesn’t seem to be one.

Instagram is the Choice of Youth

Facebook’s loss is Instagram’s gain. The Social network’s growth is nothing short of meteoric. Currently, Instagram has one billion users and these numbers are growing every day.

As mentioned previously, Instagram is the choice of social media for a lot of young people so if you are a business that caters to young people, Instagram is the social network that you need to target.

Customer Service Will Be Handled By Chatbots

Suppose you have AT&T’s high-speed internet package. For some reason, there is a problem with your connection and you need immediate assistance. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be if there’s no one to address your complaints?

Community management is an integral part of digital marketing. Customers expect businesses to offer great service and be available to answer their queries at all times. This task is too challenging for one single person and this is why it has been taken over by chatbots.

Chatbots are sophisticated AI programs that communicate with users and offer them support through chat windows.

Chatbots were most famously used by Facebook between 2018 and 2019 for multiple tasks however, since then they have become ubiquitous and are being used for various purposes such as generating weather reports.

24-hour availability, instant response to customer queries, and reduced expenses are just some of the reasons because of which companies have started turning towards chatbots.

Video Is the Future

The digital landscape has become increasingly cluttered and brands need to look for ways to stand out from the rest. Creative copies and arresting visuals might have done the job in the past however, the future is in video marketing.

Live videos, online streaming, and influencer marketing all employ video marketing and have proven to be effective tools that help generate engagement with customers.

Content is King

You have probably heard the phrase “content is king”. Truer words have never been spoken. No matter how religiously you follow SEO trends, always remember that it’s the speed and content that brings visitors to your website.

Content marketing has always been an essential component of digital marketing. However, in the last few years, there has been an increased emphasis on nuance in content as well. It’s no longer just about creating great content. Content also needs to have context and targeting.

As digital marketers, keep in mind that search engines like Google regularly update their algorithms so that they can better understand natural language in search qualities. The more relevant the content, the more chances that it will come up in the search results.

Personalized Emails

Billions of people all over the world use emails for communication purposes. This makes it an effective tool for digital marketing. However, like every other facet of digital marketing, email marketing is also evolving.

Nowadays, generic emails no longer work because let’s face it, people simply have no time. To tackle this problem marketers instead need to opt for a more personalized approach.

You can use automation to send out an email to customers when they perform specific actions such as browsing a specific product. You can then send a follow-up email that has a promotional price and a demo video for the customer. This personalized experience gives customers an incentive to sign up for your services.

If you need further examples regarding the effectiveness of personalized emails, just take a look at the kind of emails that Netflix sends to its subscribers.

Focus on Interactive Content

Any kind of content that you can swipe, interact, and click on is referred to as interactive content. Interactive content is especially effective for educating buyers. Marketers can use this type of content for creating polls, quizzes, 360-degree videos, and augmented reality ads.

Voice Interactions

Siri, Alexa, and Google were just the beginning. Very soon, we will be seeing the emergence of similar interactive features in devices.

People want to use their voice to interact with devices and companies are finally catching up to that.

As stated previously, customers require a personalized experience, and what better way to provide them just that than by voice interactions.

The Final Word

So as you can see, the field of digital marketing is expanding with each passing day and you must keep abreast of the latest trends so that you don’t get left behind. Always remember that in the realm of digital marketing at least, you either adapt or get left behind!

Baldwin Jackson is a successful digital marketer with expertise in search engine optimization and content marketing. The perfect balance of his analytical ability and creative thinking is what sets him apart from other practitioners in the digital marketing realm. He has helped a lot of small and medium-sized businesses in crafting their digital marketing strategies that are not only cost-effective but delivers results as well.

Baldwin is also a proud father of two kids and a Sports enthusiast. When he is not working, you will find him watching ESPN and NFL network. He has been able to get an amazing package on his favorite channels from Buytvinternetphone.com.