Ten online marketing trends at a glance
Not everything is new and many unknown things look like old hands to the second person. And yet it is in the details that the trend has awakened. Fine nuances make the difference and generate success in all marketing trends in 2020 and for the future.
1. Authenticity writes numbers
While a few years ago online marketing was competing with market criers, the first keyword of today is authenticity. Customers, readers and prospects do not need to be well-versed in marketing to recognise authenticity. Rather, it seems to appeal to them, because they reward them with clicks, likes, contributions, purchases and recommendations. The more authentic a brand or product presents itself, the higher the sales figures it achieves.
This authenticity of marketing then has a lasting positive effect on corporate identity and corporate image. The brand gains an almost unalterable reputation because it conveys reliability and consistency. Two values that are constants that customers look for in a world of rapid daily changes. Whether consciously or unconsciously, the presence of authenticity in marketing is highly appreciated.
2. Target group analysis for online marketing makes the difference
We turn to everyone and everyone, no longer works today. That was not a good idea years ago and is even less so today. And yet it is all the more difficult to define a certain target group, because the most outstanding thing today is individuality. Everyone wants to be different from the others and so paradoxically floats in a river of uniformity. Accordingly, these individuals must be addressed as a whole, without being conspicuous as a unit. This is the true art of online marketing 2020.
To define the target group requires a detailed market analysis. Who should buy the product, who can buy it, who benefits from it and why? Questions that should describe the target group of the brand. The analysis of as much user data as possible is helpful here. Precise reporting is also necessary to reconstruct user behaviour perfectly. In this way, marketing can specifically address the desired target group without disturbing their individuality.
3. Brand transparency creates trust
In 2020, the competition is swarming around the target group with clever manipulation. That is precisely why it is important to stand out from this mass and show transparency. Those who do not hide anything from the outset will stand up to any analysis. Due to the broad masses of people who use online reviews, tests and opinions, only brand transparency can be the answer. No matter whether the reviewers are well-versed or less well-versed in the subject.
If it is clearly defined what the brand stands for and what expectations it might not meet, there is no gunpowder for critics. In a case of public and justified criticism, honesty, insight and quick action are also always important. Anyone who waits, remains silent or tries to gloss over things will permanently damage the brand image.
Many other areas also contribute to brand transparency. This is the secure payment option, such as PayPal, or a detailed privacy policy. These areas, too, are seen by the user as transparency, which he continues to attribute to the brand itself. And transparency leads to success because the customer rewards with trust and thus generates sales figures through purchase and recommendation.
4. Individualised & personalised marketing
Once the foundation stone of an authentic basis of trust has been laid, the next important step in online marketing is to take 2020. Personalisation and individualisation of advertisements works. But only if the basis of trust in the company is established. Therefore, brand transparency defines the basis on which personalised and individualised ads are based.
In this process, the user, customer and interested party voluntarily disclose more data than they would do under other circumstances. With this data, advertising is personalised. Offer lists for the customer are presented individually and are personally tailored to the customer. Personalised advertising addresses the customer directly and individually. The more data he gives away, the more successful is targeted advertising on the Internet.
This works with the transparency of what happens to the customer’s metadata. He is free to decide whether to accept or reject. This free choice alone enhances the authenticity of the company even more. As a result, even more customers are voluntarily willing to agree to the full automation of their personal data. A cycle of success for the future is created.
5. Modern search engine optimisation – creating added value for the customer
Not so long ago, search engine optimisation was still a string of keywords. Whether as meta tags, alt image descriptions or in numerous forms of all texts on websites. Keywords were used almost incoherently and contextually. Orthography suffered and so did the user, who no longer read keyword-oriented texts to the end.
The algorithm of today’s search engines is smarter. It recognises the added value of a text by means of sophisticated programming that learns autonomously. The AI continues to develop autonomously and ranks texts with added value for the reader as added value for itself. Accordingly, the marketing of the future consists of readable texts with all-embracing content based on facts and adept wording.
Keywords are placed in a targeted manner so that the search engine recognises the subject matter. But it also recognises proper sentence structure and the easy readability of texts. It is no longer the quantity of keywords that is decisive. Today, quality is the most important factor for a proper ranking in the first places. This requires sophisticated meta-analyses, in which professional web agencies are specialised.
6. Featured snippets for better ranking
Search engine users now enter their questions directly into Google and no longer search through page-long link catalogues. The answer should appear directly, in abbreviated form and pointedly after clicking on Search.
Search engines like Google have therefore optimised their algorithm. Websites that have mastered the centred form of definition therefore have an increased chance of appearing at the top of the search engine as so-called featured snippets.
The Featured Snippet is the concise answer to the question the user asks his search engine. If they are satisfied with the results of their search, there is a high probability that they will click on the snippet to find out more. The perfect strategy to add snippets to your online marketing plan. The more often the user perceives the company site as an answer generator, the quicker he or she will go directly to it and no longer search via Google.
7. Voice commerce as a trend until 2030
The forecasts are clear. The trend for language assistants will continue at least until 2030. While language assistants are now making their first steps into households, their operation will be firmly integrated into everyday life by ten years’ time. This means that there will also be an increased focus on them in online marketing. Whether Siri, Cortana, Alexa or Google Assistant, the brand of the future will integrate voice commerce into marketing in an increased and targeted manner.
To generate sales transactions without images and text is the new challenge for every company. It is therefore extremely important to include the timely expansion and fine-tuning with every renewal of the voice assistants in the eCommerce market in the marketing budget. SEO is then no longer just meta tag and readable text, but an added value for the linguistically ordered offer of all online shops and companies.
8. Optimisation for mobile marketing
Not only since yesterday, the smartphone has been in the first place to replace or at least extensively complement the desktop and laptop. In the study “Internet Use in Switzerland 2011-2019”, the use of the mobile Internet by 80% of the total population shows a rising trend.
For this reason, the online strategy of marketing must be to optimise web pages, shops and information sites for mobile displays. The use of offers such as AMP and PWA, which increase the response times of the display and accelerate speeds, are profitable investments in this respect. Analysis tools such as Google Analytics are also a perfect tool for transforming user behaviour into targeted strategies.
9. Social Commerce – Picture Sale on Social Media
Voice Commerce is not the only new buzzword in the current Internet marketing strategy. Social Commerce is also a trend that must not be ignored. Especially in connection with mobile marketing. As more and more people of all ages prefer mobile surfing on smartphones or tablets, a rethink is necessary.
Mobile internet works mainly with specifically placed images. The user unwillingly clicks on links that lead him from the page or app he is currently using. This is where social commerce comes in, selling products directly on Instagram, Facebook or other social network sites and with apps.
Since more than 50% of users research products in social media exactly there, social commerce is the perfect selling point. Reaching your destination with just a few clicks and being able to surf the web immediately, that is the motto and the fulfilment of the customer’s wishes. Enabling transactions on social media does not require any magic wand. It simply works with the help of a professional online marketing agency and is also profitable for companies whose business is not e-commerce.
Another nice aspect of this possibility is that the user perceives the brand as innovative and modern. Accordingly, they will remember it with pleasure and recommend it to others. If necessary, he will search directly for products of the brand and generate further sales.
10. Micro-influencer – the perfect customer proximity with Influencer Marketing
The fact that influencers are used on Instagram, YouTube and similar social media channels for targeted online marketing is nothing new. What is new is the focus on micro-influencers, which work close to the user and are personally accessible. As soon as an influencer has reached a level of awareness similar to that of a B celebrity, it becomes difficult to get close to the customer.
Since companies themselves do not appear in a personalised form, the micro-influencer takes over this part. It is popular, somewhat well-known and attracts many followers with its opinion. Nevertheless, he is able to maintain personal contact with his fans and interact with them. These influencers are the perfect selling point of the marketing apparatus to get your brand in the limelight and save costs. The success results are also shown in the Adweek study, in which micro-influencers showed a 60% more effective motivation. A commitment that is revealed in sales figures.
Conclusion of futuristic marketing on the Internet
Finally, one thing must be recorded. There is nothing futuristic about online marketing in 2020. Because the new trends are not forecasts. There are already experts for these trends, studies that observe the trends and successes that can be expressed in figures. So it is better to think about the trends in marketing yesterday rather than tomorrow and jump on the bandwagon. Those who want to write good figures in the future are investing today in what is no longer just a marketing trend, but tangible reality.
