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10 Marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2019

As marketing partners of many clients from a variety of industries including B2B and B2C, it is imperative we stay up to date with trends and content that is useful for us to help enhance our clients marketing strategy. Being a boutique marketing agency and creative agency, we understand how important it is that we keep our finger on the pulse so that our clients are getting the best possible service available.

I’ve put together my top 10 trends for this year and what to look out for with your marketing strategy. If you’d like to discuss any of these further – drop us a line! We’d be happy to talk it through!

1. The marketing funnel is moving, move with it – A marketing funnel is a series of stages that potential customers go through, from awareness of a brand to post purchase advocacy. It is widely accepted amongst marketing professionals that the marketing funnel is constantly changing.

   My advice – Understand who your audience is and talk to them specifically.

   At Concept Marketing we spend a whole workshop talking about your ideal client and target market and how we can speak direct to them in a language that resonates with them, not the masses, you should do the same. The sales funnel doesn’t end there though and unlike what most believe – it also doesn’t end when they become a client. Clients are your biggest advocate and can be your greatest asset. So how are you nurturing them?

2. Content is always king – Content is always very important to marketing strategies. If you know what your target audience is interested in, you can tailor your content to allow them read or see what they want. Make sure you have skin in this game.

   Far too often we see businesses that create content for content creation sake. If all you are doing is writing content because you think it’s good for SEO or you need to be on Facebook because your neighbour said so, I’d suggest you steer clear. If you aren’t writing content with a purpose, how do you expect your target audience to buy into what you are saying?

   We have comprehensive content strategies in place for our clients. Number one objective? Speaking to our target audience to build rapport and provide these prospective clients information that is relevant and interesting to them. Not the masses.

3. Artificial Intelligence is getting real – AI is changing the way we do things and more importantly, it is looking at how we are doing things and adapting to it. From Netflix to your fridge, artificial intelligence is enabling data analysis to be more efficient, it can expedite lead generation and can take care of those tasks that challenge us humans.

   Not sure about this new digital realm? Let us show you how it can benefit your business today.

4. Chatbots – In most cases, you cannot beat human interaction when it comes to customer service. However, chatbots are bridging this gap and are using AI to answer customer queries in real time.Many millennials are the “instant gratification” type. They want to know an answer and they want to know it now. Trends are showing that these people actually prefer communicating with Chatbots for their customer service. Weird Huh? Not so much – and it makes sense.

   You have someone on your website. They have a quick question – but you don’t have a FAQs section on your site (also a no no) so what do they do? Your millennial might bounce off your site and find someone else to answer their query. OR if you have chatbot – they simply ask their question.
   You are satisfying two needs here. 1 – the instant gratification needs. They have their answer and they are happy. 2. Customer Service. That experience with your organisation has left a positive feeling with the individual.

   My advice though – know when to use them. If you are going to have them say “offline” more than “online” I suggest you steer clear. So, knowing when to use them is important.

5. IGTV – Instagram TV is very similar to YouTube but plays all the videos vertically and the app was made for mobile devices. Instagram is the place to be on social at the moment so if you aren’t up to speed on all things Insta, including IGTV, you need to be.Just because you’re a b2b business doesn’t mean this isn’t relevant for you.

   With social media in general you need to remember that at the end of the day, your “ideal client” and the individual that sits in the position of the role you are wanting to speak to – is still a human. One of the foundation workshops we go through is understanding that ideal client inside out, where they hang out what they value.

   Understand that and you open up far greater possibilities to communicate.All in all. Social Media and especially Instagram this year is a hot trend. Don’t miss out.

6. Remember the experience – The real giants of global branding have always hit the nail on the head when it comes to the inextricable link between brand and experience. Nike, Apple, Coke all realise the link between feeling the experience that the brand gives you.People don’t want to hear how good you think you are. They want to experience it. We’ve seen so many businesses come to us with a successful business model and great offerings, but they have neglected that “user experience” in all touch points of their engagement with prospective clients and clients alike.

   From your website, to how you greet clients when they enter their office, to what clients are given once your service/product has been delivered and all things in between – my biggest piece of advice here is OWN IT. It takes so little effort to wow a prospective client and a client – find your experience point of difference and make every person that walks through that door experience it.

7. Generation Z and the Alphas – It is so crazy that it makes perfect sense. As a marketing company, we need to focus on what is coming next. The alphas are the kids of the millennials and those who have their birth years from 2010 onwards. This generation will see technology no differently to the light bulb and we must prepare for this.

   I say this because I watched my 4-year-old cousin the other day show me a feature on my iPad and I wouldn’t say I am that old. But it was damn scary. These kids are being bought up in an era of rapid technology expansion and they have no fear around using them.

   My advice here. Don’t neglect the alphas. If anything- start preparing for them.

8. Voice – Voice searching is an incredible technology. Its simplicity and intelligence makes it such an attractive modus operandi for the future. After all who doesn’t like being able to say outloud to the nearest smart phone or speak “what is the weather outside”.

   Not only is voicing searching making it easy to find information online without having to use a device, but people are loving it because they aren’t on their phones or computers! It makes sense then for businesses to ensure they have been optimised for voice search this year.

9. Vertical video – I have touched on this briefly above, but it is worth emphasising that vertical video is becoming quite important due to amount of time people spend watching the millions of videos that are out there now. YouTube is the largest search engine after Google and video is only going to become more dominant.

   My point here. Video must be integrated into your content strategy. In fact – Video should have its own strategy altogether. Whether it using Facebook, IGTV, YouTube or some other platform, video is not going anywhere – so time to adapt and get with the times.

10. Facebook and Instagram ads – There is nothing ground breaking about paid ads but the trick here is that we have noticed that brands are moving to taking more of their ads with Facebook and Instagram.Facebook obviously own Instagram and with the unveiling of IGTV, the channels appeal has become a lot more alluring, so we see more and more businesses jumping on this bandwagon.

    Unfortunately, what we are also seeing is poor understanding of how to use the platform properly.

    At it’s peak it can deliver you fantastic brand exposure in front of your ideal client as well as an influx of leads from potential clients interested in the products or services you provide. At its worst it’s a spend where you will see minimal return.

    I’ve been working with our clients on their Facebook strategies a fair bit recently and have seen some get 60 leads – that’s 60 people who want to discuss the product/service our clients provide and how it can help them. And let me tell you it isn’t rocket science how to deliver it.

    It’s about
    – Understanding who your target audience and ideal client is and going after them specifically
    – Tailoring your messaging and imagery of your ads to suit the individual m
    – KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid. We don’t want to see name in lights flashing ads. We want it easy to understand, easy to see and desiring to the point where we want to act.

11. Influencers – Yes, I said top 10 tips, but I decided to through in a bonus tip for free. The concept of the Influencer has been developed for some time now and is continuously being honed and cultivated. Look at the massive appeal Ryan’s Toy Review has on his target audience. We will see this trend continue with influencers becoming your gearing towards appealing to the Alpha generation.

Not interested in the Influencer game? My advice to you – turn your clients into your influencers. We can show you how.