Why are we writing about trends for 2019 in November? Well, if you’ve noticed the Christmas decorations adorning your local mall, you’ll know that the year is almost up and it’s time to start planning for 2019 before the January madness hits.
We’ve narrowed down the top 5 technology trends to leverage in 2019.
In this post, we look at some awesome emerging digital marketing trends, as well as how tech is improving the way you can do business.
Stay ahead of the curve
Business owners have to work hard to “stay in the know” when it comes to the ever-evolving internet and online matters. If entrepreneurs don’t keep up, it may spell danger for their business.
One of the main factors affected during this change is your business strategy. Business owners constantly need to adapt to new marketing trends and elements that influence their customers and future prospects. Advertising has changed the way business owners communicate with their customers.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to be aware of the trends for 2019.
As an entrepreneur, it’s important to keep these key factors in mind:
- Marketing trends always change – don’t be surprised when there are new digital rules and trends.
- You need to stay on track with what’s new and happening – this helps you to match what your competitors are up to.
- Know how to reach your audience – this will help you improve the way you communicate and you learn how to adapt to their needs.
- Adapt to the change where needed – to thrive in your market, you need to change the way you do things so that you can improve.
- Be flexible enough to drop old tactics and learn new ones – just like adapting to change, being flexible means you’re willing to do what will work even if it means “retiring” from your old methods.
- Be original – don’t copy your competitors, that won’t do your business any good.
- Make time to improve your methods – take the time to improve and learn more to be successful.
5 Trends that can boost your business in 2019
1. AI Chatbots
When it comes to online assistance, the use of artificial intelligence has greatly changed the way people communicate online. Businesses can meet the needs of their customers, even when they’re not physically around to do so.
Think of a chatbot like your business’ own personal assistant. Some chatbots are able to do more than simply solve problems and offer customer support.
AI will continue to advance in 2019 and years to follow as new technology emerges.
In some countries and on certain platforms, you can command the chatbots to call a taxi and even order dinner. Furthermore, they serve as a great analytics tool because they are also able to collect important online data. Best of all it cuts the cost of having to employ real people.
Chatbots will be one of the biggest trends for 2019 and beyond, because they can work 24/7, they are faster than humans are, and provide immediate support.
2. Smart speakers = modern-day history
Smart speakers are not brand new but they still form part of the trends for 2019, because their use is predicted to skyrocket.
These nifty speakers are similar to chatbots, it aims to provide artificial intelligence support, and cutting the time it takes to do stuff. Smart speakers are voice controlled and users can connect it to their entire home.
These speakers also allow for the functionality of a Bluetooth speaker and sometimes manufacturers incorporate them into other devices. Some big names include the likes of Apple’s HomePod powered by Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google Home.
Google home’s mini smart speaker is unobtrusive and aesthetically designed.
Companies need to ensure that they tailor-make their content to be found in voice searches online. The main reason for this is that manufacturers integrate AI into smart devices. Why you may ask? Well, when we take voice searches like using Siri to find something online, the search is very narrow.
Compared to a manual search you do by typing something into Bing or other search engines. With that said, the “smart” way to write content online is to make it natural and not keyword focused. This is mainly because these smart speakers respond to natural speaking and are locally centred. Instead of it finding a restaurant in another area, it’ll find restaurants in your own area or the area in which you’re physically present.
Tips on writing for voice searches
- Content must be “action-focused” – eg. “good burger places in Cape Town”
- Use long tail keywords – instead of just saying barber shop VS hair salon, you’d ask “what is the difference between a barber shop and a hair salon”
- Prominent questions – ask and answer questions “what”, “who” and “how”
- Focus on local – voice searches as we’ve mentioned brings up local answers based on local locations. Eg. Hair salons nearby
3. Live videos making it happen
What makes live videos so helpful and attractive is the fact that it engages viewers. Facebook is big on live videos. Many businesses are using it to market and gain better results for sales and customer growth.
One of the best things about creating live video content on your company’s Facebook page is for the fact that they come across as natural and engaging. The digital era has long shifted away from the “scripted” or “robotised” environment to a more comfortable “real” environment. Instagram Stories are also a massively popular way to connect with your audience in bite-size clips that can be used to showcase interesting features of your business, products or services.
Vlogging and live video are great ways to take the customer on a visual journey.
Statistics noted by TalkPoint show that more than 80% of internet users prefer live videos over social media posts and many as 80% will watch a live video instead of reading a blog post. This makes video one of the pivotal trends for 2019.
Live videos allow you to receive important statistics such as how many people have viewed it. The broadcasts are usually live when using the “Live” video feature. This gives the user the opportunity to interact or engage with their viewers in real-time. Best of all is probably the fact that viewers can receive information through the video feed, without having to read a bunch of things.
4. Communication is key!
As if chatbots aren’t enough, “voice” is also one of the trends for 2019. This is closely linked to smart speakers but its applications are set to improve and increase over time.
If an entrepreneur can delve into the mindset of their customers, then that would probably be a great thing to do. However, the key here is to take note of what your customers want to read, see and are expecting. If you tailor your marketing to meet the needs of your customers and prospective customers, you increase the chances of better results for your business.
According to Forbes, analysts suggests as many as 50% of the people who use the internet and social media will form part of the same group who will use voice searches by 2020. This says a lot because of the steep growth in users accessing voice commands with their smart speakers and mobile devices.
5. Television? Internet Stream
The good old television has been around for many years, but late to grace South Africans with its presence in the 70s. The late arrival of the television to SA was due to political issues and rules at the time. When it finally arrived and was in full use, people enjoyed it and it was indeed informative.
Streaming takes front and center when it comes to entertainment.
TV entertainment has always been part of every individual’s lives. However, since the “rise of the internet”, we see a drastic shift. Today more and more internet users prefer internet video streaming to TV entertainment. With options like YouTube, users can watch everything from how to videos and fashion updates to baking and their favourite drama series.
Nowadays, some time-strapped individuals prefer to watch live streams about the business as opposed to reading lengthy content. Using both mediums as part of marketing, the business can advertise and reach a very large audience. Opposed to traditional advertisements that are extremely costly especially for SEMs, advertising online is inexpensive.
The Takeaway
If you equip your business to carry out the technologies as we see growing today, it will increase your chances of growing your business in the future.
Digital marketing specialists are already onboard with studying the changes and popular trends in various industries. This is good news for you and your business because you get firsthand support from people who are always keeping their finger on the pulse of digital times.
Decide which trends will benefit your business the most, and work with your team to implement them before your competition.
To ensure you don’t miss out on these trends for 2019, you need to stay informed and tweak your digital marketing and business tactics accordingly.
Being online with your business will open vast doors and reach a larger market as opposed to traditional marketing strategy. Smart devices are so much part of everybody’s lives it’s hard not to have a regular life without it. This is even more reason to make your business fully digital!
Are you keeping up with the digital trends? Which ones do you use for your business?
