Hello Friends!

It’s the beginning of a new year, and you know what that means! New and exciting things to plan for in the digital marketplace! Take a look at this list of things to plan for and keep your eye on as we kick off another year!

Let’s get into it!

1. Video – It has been projected that eighty percent of the content we consume on social media will be video by the year 2020 (wow, that is next year!). Seventy-two percent of businesses say video has increased their conversions – sounds like an area of your digital strategy worth focusing on to me!
2. Voice – “Alexa, Who should I call to help me with my digital strategy?” This year, we can expect an increase of customers using voice search to find the information they need. It is estimated that fifty percent of all searches will be via voice by 2020. A great way to prepare for this trend is to optimize your SEO strategy beyond keywords. Use phrases that one would say when doing a voice search in your digital copy.
3. Bots – There’s a bot for that! I’m sure you have seen it, but if not, more and more companies are using bots to communicate with clients and customers. Bots are a great tactic to use for responding to basic customer service questions, social messaging, and warming up leads before they find their way into your funnel.
4. Micro-Influencers – Celebrities and big-name influencers are still a very useful tool for channel growth and sales. However, this year, it is all about the micro-influencer. Leverage the power of the lesser known locals in your industry who have highly engaged audiences – you’ll get more bang for your buck!
5. Visual Search – More folks are uploading images of the things they use most to source valuable information. Visual searches are providing product reviews, advising where items are available for purchase, updating contacts and much more!
6. Stories – Snapchat started it, Facebook & Instagram popularized it and now YouTube is taking them to the next level with Reels. If you have more than 10k subscribers on YouTube, check this out! Reels have their own tab and allow you to add filters, music, text overlays and more! The cool part is they are not ephemeral – they won’t expire. On Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is placing a big focus on Stories and ephemeral content this year. Expect to see more development and enhancement in 2019.
7. Groups and Communities – Look to developing highly targeted Facebook Groups and Communities to engage your clients on a much deeper level. Facebook is also continually enhancing this space – and it is the perfect way for you to build a brand in demand!
8. Micro-Moments – “New consumer behavior” as termed by Google, micro-moments deliver your marketing message in a way that is of interest to consumers. People spend an average of 3.5 hours using their phones daily, and that number is on the rise. Be sure you are serving them content they care about seeing.
9. Personalized Interactions – This is simple. Technology is far too advanced for you to not be leveraging Google Analytics and retargeting campaigns to interact with people who visit your website, join your email list, and follow your social media channels in a more intelligent way.
10. Authenticity & Transparency – Gone are the days of canned and curated social media timelines or highly produced personas of CEO’s. People want to see real, behind the scenes moments from the brands they love, and they want to see more from the people that run them.

Until next time…keep minding your business!