3 Digital Marketing Trends to Watch in 2019
Melanie Green — June 16, 2019 Digital marketing is one of the most important tools for small business owners and marketers. Its relatively low cost compared to traditional forms of advertising and media make it a good option for companies with limited marketing budgets, without impacting ROI. Since many customers fast forward through TV commercials and don’t have a newspaper subscription, some marketing experts argue that even companies with massive marketing budgets should direct large portions of their marketing budgets toward digital marketing. Here we’ve outlined three digital marketing trends to look out for in 2019. 1. Consumers distrust FacebookFacebook remains to be a significant tool that companies can utilize to reach their customer base at very little cost. Sharing valuable content and engaging with customers can happen directly in their newsfeed. If you already manage your company’s Facebook page, you might have noticed changes in your daily follower count, especially over time. Many users have begun to deactivate their Facebook accounts, which reduces your overall number of likes. As they reactivate their accounts, these users will once again show up in your page likes total. Do not let this trend dissuade you from using Facebook as part of your digital marketing efforts. Just make sure to diversify your digital marketing efforts to reach customers you otherwise might miss. 2. Mail Chimp changed its email policiesHistorically, email marketing platforms, such as Mail Chimp, only allowed companies to email individuals that opted into their email subscription lists. Changes in 2019 to Mail Chimp’s policies now allow companies to email other types of users, including those who haven’t specifically opted into your company’s email subscription list. This includes former customers. This means that companies should take advantage of this change to create other types of email marketing campaigns to reach these individuals. Former customers who haven’t signed up for your email list can be emailed to join your email list or notified about upcoming promotions. This is one type of digital marketing campaign that could have a big impact in sales and engagement. 3. The fall of “experts”Many former digital marketing experts are taking down their iconic digital marketing courses and programs in favor of new offerings. This includes Ryan Deiss of Digital Marketer who took down his iconic The Napkin Project training program. While some of the change might have to do with their own business trajectory, the market has become saturated with these digital marketing “experts” in a way that makes it difficult to know what to do. Instead, companies are relying on performance data and split testing to see what’s the best way to market their own businesses online. Digital marketing will continue to be the way that companies are able to market themselves online. With a well thought out plan that includes a little bit of various digital marketing strategies, most companies can find success with digital marketing. As this year’s predictions show, it is important to not invest all of your company’s time and resources into one type of digital marketing. Instead, well rounded strategies will continue to perform best. Read more at https://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/3-digital-marketing-trends-to-watch-in-2019-02211279 5 Ways to Boost Word-Of-Mouth Marketing for Your Business Source – https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauljankowski/2013/02/27/quick-what-are-they-saying-about-your-brand/#410b0cd9209a Marketing is important to every business. Because it’s so important, there are almost as many different ways to market your business as there are different kinds of businesses! No one marketing strategy is necessarily better than the others, but if you’re looking for a good way to market your business that is fun and effective, give word-of-mouth marketing a shot. Why is word-of-mouth marketing so important? In one study, 92-percent of consumers believe suggestions from their friends and family more than the suggestions they get from advertising. If you want to leverage that kind of marketing for your business, but you don’t know how to get started, give these tips a try. Invest in the Coolest TechOn the surface, it may seem like investing in cool tech is more of a benefit to you and your employees than your customers, but they can benefit from the tech you use too. In some cases, an upgrade is something you can brag about when you talk to your customers. For example, you can mention all of the benefits of using Python 3 over Python 2, and how it can make the design of your customer’s web applications better. Upgraded tech can make the customer experience better too. Faster systems mean pulling up customer information more quickly, and more complex systems can integrate customer information more effectively so nothing falls through the cracks. Why does this boost word-of-mouth referrals? People like to brag about receiving an outstanding customer experience. Connect First, Sell SecondThe entire purpose of marketing is to sell a product or service. Many people mistakenly believe that means you should jump right into talking about why your product or service is the right solution to your customers’ problems. If you want to increase the chances of your customers recommending you to their friends and family, you have to leave the traditional sales tactics behind and connect with customers on a more personal level. A few ways to do that include:
Learn to ListenYou may think you’re listening to your customers and clients, but you’re likely listening through the lens of selling more stuff. That will make your customers feel like you’re just humoring them by listening, which isn’t good for word-of-mouth marketing. Instead, learn how to become a better listener and apply those techniques to your interactions with your customers and clients. A few tips for becoming a better listener include:
Liking your posts, adding you as a friend on Facebook, and tagging friends and family only takes a second, but it exposes many people to your products and services. Their wider networks are also exposed to your business! Many companies have been built on word-of-mouth thanks to social media. Encourage Referrals with IncentivesIf you’re struggling to boost word-of-mouth customers, try giving your existing customers a reason to spread the word about your business. That means providing them with referral incentives. There are many different ways to do this. You can offer a discount on a future purchase, you can offer a free gift, or you can extend an invitation to an upcoming event. Being entered into a giveaway is also a good incentive idea, especially if you don’t want to keep track of discounts and spend money on gifts. Some incentives don’t have to cost any money at all. Sometimes, simply asking your customers to tell their friends and family about you is all it takes to boost referrals! Any kind of marketing strategy is better than no marketing strategy at all, but if you want to connect with your customers in an authentic way, try word-of-mouth marketing with the tips on this list. |
Marcus Guiliano
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