How you can take advantage of digital marketing trends in 2019

 24th Jan 2019

Talk the Talk

Most households own a smart speaker or a smart phone that has voice search capabilities.  Either way, we can all agree that voice search is user friendly and time efficient. In fact, according to a ComScore report, 50 percent of all searches by 2020 will be by voice. However, voice search will present some challenges for marketers because keywords will be different to the ones we use during conversation. So, instead of focusing on keywords that users’ type, you’ll need to focus your attention on how users talk. 

Pivotal Recommendations

• Marketers who can forge a deep understanding of voice search and seamlessly restructure their SEO strategy accordingly, will come out on top.

• Now is the time to start thinking about how you’re going to develop conversational content and expand upon your paid search keywords by adding longer tail phrases. 

• To further understand how you can capitalise on voice search, we suggest you read this article.  

Search at first sight 

Human’s love to gather information through sight, and judging by Instagram’s growing popularity, it’s clear that we all have an appetite for visual imagery. Recently, Pinterest’s CEO, Ben Silbermann said, “the future of search is going to be about pictures instead of keywords”. To no surprise, Pinterest is not the only brand taking visual search seriously.  E-commerce giants such as ASOS and Target have already introduced new visual search technology to make it easier for users see a product, snap a photo of it then buy it, or purchase a similar item.  

Pivotal Recommendations

• Brands which redesign their websites to support visual search will stay ahead of the curve.

• Those who know how to improve a brand’s schema mark-up, imagery and metadata information will be highly sought after.

• On May 16th, the IAB will be holding a ‘Sound Investment’ seminar, where experts from the Audio Advisory group will be talking about how you can demonstrate brand effectiveness. Better yet, attendance is free for professionals whose employer is an IAB member.

Video Content is King 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but how about a video? A creative combination of visuals, movement and sound, video has become a powerful tool in generating engagement with users, and now plays an integral role in the digital marketing mix. In fact, according to the EWord, 71 percent of marketers say that video content outperforms all other content when looking at conversation rates. While the production of high-quality video is more accessible than ever, the competition for clicks and traffic is at an all-time high. And, with more advertisers expected to allocate more budget to mobile video in 2019, what can you do to stay ahead? 

Pivotal Recommendations

• All brands want a top SERP ranking, so marketers who know how to effectively optimise video titles, subtext, descriptions and tags alike, will succeed.

• You will impress brands if you have experience with submitting XML sitemaps along with the skill of transcribing video scripts.

• Another IAB event that you could attend in April is the ‘Video Trends’ seminar, focusing on video developments and its impact on the industry. 

Personal matters  

Personalisation is nothing new and is something that many brands have been working to perfect over the last couple of years. The question now is, how are marketers becoming more intelligent with data and creating a truly personal experience for the consumer. Some big brands are already doing this very well and it’s particularly noticeable when browsing Amazon or scrolling through Netflix. Yet, for the rest of us, how can we improve our marketing performance in personalised search? 

Pivotal Recommendations

• Reviewing your brand’s set location and optimising search intent are a few quick win solutions.

• Long term, brands that develop a deeper understanding of behavioural psychology and correctly link this up with performance data will generate the best results.

• Want to know more? We suggest you read this article to learn how you can successfully adopt digital personalisation.

Our digital world is changing every day and will be subjected to considerable change in 2019 and many years to come. For this reason, marketers will need to keep pace with new developments and strategically align spend so its further strengthens the users experience. The secret to success this year is simple; marketers who keep their skills fresh can create a competitive edge over their peers and will increase their chances of attracting employer interest. 

If you’re an expert and love digital marketing as much as us, we would like to connect with you! Whether you’re open to exploring new opportunities or interested in learning how Pivotal can help you attract the industry’s top talent, get in touch with our team today. 

View all of our available digital marketing roles here.