Our latest scoop on the top digital marketing and advertising trends for 2019 and beyond.
Voice search is on the rise
Typically, voice search differs from traditional desktop and mobile searches because it enables voice-permitted command recognition. Given that voice search is a type of question-answering system, it is interactive.
Thought-leaders have said that they expect voice search to gain more prominence in 2019 as part of a ‘conversational search journey.’ Current examples of virtual Q&A assistance include Google voice search, Amazon Echo, Apple Siri and Microsoft Cortana.
ComScore estimates that: “by 2020, half of all search queries will be voice-based.”
Visual search raises the bar
Visual search uses an image query rather than a text or voice query. It’s a type of active scan of a visual environment. For example Google Image Search. Latest developments in visual search such as ‘Lens Visual Search’ to iOS devices have indicated that visual search will raise the bar in search technology thus marketers should also step up their visual search marketing efforts.
According to Gartner predictions “by 2021, early adopter brands that redesign their websites to support visual and voice search will increase digital commerce revenue by 30%.”
Make way for chatbots and voice assistants
Chatbots and voice assistants are a type of AI, still early days for small-medium sized businesses, however looking at the success of voice search presented to us by influential corporations such as Amazon and Google, gives marketers clear vision for the future of search. Digital assistants have shown many advantages for both consumers and brands. Aside, from better speed, efficiency and cutting hiring costs, customer support and communication will become a personal journey.
According to Gartner predictions “By 2021 more than 50% of enterprises will spend more per annum on bots and chatbot creation than traditional mobile app development.”
Live stories and video are the future of marketing
Video content will continue to grow and shape the future of digital marketing, in particular, evergreen content. Aside from this, visual storytelling such as live stories is popular with people whilst on the move using their mobile devices making this type of content on-demand and hyper-relevant.
Cisco estimates that: “video will make up 80 per cent of all internet traffic by 2019. Additionally, 64 per cent of marketers agree that video will soon dominate their content marketing strategies.”
AR and VR becomes more accessible
First things first, the difference between AR and VR: Augmented Reality (AR) is where the real world remains central to one's experience, enhanced by digital elements. Virtual Reality (VR) is where a complete virtual world that fully encloses one’s experience of that world with no sense of the real world.
Both AR and VR enable users to virtually visualise and explore environments giving customers a more appealing experience and giving brands new levels of engagement.
A number of brands such as IKEA and DHL among others have already experimented with Augmented Reality, Moreover, brands such as PlayStation have already made virtual reality experiences for people a reality in a gamers world.
According to CCS Insight: “Analyst forecasts claim virtual reality could be one of the most disruptive technologies for a decade” and that “more than 24 million devices will be sold by 2019.” Furthermore, a study from Juniper Research (2016 forecasts) that the AR market will rise to 2.3 billion apps by 2021.
UGC will bring authenticity to brands
User-generated content (UGC) are forms of content that have been voluntarily created by consumers or users about a brand or product. In essence, UGC inspires customers to become brand advocates as social media peers look to them for recommendations.
According to a report from Adweek: “85% of users surveyed found visual UGC to be more influential than content made by the brands directly.” See - User Generated Content Marketing Campaigns: Best Examples From 2018 (So Far).
Micro-Moments will dominate the consumer journey
As defined by Google, a “micro-moment occurs when people reflexively turn to a device—increasingly a smartphone—to act on a need to learn something, do something, discover something, watch something, or buy something. They are intent-rich moments when decisions are made and preferences shaped.”
Micro-moments are not new, but according to Sridhar Ramaswamy, Senior Vice President of Google Ads & Commerce “micro-moments are set to be game changers for both consumers and brands.”
Google is specifically focused on 4 game-changing moments: I want to know moments, I want to go moments, I want to do moments and I want to buy moments; thus, marketers should be as well. It will be up to marketers to fill these moments with meaning and deliver value to the consumer journey to achieve successful brand advertising campaigns.
