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As the year rolls to a close, we are looking up at the digital trends that have caught on this year, and those that will follow to the next. Marketers especially need to be aware of the new changes and technologies to stay afloat and thriving in the market. Let’s look at the hit tech that is taking marketing by storm.

AI and Machine Learning

AI lets marketers anticipate probable patterns of their customers based on collected data for the future. Amazon, Microsoft and Google have been buying in on AI and machine learning

Industries like food, beverage, ecommerce, life science and healthcare have started using AI like food retailers can use big data to determine the best delivery times by gathering data like weather, road traffic and temperature.

Profiling Rich Lead

Marketers employ data enrichment to reveal more details about their leads and personalize their approach when contacting them. Its advantages are that it removes any wrong or inaccurate information that companies might have about a specific lead such as his email, phone number or address. The retrieved data are then used to obtain other missing data. The final step is the optimization process. With the different data enrichment tools available, these data are used to create useful insights.

AR and VR Marketing

Augmented reality ads are major at the moment. It brings static or unreal environments into a more realistic experience, thus bringing together the “offer” with the “reality” of the buyer.

Michael Kors has successfully implemented augmented reality ads. Their ad on Facebook asked users to try and purchase their sunglasses. Virtual reality marketing is also used for creating brand awareness. IKEA and L’Oreal are some of the major brands using VR to improve their customer experience by allowing them to visualize their products pre-purchase. Big brands Nivea, Starbucks and Volkswagen are also following the lead

It’s Vocal

Voice search is undoubtedly topping the list this year. It is estimated that by 2020, 50% of all queries will be voice-based. The two main types of voice search are through smart speakers such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple Homepod, Google Home and Microsoft’s Cortana that give immediate voice answers to customer questions and the others are installed in desktops, and smartphones such as Siri and Google Assistant which display written search results.

The technology is affordable and offer greater capabilities and brands are thinking of ways to deliver their promises using voice-enabled devices due to high traffic of visitors using voice search to interact.

Chat Smarter

Chatbots are prevalent today, with 45% of end-users preferring to use them as a major means of communication in customer service. Chatbots are critical role in bettering customer experience and lets marketers better engage with their audience. Real-time assistance, dedicated support and proactive interactions are the advantages of these. Along these lines, Whatsapp Business Messaging has also become one of the most used messaging apps worldwide.

Micro-Moments

With online activities shifting to smartphones, marketers are leveraging on micro-moments to attract audience attention and pander to their instant decisions. Marketers can take advantage micro-moments like when a customer searches for something, looks for a nearby store etc to create targeted content and advertising. To best implement micro-moments, it is important to understand the basic practices of each.

Marketers are looking to take intelligent decisions based on past knowledge/history in order to deliver personalized campaigns to their target audience. Voice search, AR, VR and smarter chats will continue to increase in importance in the next year so it’s great keeping your eyes out for more updates. Too many changes confusing you, give us a call at onpageone and we can get your marketing sorted.