Digital marketing is constantly evolving, and the most successful marketers stay on top of the latest trends. The way people use the Internet is constantly changing, meaning digital marketers need to change their approach to adapt to users’ changing habits. If you’re interested in the latest trends that will affect the way smart digital marketers operate in the coming year, read below to learn about the top digital marketing trends for 2019.

1. The Rise of AI

Artificial intelligence technology is improving at a rapid rate. Many digital marketers are taking advantage of AI, particularly for chatbots. Chatbots have the ability to improve customer services and your relationships with customers. When you use chatbots, you can send information directly to interested parties. Additionally, users can get immediate answers to their questions. As AI technology improves, chatbots will continue to improve, making them a necessity for top-notch customer service in the digital age.

2. Humanizing Your Brand is Key

As technology improves, more and more content becomes auto-generated and impersonal. However, people continue to trust people more than brands or machines. In fact, 86% of consumers state that authenticity is an important factor in deciding which brands to support. This number is even higher for millennial consumers. For this reason, it’s becoming increasingly important to make your company seem as human as possible. Show that your content is made by actual humans and use personal voices. For tips on humanizing your marketing content, click here. In addition to your marketing content, it’s important for CEOs to be visible and social. People want to know who they are, and having a social CEO will boost your company’s reputation. For the greatest success in 2019, take steps to make your brand seem as human as possible.

3. Voice Search Continues to Grow

For the past few years, voice search is on a significant uptick. At this point, almost 1/3 of all Google searches are performed via voice search. By 2020, it’s predicted that over half of searches will be done this way. In addition to voice search’s increasing popularity, it’s becoming a necessity for many people. In fact, 65% of Amazon Echo or Google Home owners say they can’t imagine going back to a day before they had them. To be successful in the age of voice search, smart marketers will reorganize their marketing content to be well suited for this unique type of search. For more tips on optimizing your content for voice search, click here. To be successful in 2019, it’s essential to consider voice search and how it will impact your business.

4. Machine Learning

Websites and search engines are getting smarter. Google is beginning to learn user preferences, tailoring its search results to each individual user’s needs. With this same idea, websites are using cookies to remember user preferences. When a user returns to a website programmed with machine learning, a chatbot or other mechanism can make appropriate suggestions and provide guides that will help guide users to relevant content more directly. Machine learning is also aiding the improvement of chatbots, as they can provide more direct and accurate responses based on user habits. For more effective customer service and a more personalized experience, smart marketers are taking advantage of machine learning capabilities.

5. Live Video is Growing

Live video on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube has exploded since 2016. Each year, more and more people watch live video. This industry has no indication of slowing down. In fact, by 2021 it’s predicted that live streaming will be a $70.5 billion industry. People like watching live content because they feel like they are really part of your event. It also provides the opportunity to interact with your customers and for customers to interact with you in real time. Live video is a great way to humanize your brand and provide a more personal experience for users. For these reasons, its popularity will continue to increase in 2019.

6. Internet Streaming is Catching Up to TV

Internet streaming has exploded in recent years. The increase in quality of streaming and quantity of content available combined with the rising price of cable indicates that internet streaming is not far off from being as popular as traditional television. The rising popularity of internet streaming should make your company think twice about how much your spending on TV commercials. TV commercials are very expensive, and they’re not yielding the same success as they once did. Instead, invest your time and money in digital ads. Digital ads can take many forms across the Internet including social media, paid search, and display ads on various sites. In addition to this different type of ad, you can also use TV-type commercials for digital streaming services such as Youtube and Hulu, which costs less than traditional TV and can potentially have a wider reach.

7. Topic Clusters and Content Pillars

The way that people search is changing and Google’s algorithms are changing with it. For this reason, reorganizing your web content is essential to the best SEO results. One of the latest trends in this reorganization is topic clusters and content pillars. Topic clusters involve the main topics related to your brand. Because educational content is increasingly important, these main topics should relate to what users search for. In addition to topic clusters, websites should have content pillar pages, which provide in-depth views of subtopics related to the topic clusters. For tips on reorganizing your content with topic clusters and content pillars in mind, click here. Reorganizing your content is an important part of successful SEO strategies in 2019.

8. Extra Short Video Ads

Video is becoming increasingly prevalent on the Internet. In fact, it’s become the most popular type of content on the web, capable of providing clear information and visuals simultaneously. For this reason, digital video ads are important for business success. However, the longer your video is, the less likely users are to remain engaged. When a video is 60 seconds in, over half of your audience has lost interest. However, 89% of people who see video ads are engaged for the first 10 seconds. For this reason, 2019 will see a rise of extra short video ads, especially those under 10 seconds. These ads can convey all important information while maintaining engagement for the entire length of the ad.

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