Back to BlogsDigital Marketing Trends on the Rise
Photo Credit: Hal Gatewood
Remember the early days of email? Or, do you remember when webpage content was literally words on a webpage with a plain colour background? If you were fancy, you knew how to make your favourite photo your background, making your text illegible. What about the dysfunctional and incoherent responses of a chatbot back before the 2000s? Looking back, the primitive nature of these internet features was more akin to writing a physical letter or talking to a literal robot. Boy, digital marketing has come a long long way. These three things now, are and have been on the rise leading digital marketing trends.
Email Marketing Is King
Back when email was just becoming popular, the majority of anything that landed in your inbox (and should have been your junk folder), was normally spam and something incoherent. And these would normally fill your inbox to the point where it was futile to even try to mark them as unread. Now, volumes in our inboxes are forever increasing again-- this time the emails are useful! Many successful companies are getting better and better at targeting their emails to their specific customer profiles. Granted a lot of this has been with the help of algorithms and AI, but nonetheless. What’s worse (or better, depending on your perspective)? The emails actually have meaningful content that would be useful to the customer. So, what does this mean for companies exploring digital marketing plans? Well, you bet your dollar that you should also have a clear email campaign as part of this plan -- otherwise, be drowned out by everyone else.
Interactive Content is Key
And while emailing is one of the selected channels for communication, the content of your emails needs to complement that. Do you ever get past the first sentence of a boring email? Likely not. So, content as marketing is what will hook your audience. Know your audience, understand what they long for, and deliver that content for them. While there is the notion that content is increasingly interactive-- and it’s true, but what does that mean? Interactive needs to resonate with your segments. Instagram utilizes stickers as tools that amplify the emotions presented in their stories. Full 360-degree photos allow you to take in the entire visually, virtually immersing yourself. And, channels like Snapchat use polls and quizzes to keep you engaged. All these help to deliver a message that aligns with the user.
Chatbots are Cheap
The olden days of chatbots that repeated their initial message if they didn’t receive a response they were programmed for are over. Some of the best and brightest companies have figured out how to fuel chatbots with AI to create a nearly human-like interaction. Companies now will invest in the technology to create an authentic support chatbot on their webpage interfaces. Hefty investment at first, but scalable to endless degrees -- not exactly cheap, but close enough. Customers these days long for seemingly authentic interaction, and while phone calls are supposedly the way to go, the annoying “hold” music can be irritating for some. Chatbots are a great alternative as the customer can multitask while waiting for their turn in line -- all while listening to their favourite music. What does this mean for a marketer? Chatbots are a great investment if you suspect your customers will require customer support (and trust us, they likely will).
Check out how Digital Hospitality can support you in your digital marketing plan! Besides, you’ve got a business to run, let us do the rest. Alternatively, add us to your list of bookmarks and come back later for more recent and relevant information designed to help you out.
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