Author: Meggie Nahatakyan

Have you ever heard of a company that managed to stay successful without following digital marketing trends Neither did we Many companies today find their way into the market as startups Although they have higher failure rates during the first few years they can grow out to be hugely successful in the long-term Some of the reasons startups fail to stay on the market are the lack of interest from potential customers lousy budgeting choosing the wrong team or making wrong decisions in digital marketing Luckily we compiled a list of digital marketing trends you should focus on if you own a startup Using the Right Social Media Channel The first digital marketing trend to follow is the extensive use of social media Every single one of your potential customers uses at least one social profile on a daily basis According to a Q2 Global Digital Statshot there are currently 3 49 billion active social media users You only need to find out which channel is their favourite so that your startup can generate more traffic to the site and grow Moreover social channels can boost your brand voice and help you gain a greater customer base and online visibility sometimes at no cost If generation z population likes your product the first social media to think of is Instagram After you decide which to choose you will have to come up with an appropriate strategy As said it can be free of charge if you lack the funds for paid advertising just get a little creative Make content that people will share to expand your reach Nevertheless most social sites have moderate prices for their paid ads so if you want to take the paid ad path make sure to check if it fits your budget Last social media gives you information about current customers Social analytics can take valuable data to improve your local online presence your product as well as customer experience For example companies that have a product where visual representation is the decisive buying factor such as Adidas Originals use Instagram almost daily to promote new products and events The use of hashtags is essential since people often search for products with hashtags Improved Personalization Personalization is one of the most used terms in digital marketing in the last few years However the regular personalization tactics such as newsletters with customers names on them don t do the trick anymore As stated by a study from Evergage with more than 200 marketers 96 of respondents said that personalization advances customer relationships What s more 63 of them reported an increase in conversion rates as a result of their personalization tactics As an ever-evolving field digital marketing brought new expectations from the customers They demand from the brands to understand them and to give them everything they want and at any given time Now once a customer looks for your product online you have to provide them with the incentive to buy it Improved personalization means you ll have to go beyond personalized newsletters and tracking online behaviour Your startup should either employ an expert on customer data analysis or dedicate more time for not losing your customers and reaching out to them Amazon for instance recommends products similar to what you re currently looking for or what you bought Big Data and AI Big data drives your data-based marketing It s the market trends customer data and inter-operational information If it weren t for the enormous amounts of information about your past present and future customers you wouldn t be able to offer them what they need The valuable information can transform your digital marketing strategies with the help of AI AI can find patterns and find trends with predictive analytics It is especially useful to predict how a customer will move through the site what type of content they want and which products they re most likely to buy https www youtube com watch v -T QZ6dmrLs We can link big data to the previous trend If there is no data on customers you can t personalize the customer experience Big data and AI are the invisible parts of your digital marketing tactics that can turn any startup into a profitable company Sadly many startup owners lack knowledge about the benefits of big data to incorporate it into their strategy Others know they need it but believe it s too expensive and give up the whole idea If you decide to take advantage of big data it s best if you start researching how it can help your business and how much it will cost you Cloudera and RapidMiner are the big data analytics platforms you can use to collect and analyze data and predict trends Niche-Specific Content As mentioned succeeding in digital marketing involves not only choosing the right means of communication with the customers and getting to know them but requires innovative content If you re posting or sending out the same content in every campaign people will think of it as incredibly boring It has to give answers to the prospects questions Even if you re not mentioning the product you have to be niche-specific For example a skincare company Cedar and Stone uses niche-specific content They publish articles about skincare routines or self-care that go beyond the product itself In the article they explain how to use their products if the customer decides to buy them The key is to entice the viewer every time they see a video or read an email Again it will take a considerable chunk of your time which you probably allocated for other things Still you have to put customers needs first In other words imagine you need your product Following are the questions to ask yourself before creating the content What information would you like to know about the niche before purchasing the product How would you go about using it Do you need instructions for using it Which other interests you have When are you checking your News Feed Which other brands do you like Once you find answers to these questions you can tailor the content to the customer s wishes Nevertheless it can only be done with the help of big data and AI Chatbot Technology Chatbots or software that generates automated messages to your customers queries took off in 2017 They save time and the personnel that would usually work in customer support Moreover they are available 24 7 whereas it s often unprofitable for startups to employ people who will chat with the prospects The cheapest option for a startup is to use Facebook chatbots with the software of your choice If you own a website you will have to implement an outside software as well Whole Foods for example uses chatbots to assist customers with recipes among other queries Which Digital Marketing Trends Would You Focus On Of all digital marketing trends we enlisted your startup should consider the social media creative content and a big data element Your final decision will depend on your customers and the type of product you re selling However take some time analyze test and decide what works best Only then will you see a rise in your traffic and a boost in your conversion rates Lastly remember that the customer always goes first Respect their needs and wishes and put yourself in their shoes before making any important marketing decision Go On Tell Us What You Think Did we miss something Come on Tell us what you think about our article on Digital Marketing Trends in the comments section

Author: Meggie Nahatakyan

5 Major Digital Marketing Trends Startups Need to Focus On

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