7 Trends in Digital Marketing to Bring Your Business to New Heights in 2020

A decade ago, voice search options were popular on smartphones but not viewed as much more than a short-term fad based on a gimmick to sell more expensive phones. Now, using your voice to search the internet is commonplace. This is common in digital marketing, where trends and expectations change often, and only those who can keep up are truly succeeding. Here's what you can expect if you want to thrive in 2020.

Chatbots

Business-minded chatbots will be a main focus for digital marketers in 2020. In fact, one survey shows that marketers expect artificial intelligence to conduct 85% of customer service chats by the end of the year. Because they're automated, chatbots are available 24 hours a day and provide instant responses. They can even answer basic questions. Some consumers say they come across as more intelligent and have infinite patience, and many prefer talking to them for basic information.

Assignment Selling

Assignment selling involves two parts. First, create written content that provides education about the product or service you provide. Answer the questions you're most frequently asked when you're trying to close a sale. This way, your sales team spends less time answering questions and are able to have a more efficient conversation that closes the sale faster.

The second part of this marketing tactic is to give your potential client an assignment. Follow up after the initial conversation by sending an email with links to more information. Suggest the lead read the information and provide a time you'll contact them for a second conversation.

Personalization of Advertising

A truly personalized web experience focuses on content, emails, and of course, products or services. About 90% of consumers say they enjoy personalized marketing, and 80% say they are more likely to do business with a company that uses the tactic. Take a look at Netflix. The company's recommended titles based on your watch history are personalized to your tastes.

The Starbucks app uses purchase history to help customers find new drinks, customize their favorites, and earn rewards on their purchases. When considering how to use this tactic, imagine what you'd want from a company selling your product or service and then provide it to your clients.

Local Search Engine Optimization

The need for local SEO has been trending in digital marketing for a couple of years now, and is still considered at the top of the list for 2020. Between 2013 and 2017, the number of people who used "near me" in their searches rose 900%. Since then, there's also been a rise of the phrase "now" + "near me." Restaurants, home improvement companies, and other businesses that operate at the local level must use local SEO tactics to benefit from the increase in these types of searches.

First, optimize your Google My Business listing by verifying you are the owner of your company and providing contact information. You'll also want to optimize your website and social media pages with keywords that use some combination of your industry, the city and state, and the phrases "now" or "near me."

Psychology of Influence

Call it behavioral economics. Call it the psychology of influence. No matter what you call it, psychology has and always will be a component of successful marketing. The strategy begins with answering four fundamental questions. What can you offer them that nobody else can, and what makes your offer truly unique? Why will they want what you have to offer, and why do they need it now? One little insight gets the ball rolling, but words won't be enough.

Further gain from influence psychology by honing in on the three areas that most often inspire action in people: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Show your leads how they can create and own their experience with your company, build something that is significant on the personal level, and make a difference in their lives. Remember, marketing is all about showing the people behind the brand, and the psychology of influence helps you do that.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has a long history of celebrity endorsements. The idea is that if someone rich and famous loves a product, everyone else will, too. Influencers in digital marketing are quite different, though. While celebrities still have their place, more people than ever are interested in the opinions of people who lead similar lifestyles. Internet personalities are the most common influencers these days.

More than 60% of people trust influencers' opinions, and nearly as many have purchased a product based on a recommendation from one. The key is to use real people. For example, a British supermarket chain no longer hires celebrities for its campaigns. Instead, the people in its ads are real-life moms who blog and vlog to audiences of people with similar lifestyles. The proven knowledge they have about parenting (and grocery shopping) means better marketing for the grocery chain.

Visual Search

While texting and voice searching have their places in digital marketing, the next big trend is the visual search. Google has offered reverse image searching for some time now, but it can be hard to find for casual internet users. Other brands are catching up, though. Pinterest recently launched its own visual search engine, Lens. Lens allows people to upload a photo of something they like.

In return, they'll be able to find and buy the exact match online, check out similar products, or view pinboards of similar styles. More than 60% of Millennials, today's largest generation, prefer visual search capabilities, and Pinterest receives more than 600 million visual search queries each month. The time to jump on this digital marketing trend with your own business is now.

Of course, there is no one way to handle your digital marketing. Much of it depends on your audience. A senior citizen isn't likely to purchase a product based on the recommendation of an influencer they've never heard of, for example. Consider your industry and the type of people you want to reach before deciding which of 2020's digital marketing trends will best meet your needs.