With an increasing amount of consumers using voice commands, brands have started to incorporate and cater to them.
The same applies to digital marketing as well.
But what has voice commands got to do with digital marketing?
(Don’t worry, we’ll get there)
Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa are some of the current in-use voice commands, but there could be a potential new player in voice command technology.
Facebook has begun testing voice commands in its Messenger platform earlier this month.
If and when it rolls out, voice commands would be a bonus supplementary feature, in addition to its Augmented Reality games.
With an increasing amount of development towards voice commands within digital and social media, what can brands do to adapt to this rising trend?
The answer is simple: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Voice command technology often relies on traditional search engines to provide results to its users.
To start off, if your brand is not implementing SEO on your page (what are you doing?!), start now.
SEO can be tough, but a qualified professional can help make things easier.
The logical next step would be to optimise your page towards voice searches.
Yes, but how?
Mobile-Responsive
Most of these voice searches occur through mobile (i.e. Siri or Google Assistant), with 31% of smartphone users using it at least once a week.
Hence, it becomes paramount for your brand to have a mobile-responsive page.
A mobile-responsive site is easy to create in this digital age, especially in the hands of an experienced team. Consult one to transit or upgrade your website now!
Location, location, location. (And opening hours.)
If you haven’t already, claim or create your own business listing page in Google, and include your exact location and opening hours.
Most users look for the products and services they require ‘near me’ or ‘opened now’.
By providing these information, you ensure that you do not miss out on potential leads, customers or clients.
Use Exact Phrases
The last but the most critical aspect of SEO for voice searches: using exact phrases.
When using voice commands, most users employ a conversational manner of doing so, such as “What is the top digital marketing agency?” or “How do I design an e-commerce website?”.
Similarly, you need to optimise your website and create content with such conversational style.
A good way to do so is to release related content, such as articles titled in the format of user voice search queries.
Seek out a content writing team if you are unsure on how to start.
The digital arena is dynamic and ever-changing – it could be voice commands for one moment, AR the next.
Stay up to date with current digital trends, by partnering with a diligent digital team who can take your brand to the next level with a 360 digital solution.
Table of Contents
Mobile-Responsive
Location, location, location. (And opening hours.)
Use Exact Phrases
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After Facebook’s recent scandal with leaked user information and the US Election fiasco, the social media giants have decided to become more transparent with their platform. In early April, Facebook announced they were making ads transparent and marking political ads as special cases.
This has been a long time coming, given the chatter on Russian meddling since the US Elections fiasco ended 2 years ago.
How does this affect your business?
Ad transparency means anyone and everyone can now view all the ads you are running. This includes your target audience and unfortunately, your competition. The good news is that they can only see the content and the type of ad but nothing on the data and statistics that come with it.
So what should you do?
When we talk about talking selfies and stories on our socials, which side are you on? Instagram, Facebook or… Snapchat? When Facebook attempted to buy Snapchat recently, they were rejected despite a whopping bid of $3 billion. In response, Facebook leveraged on their acquisition of Instagram to compete against Snapchat, by launching Instagram stories or what’s widely known at Instastories.
Talk about life’s regrets.
With the purchase, Instagram’s platform soared in terms of the number of users and ads, while Snapchat struggled to keep up. Facebook also launched Facebook Stories to add options for the avid social media users. From there, Snapchat started to look more and more like an Instagram copy instead of the other way around, as they struggled to innovate to pull ahead of its ‘successor’.
Until now.
Snapchat recently launched a gaming platform, similar to WeChat, in an attempt to improve user engagement and move ahead of their rival. They released a series of Snapchat filter games and Augmented Reality (AR) games that users can play on the platform.
Most notably, the AR Tennis game against Serena Williams is a clear sign that Snapchat’s advanced AR technology is going to become their selling point.
Y’all seeing this? Get your chance to battle @serenawilliams – you wont win 😂 but try your best and share your high score. pic.twitter.com/sXuxtImgJI
— Alexis Ohanian 🧠 (@alexisohanian) July 2, 2018
Credit: Alexis Ohanian Sr.
Snapchat games provide an additional tool for businesses to adapt. (YAY!) That is always welcomed for creative people (*wink wink*) to adapt for marketing.
Does Snapchat still matter?
Well, it really depends.
Snapchat numbers have risen steadily over the past year, with more and more youths adopting the platform. We’ve to admit, they’ve got really nice filters. Heh. This means any strategy or business targeting youths have to take Snapchat into serious consideration.
Incorporating gaming has given other platforms (aka Facebook) a boost before and it should do the same for Snapchat.
What can businesses do with this information?
Consider playing around with Snapchat’s functions and ads viewing if you are unfamiliar with the platform. Businesses can also start looking into adapting filters and AR games to help their own cause.
Do keep the demographics of Snapchat in mind while developing and utilising them and tie in to your branding. It will be a waste of marketing dollars otherwise.
If you want to utilise them, and you are having trouble with incorporating into your brand, consult an agency to help you.