With technology becoming increasingly intertwined with our daily lives, now is the time for organisations to invest in digital marketing. Like any investment you make, it isn’t wise to venture into the digital world blindly.
Just last week, Mary Meeker released her Internet Trends Report that contained insights on the current digital marketing trends. Her 333-page report included important analyses on the changing digital landscape and the digital marketing trends to keep an eye on moving forward.
Digital marketing has become integral in promoting any organisation, as more than half the world is connected to the Internet. A compelling digital marketing campaign created by digital marketing company is an invaluable asset for your brand to impress your target audience. But you can only create a winning game plan by keeping abreast of the latest digital trends.
To save you the hassle, we’ve cut through the lengthy deck to pick out the 4 trends to watch out for in 2019.
#1 Rising popularity of Instagram and YouTube
Although Facebook continues to be the most-used social media platform, its number of daily users has steadily declined since 2017.
Over the years, Facebook has struggled to appeal to younger users. But its biggest hit came when the news of its data privacy controversies broke, driving even more users away from the network. Amidst the ongoing criticisms, Facebook is losing ground as the best platform to connect with your audiences.
On the other hand, Instagram and YouTube have been attracting a steady stream of young global users to their platforms. If you want to reach out to teens, it’s safe to say that these two networks are your best bet.
Staying on top of the trending platforms takes a lot of research, especially since social media users are often so fickle.
Each social media platform gives you a unique way to communicate with your target audience – if you cater your content to the platforms that your audience frequents, you can maximize your digital marketing efforts.
#2 Showing, not telling through multimedia
Text-based communication is now a thing of the past.
Many prefer visuals over words, which is why Instagram – with its image-based feed and Stories feature – is so popular. From a simple image and video sharing platform in 2011, Instagram has since evolved into a thriving social media app with e-commerce features.
Since everyone loves multimedia, it’s a smart decision to include visuals in your content. Think about how you can amp up your copy with creative visuals to stay ahead of the pack.
Need some inspiration to choose the right multimedia to engage your audience? Reach out to a digital marketing agency in Singapore today.
#3 Utilising the strengths of each social platform for ads
With so many social media advertising platforms out there, it can be a struggle choosing the best for your brand. To narrow the list down, here are Meeker’s top picks.
1) Facebook: Despite its declining reputation, Facebook has proved itself to be a potent channel for you to target the right audience. You can create ads to reach customised audiences on different placements, including Instagram.
2) YouTube: While you can produce videos with captivating storylines, social media users will tap onto another video if you don’t engage them within seconds. To help you capture your viewers’ attention, YouTube uses machine learning to automatically shorten long ads to six-second clips.
3) Pinterest: As a rising integrated e-commerce platform, Pinterest has shoppable catalogues where you can publicise and sell your products. If your brand fits the users’ style, they can discover your products through customised recommendations.
4) Twitter: You can buy promoted tweets to reach a wider group of users. As Twitter selects these users based on their followers and interests, your tweets will definitely be relevant to them.
#4 Increasing relevance of mobile ads
Mobile advertising has been escalating over the past five years – and understandably so. People have been spending more and more time on their mobile phones to access digital content.
But as digital marketing agencies increasingly compete in digital advertising, the costs to connect with your audience rises too. To combat this, Meeker recommends you to adopt a freemium business model and offer free trials for your services to convert happy consumers into paid subscribers.
Mobile ads are the way to go, but you must differentiate yourself amidst all the other brands. Finding the right revenue-generating approach can be tough, but it will enhance your efforts to engage your target audience.
Concluding Thoughts
Digital disruption is powerful, unavoidable and here to stay. Understanding how the latest digital trends affect your marketing strategies can help you stay ahead of your competitors.
Social media and paid digital advertising are just two important parts of a digital marketing campaign. To reach your campaign goals, keep in line with these trends and look out for changes in the digital world.
To engage your target audience, speak to a digital agency in Singapore who is keeping up with trends today.
Table of Contents
#1 Rising popularity of Instagram and YouTube
#2 Showing, not telling through multimedia
#3 Utilising the strengths of each social platform for ads
#4 Increasing relevance of mobile ads
Concluding Thoughts
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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.