This year is going by fast, but now is a good time to review the technology and trends that have been making the most impact on the digital marketing industry. What new technologies have brands been using, what trends have they've been capitalizing on, and where should marketers be spending their time and effort for the remainder of the year?
This guest post by Mia Clarke has the answers you're looking for! Mia is part of the content and community team at Userful.com, experts in all things video wall and display solutions. When Mia is not spreading the word about video walls, she is often found discovering the great outdoors, walking or cycling. Please enjoy reading her insights on the technology and trends that have been shaping digital marketing so far this year, and feel free to get the word out by sharing this post!
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[spacer height="16px"]Digital Marketing is made up of many parts - new technologies, new techniques, and new algorithms emerge every year. With this ever-changing landscape, digital marketing professionals and business owners have the job of staying up-to-date with upcoming trends to deliver effective marketing campaigns.
Here are 5 technologies and trends changing digital marketing.
1. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
VR is one of the new faces of digital marketing. This is a game-changer in the industry of real estate. The traditional way to sell is for the agent to provide the prospective client a brochure or a list of properties, explain the selling points of the house or land, and bring the client to a demo unit or the actual property. With VR, selling has become an easier process. Agents can show the property to the potential buyer by taking them on a VR journey, or using a VR headset to see a three-dimensional walkthrough of the property. No time wasted on having to travel just to see a property for sale. Buyers can visit dozens of sites in an hour.
AR is vastly taking over many industries as well, and holds a lot of promise in improving our lives. At the start of mid-2019, Google introduced the AR Search. Its feature is currently limited to animal AR models. Another example is when Marvel released AR stickers during the promotions of ‘Avengers: Endgame’.
2. Instagram Story Ads
Instagram Story Ads showcase your product and show off your product’s personality. Make sure to add a link to the product in a selling app like Shopify, so that viewers can easily make a purchase when they see your ads.
3. Digital Signage Solutions
The evolution of digital signage has been forecasted to be mixed with AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things). This is usually cloud-based technology that is housed in LED and LCD screens. Responsive videos will use data gathered online from people’s behaviors. Interactive digital signage has been used successfully in popular fast-food chains like Pizza Hut and McDonald’s.
4. Video Marketing
According to studies, 85% of people are more likely to purchase after watching a video. Wouldn’t that be incentive enough to use videos for your marketing?
YouTube has made it easier for businesses that want to begin making ads to promote their product by offering Video Builder. This is free and can create videos that are worth 15 seconds of content. It makes creating a good quality video possible even with still images, templates, and music clips. This simple tool is perfect for businesses that don’t want to spend budget on expensive video apps, but want to try getting their brand out there through video.
5. Visual Search
Visual Search has been gaining popularity in the past year, owing to the availability of high-quality apps. Along with Voice Search, this is a relatively new technology. Examples of these are Yahoo Image Search, Google Images, Picsearch, and Tineye.
The technology is not refined yet, but visual search offered by Amazon and Google is already able to give good results. However, concerning search, text queries still outperform visual search.
It’s a marketer’s responsibility to stay updated on the latest technology and trends in order to dominate the year with new strategies that take business to the next level. Use the suggestions here to stay on top of your digital marketing!
