Much like everyone else, we’re making lists in preparation for the new year. While 2019 was a big year in product updates for us at OutboundEngine, we’ve also spent the last 12 months watching trends and changes to technology. As a result, we’ve come up with this list of marketing predictions we expect to see in 2020.
1. Prioritizing the human experience
As technology continues to play a larger part in every aspect of our lives, personal touches will become more important than ever. Automating email newsletters, social media posting, and other campaigns is smart. In fact, automation is how many businesses are able to delegate any number of tasks, including email marketing. Automation allows business owners and entrepreneurs to devote dedicated time to cultivating relationships with those they do business with.
By delegating your precious time to build and cultivate relationships, you create strong value for your business and product. Letting customers know you truly care about their goals and their happiness directly impacts the likelihood of having a long-running, successful business.
Creating a personal, human experience is a marketing prediction that we expect to be important in 2020 and beyond.
Read these posts to learn more about how automation can help you save time, focus on your customers, and grow your business:
2. Smart speaker marketing expands
Smart speaker adoption has exploded. In a very short period of time, smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa went from just a way to control your music with your voice to a device that will turn your thermostat up before you get home or order groceries for you. They’ve also quickly gained internet fame, with “hey Alexa,” inspiring countless memes.
So what does any of this have to do with marketing predictions? Recent updates to Alexa’s capabilities have given it the ability to also read the news and WordPress posts aloud. As smart speakers continue to expand their functionalities and abilities, more websites and content will be included in search results.
For example, say you’re an interior designer. An interested web searcher may Google “easy design ideas.” An interested smart speaker user may ask, “Alexa, give me a list of easy design ideas on a budget.” High-quality content will benefit from hitting more keywords and differences in searching. Keep smart speakers and their ability to search content on the web in mind as another reason to write and share interesting quality content.
3. Video continues to grow
If they say a picture is worth a thousand words, then could a video be worth a million? Perhaps. Consequently, video is often the most memorable type of content shared by companies. One study found consumers ranking branded video content as 2.5x to 5x more memorable than branded written content.
Many companies are already producing video almost as much as they are blog posts. Video is engaging. Depending on the video, it often takes less time to watch a video to learn something than it does to read an in-depth blog post on the same subject.
Consider publishing your video content on these platforms:
- YouTube
- Vimeo
- TikTok
4. Content stays consistent
The importance of quality content will be unchanged in 2020. As it’s been repeated again and again, the sheer volume of content coming at users all day, every day, means it’s more important than ever to rise above the noise.
High-quality content makes people stop what they’re doing. It draws them in and holds their attention. They don’t forget it immediately after they leave your site or finish watching your video. It leaves an impression. As a result, people often remember or retain parts of what they read or saw and even repeat it later.
Prioritize thoughtful content and promote it regularly rather than inundating your audience with nonstop communication.
5. Email holds steady
We keep bringing up this high influx of content because it’s truly a challenge for both businesses and customers. Attention spans are shorter and new content is quickly replaced with newer content every minute. With the majority of those content notifications coming from social platforms—Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, and more—this means our inboxes aren’t the same hub of activity they used to be when email was the only real digital communication.
So, what does that mean? It means businesses have the opportunity to get their message seen in a place with less competition: the inbox. While everyone is getting bombarded with app notifications, email remains a steady marketing channel with excellent ROI year after year.
- 73% of millennials—the largest living generation in the U.S. workforce—prefer communications from businesses to come via email.
- In 2018, the number of global e-mail users was 3.8 billion and is expected to grow to 4.4 billion users in 2023.
- 99% of consumers check their email every day.
In short, email is not dead and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Gearing up for a busy new year
A new year brings with it feelings of excitement and change. It’s an ideal time to tackle new projects, start habits, or take that career leap you’ve been thinking about for years.
Time will tell whether these marketing predictions come true in 2020. Our hope is that this list will help you and your business prepare for the year ahead. If streamlining your marketing can help you devote your time to grow your business, let OutboundEngine show you how we make great marketing easy for your business.
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