The Future of Digital Marketing: 5 Trends to Keep an Eye On
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Today’s world of digital marketing is an ever-evolving field, and staying abreast of the latest trends is essential for brands looking to maintain a competitive edge.
We at Nesters Hub are always on the lookout for the latest intriguing advancements on the horizon in the realm of digital marketing. Marketing campaigns heavily rely on knowledge of your audience and what they need to engage with a brand. Digital marketing presents numerous possibilities for acquiring and leveraging data to enhance your marketing endeavor’s effectiveness.
If you are wondering what is the future of digital marketing, here is a list of the top 5 trends that are expected to dominate the digital landscape with the potential to transform your future marketing efforts:
Voice Search
The adoption of smart home devices, smart speakers & voice assistants in India has accelerated the use of voice searches online.
As per a Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) report, voice search queries are growing at 270% annually. Voice search offers a convenient and hands-free way to search for information. Integrating Indian languages into virtual assistants has also been one of the strongest growth drivers.
It can be observed that while users can type nearly 40 words per minute, they can speak up to 150 words. Voice search can significantly benefit marketers & brands by enabling them to optimize their content for voice search, thereby enhancing their search engine rankings and visibility.
Additionally, voice search allows brands to offer tailored experiences to their customers, delivering timely and relevant information based on their search queries.
With the widespread availability of smart speakers and voice assistants, voice technology has made its way into virtually every urban household. Conversely, in rural areas with limited access to the internet, voice is consumed through smartphones as a basic utility. While urban India relies on voice technology for convenience, rural areas view it as a utility.
When combined with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and augmented reality, voice technology has the potential to revolutionize digital marketing and expand the future scope of digital marketing in India.
Chatbots
Chatbots can automate conversations with potential customers and enhance user experience; they are computer programs that follow predetermined scripts or utilize artificial intelligence.
Chatbots are often linked to messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Telegram or embedded on brand websites to create virtual assistants.
84% of companies believe that AI chatbots will gain importance for customer communication, according to CCW research.
As the digital marketing industry leans towards automation, users expect instant responses from brands, which could benefit from segmenting website traffic to provide automated responses and identify customer segments.
Chatbots play a vital role in collecting and compiling customer data and metrics to nurture leads, gain insights into target markets, tailor marketing strategies, and improve overall brand communication.
Businesses can effectively use chatbots to change how they communicate and understand their customers, potentially increasing sales volumes. As mobile and social shopping gain momentum, brands seek to increase revenue from their social media channels. For instance, Domino’s has introduced a chatbot named Dom, which can be accessed through Messenger and the website.
The chatbot enables customers to place orders and customize their pizzas within the chat, allowing them to easily purchase their favourite pizza. Additionally, Dom can save and repeat orders and locate the nearest store.
As per Juniper Research, chatbots are expected to save businesses up to 2.5 billion hours of work. Chatbots are, therefore, an important part of the future of digital marketing in India.
Did you know?
Ray Kurzweil, an engineer at Google, predicts that chatbots will have human-level language ability by the year 2029.
Influencers
In today’s digital landscape, influencers have become key players in shaping the content we consume. They are increasingly regarded as professional publishers with valuable audiences by brands. Businesses can effectively reach new customers and boost conversions by leveraging influencers’ sway over their followers.
The popularity of influencer marketing has proliferated, becoming more accessible and measurable than ever. Research conducted by Oberlo shows that 93% of marketers now include influencer marketing as part of their overall social media marketing strategy.
Brands often opt to collaborate with micro-influencers because they possess the traits of authenticity, relatability, and credibility that modern audiences appreciate.
Additionally, micro-influencers tend to have higher engagement rates of 7% to 20%. They are a cost-effective marketing option, making them accessible to businesses of all sizes.
The latest online phenomenon is the emergence of AI Influencers, also known as virtual influencers. These computer-generated digital characters are designed to resemble real-life influencers in both appearance and behaviour.
Similar to human influencers, they create and share content on social media platforms, establish connections with their followers, collaborate with brands, and leverage their influence to endorse products and services within their niche.
Some of the top virtual influencers are; Lil Miquela, a virtual robot model created by Los Angeles-based startup Brud, has collaborated with top fashion brands, released a single and music video, and amassed a significant social media following, with 3 million Instagram followers, 3.6 million TikTok followers, and over 31,000 Twitter followers.
Lu do Magalu is the most followed virtual influencer in 2022, with over 14.6 million Facebook followers, 6 million Instagram followers, 2.6 million YouTube subscribers, and 1.3 million Twitter and TikTok followers, respectively.
Social media platforms have recognized influencers’ importance and introduced various features and tools to make creating, managing and monetizing their content more accessible.
With the help of these tools, influencers can manage their social accounts more efficiently, access insights about their audience, monetize their content, and create sponsored posts more easily. Social media platforms adapt to accommodate influencers’ needs, helping them grow their audience and promote their personal brand.
Augmented Reality
By enabling immersive, personalized experiences that are easily accessible and convenient, augmented reality can serve as a powerful tool for businesses looking to boost their brand value and engage customers in relatable ways, both through mobile devices and immersive physical spaces.
Through augmented reality, consumers can interact with products and services in a highly personalized manner, creating lasting memories that can help drive brand awareness & loyalty and simplify purchasing decisions, allowing brands to interact with customers in unique ways.
Various methods are available for brands to let customers try products before purchasing, such as fitting rooms, free samples, and test drives.
However, there has yet to be an equivalent online option for product trials. Augmented reality (AR) can address this by enabling customers to preview how products look before buying them.
AR has extensive applications across product-based industries like clothing, accessories, cosmetics, furniture, and paint. Although it may not eliminate the need for in-person shopping, it reduces it by allowing customers to buy products digitally.
AR is also helpful in the service industry by providing virtual tours of locations like museums and enabling people to view hotel rooms before booking. Major social media apps like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have successfully integrated AR into the consumer sector.
Pokemon GO was a notable example of AR’s impact in 2016. Revenue from AR & VR industry is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 17.10%, resulting in a projected market volume of ₹94,370.71M by 2027.
Many brands have also capitalized on AR in their marketing efforts. For instance, Home Depot’s Project Color app uses patent technology to show users what paint colour would look like in their home, considering lighting, objects, and shadows in the room.
IKEA’s Place app and home planner allow people to visualize furniture models in real-life rooms and design furniture sets like kitchen cabinets before purchasing.
Netflix leveraged AR to promote season four of Stranger Things through an experiential marketing and AR campaign called the Stranger Things Experience. Fans could visit an in-person location to participate in an immersive experience related to the show, complete with games featuring AR elements that made them feel like they were part of the Stranger Things world. The market’s largest segment is AR Software, with a market volume of ₹16,985.84M in 2023.
Did you know?
AR is 3 times more memorable compared to traditional non-AR media.
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
AI and ML have revolutionized the way digital marketing operates. Marketers’ primary activities include:
- Understanding customer needs.
- Matching them to products and services.
- Persuading people to buy, which AI can significantly enhance.
Companies can use AI and ML to analyze and use customer data to make informed marketing decisions.
The use of AI and ML in digital marketing is not industry-specific. Businesses that collect and use customer data can benefit from this technology. For instance, the healthcare industry can use AI and ML to analyze patient data and improve diagnosis and treatment plans.
The financial industry can use AI and ML to detect potential fraud and improve risk management. Similarly, the retail industry can use AI and ML to optimize inventory management and create personalized product recommendations.
AI and ML transform digital marketing by personalizing product recommendations and predicting consumer behaviour. AI and ML can also predict which ads will perform best on particular platforms, enabling companies to optimize their ad placement through digital programmatic advertisement.
Companies can leverage these technologies to analyze and use data to make better marketing decisions. This is how AI is changing the future of digital marketing.
Several companies have already leveraged AI and ML technology to improve their marketing strategies. For example, Amazon uses AI and ML to analyze customer data and provide personalized product recommendations. Netflix uses AI and ML to offer personalized content recommendations for its users.
In addition, AI and ML technology can also create chatbots that provide customers with instant support and assistance. These chatbots can be programmed to understand customer queries and provide prompt solutions.
Companies can also use AI and ML to analyze social media conversations and gain insights into customer preferences and behaviour.
Another area where AI and ML can enhance digital marketing is Email Marketing. It is one of the most effective ways to communicate with customers and prospects, but it can also be challenging to create engaging and relevant emails that stand out in the inbox.
By leveraging AI and ML, companies can enhance their marketing strategies, boost customer engagement and loyalty, and drive revenue.
We have listed the latest advancements in digital marketing and the top trends expected to dominate the digital landscape and potentially transform future marketing efforts.
These trends include voice search, chatbots, influencers, and augmented reality, which offer numerous possibilities for acquiring and leveraging data to enhance the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and engage with customers in new and innovative ways.
The Future of Digital Marketing:
5 Trends to Keep an Eye On
Voice Search
Voice search is a technology that allows users to search the web or their devices by speaking instead of typing. Voice search can make searching faster, easier, and more convenient for users who want to get information quickly or hands-free.
Voice search works by using speech recognition software to convert voice signals into text and then perform a search query based on the text.
Chatbots
Chatbots are software applications that can simulate human conversations and interact with users through text or voice. Chatbots can provide various services such as customer support, entertainment, education, booking, etc.
Chatbots use natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) to understand user inputs and generate appropriate responses.
Influencers
Virtual influencers are digital characters that have realistic or cartoonish appearances, personalities, and lifestyles. They use social media platforms to share their content and opinions with their followers, who often trust and admire them.
Virtual influencers can collaborate with brands and organizations to promote their products or services that use or relate to their niche.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that superimposes digital information such as images, videos, sounds, etc. onto the real-world environment through a device such as a smartphone, tablet or headset.
AR can enhance the user’s perception of reality and provide immersive and interactive experiences for various purposes such as entertainment, education, gaming, shopping, etc.
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that aims to create machines and systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence such as reasoning, learning, decision-making, etc.
Machine learning (ML) is a subset of AI that focuses on creating algorithms and models that can learn from data and improve their performance without explicit programming.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, to ensure the success of your brand, it is crucial to stay updated with the latest technological advancements and future trends of digital marketing and incorporate them into your strategies. Nester’s Hub provides the ideal support for brands seeking to thrive in the digital marketing industry by offering data-driven marketing strategies.
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