5 New Trends For Your 2019 Marketing Plan

Whether you haven’t had the chance to create a marketing plan for 2019 or if you have and want to spice it up a bit, we have 5 hot trends for you to incorporate into your marketing plan. The industry is always changing, and you could get your business ahead by staying up to date on the latest marketing trends. This year should be a year for growth and what worked for you in the previous years may not work so well this year. Here are 5 trends to help boost your marketing plan:

Influencer Marketing

This marketing strategy is a strategy of “word of mouth.” Influencer marketing is a collaboration between a brand and an individual with a large social media following. This influencer can reach your target audience. For example, if you have a fitness product and select an influencer that is known for their fitness page, you will be able to reach your specific target audience that is interested in fitness.  This influencer has a relationship with their followers, and they are someone their followers trust in comparison to an ad on tv that promotes an item. A person is more likely to buy from a person they are familiar with and trust.

In addition to all the advantages of influencer marketing, it is cost effective. Billboards, tv advertisements or even paid ads are all pricey. Not only is influencer marketing effective if done correctly but it is one of the least expensive marketing strategies out there. Be sure to include this one in your marketing plan!

Create Good Content

Businesses have more competition than ever when it comes to social media. It is crucial to stay active on social media and post content frequently. Posting content is not as easy as it sounds. Because of everyone using social media as a way to target consumers, it is important to post good content.

What do we mean by good content? Something that is innovative and will stand out from the rest of social media. It has gotten to the point where many people scroll through social media until they find something that catches their eye. Incorporate emotion into your content strategy. People love content that pulls at their heartstrings. For example, a short story of how your product or business changed someone’s life or made their day better.

Be sure to mix up your content too. If you find yourself only posting written content, mix it up and add an image, or a video. Good content is important and something you should not overlook when creating your marketing plan.

Engage

Social media was not meant to be a one-way street. While followers are interested in the content, they like to feel appreciated as a customer too. If your brand or product is involved in a discussion on social media, join the discussion. Comment or ask a question. Asking a question to your audience on social media not only engages them but shows you are interested in their thoughts.  Something as simple as a comment telling them you are glad they enjoy the product will make all the difference. There are not many companies out there that take advantage of social media being a two-way street and that two-way street communication will make your audience feel appreciated. If you incorporate engagement on social media in your marketing plan, you are sure to stand out from the crowd. Going the extra mile is always a great idea!

Personalize your Email Marketing

Email marketing has been a great way to target an audience. Sending a person an email ensures that they receive the content. It is a great way to inform your consumers and have them stay up to date on your business. Email marketing also has excellent metrics, so you can see what type of content your audience is responsive to.

Email marketing is used by many businesses today. This makes it even more difficult to stand out to consumers. Not to worry though! By personalizing your email marketing campaigns, you will be more likely to get the message across to your audience. The great thing about email marketing is the data it provides about each consumer. If you have information about gender, create separate emails that target women and men. If you have location information, create an email that is specific to their location. Also, if none of that is provided, incorporate their name into the subject line (making it difficult for people to skip over.)

Voice Strategy

Siri, Alexa, smart devices and Google have created a new trend in search. We all know how important SEO is to make your business visible on the internet. Have you ever considered how people are searching nowadays? With the convenience of voice search, people are now able to search without typing and looking through the internet. Voice search is much more conversational than written searches which means your content should be conversational too. To optimize voice search, it is important to understand user intent. Rather than providing informational queries, form them into questions. Simple keywords will no longer be the main search strategy.  By 2020, 50% of searches will be voice conducted via voice. In 2019 it is important to optimize your search strategy to get ahead of the game. Working voice strategy into your marketing plan this year will give you more understanding of the transition of search.

The marketing industry is always changing. It is important to stay ahead of the trends to have a better chance of having your business recognized amongst all the competition. These trends do require people to go the extra mile, but by putting in a little more work, your business is sure to be ahead of everyone else out there!

For more tips on annual marketing strategies visit our blog. If you are interested in getting ahead of the game and putting this new marketing plan into action, contact us today to discuss how we can boost your marketing strategy!