It’s a new year, so it’s time to look at what 2019 has in store for marketing. Following the trend from previous years, digital marketing, content marketing, and video are on the rise. Check out the marketing forecast for 2019.
Digital is certainly a huge playing ground for marketing. Online use continues to grow and will for the foreseeable future. 89% of Americans use the internet, and 26% of adults are online almost constantly. It’s no wonder then that digital marketing continues to grow, with an estimated 11% of spending growth every year until 2021. OOH marketing and television are the only offline advertising seeing growth, with radio and print continuing to decline.
Digital content continues to be a priority for marketers. Content is strong because it tells a story, and when done well content gets far more engagement and leads than paid search advertising. In 2019, content marketing departments will need to grow to stay competitive. A trend to look forward to in the new year is integrating content into all aspects of the customer journey.
A change for content marketing in 2019 will be optimizing voice search. With Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri gaining use, marketers will find ways to show up in voice searches. To do this, make your headlines in the form of questions people would ask their voice search. Also, experiment with voice search to become familiar with what comes up in different searches.
39% of marketers plan on increasing their influencer marketing budget, according to Linqia. Influencer marketing works because influencers know how to create engaging content for their audience.
In 2019, brands won’t play it safe with influencers. While “brand safe” influencers may come with some assurance, controversial and unique influencers can appear more authentic and generate higher engagement rates. Influencers themselves will be focusing on their own brand and differentiation. Influencers aren’t just thought of as people who grew their audience from scratch, but also celebrities and anyone with a large audience. Look to your target audiences to find influencers who already reach them.
Similarly, brands will be more open to creative collaboration with influencers. Influencers know their audience well, and what kind of content they’re looking for, so it's to your advantage to collaborate with them or give them some creative freedom in how they promote for you. Long term partnerships with influencers will also allow you to tell your brand story over time and gain loyalty.
Facebook has had a difficult year, from a data breach to Russian interference with the election and fake news. This has lead to some loss of faith. Facebook also began the year by saying they would prioritize personal content over brand content in their algorithms. Despite all this, there is still a place for marketing on Facebook, if that’s where your target audience is.
Facebook is less popular with younger people, and 41% of users are over 65. For 2019, consider whether your audience is on Facebook or another social media platform. Instagram, for example, is much more popular with younger generations, and it has the power of Facebook’s targeting and analytics. Instagram is also gearing up to be more e-commerce friendly. With 1 billion worldwide users, marketers should take Instagram seriously.
With video continuing to grow, marketers will increase spending and effort on Youtube and Facebook Video.
Video continues to rise in popularity, and it’s great for marketing. 70% of consumers have shared a brand’s video and 72% of businesses say that video has increased their conversion rate according to Impact. Video content has higher engagement rates and more time is spent on the content, making it very attractive for content marketers.
Youtube is huge right now, with 73% of all Americans using Youtube. Gaming on Youtube is especially prolific, which is a large source of potential influencers.
Live streaming and live video also continues to grow. In 2019, marketers will embrace live video. Live can be intimidating because it lacks the control of editing, but it drives more engagement because of its limited time, real-time engagement, and sense of authenticity.
For 2019, the focus is on digital, content, and video. People are spending more time online, so it makes sense to reach them there. Learn how your audience engages online and find ways to meet them with quality messaging.