digital media trends

Keeping up with digital marketing trends is like trying to keep up with a rocket. But there is a useful way to cope with all that digital information without burning out.

Instead of trying to digest everything and implement dozens of new digital marketing tactics or tools, (you’ll just get frustrated very fast,) aim to keep a general awareness.

That’s why I like well-planned marketing infographics. You can get a bird’s eye view of what’s going on at a glance.

Then, to make that awareness of trends useful in your business, you can ask a few simple questions:

– What one or two ideas can I try next?

– What digital media are my clients using?

– What might truly resonate with them?

Your answers will give you the next thing to try that’s more likely to succeed than a random selection from the latest trends.

Of course, many digital marketing basics remained unchanged.

For instance, Google still dominates search traffic, including global and local search. LinkedIn still appears to be the best platform for B2B marketers.

So you don’t have to re-invent the wheel every time there’s a shiny new trend making the rounds.

The Latest Digital Marketing Trends for Small Business

This digital marketing infographic from Serpwatch gives us a great overview of what’s happening in the digital world this coming year.

In it they cover seven key areas of digital marketing. I’ve highlighted some noteworthy facts that might surprise you.

In any event, they should inspire some new marketing campaigns this year and help you re-think those techniques which might not be working the way you want.

Scroll below the article for the full infographic.

SEO Trends

The average conversion rate for traditional outbound methods such as cold calls and cold direct mail is about 1.7%. The average conversion rate for SEO is 14.6%.

I’m a long-time proponent of omni-channel (or cross-channel) marketing, so I’d never presume to discount any marketing channel without testing and an examination of ROI. Nevertheless, with a conversion rate at 14.6%, SEO needs to be considered, especially if your business currently relies on outbound strategies alone. You’re working too hard if you’re not using SEO with a company website and blog.

Another convincer for local businesses: 80% of consumers online try to find information on local stores and businesses. 50% of mobile users visit the store after a local search and 18% of local searches lead to a purchase the same day!

If you have a local business and do nothing else in 2019, I recommend optimizing your website for mobile marketing and local search.

Social Media Trends

Businesses that use Twitter as an avenue for customer service communication see an average increase in customer satisfaction of 19%. Your social media presence isn’t just for lead generation and advertising. It’s a valuable tool to improve your customer experience.

Video Marketing Trends

Nearly 50% of shoppers search for product videos before they make a purchase. Nor does it have to be a big-budget video production.

A video marketing study by Think With Google found that “3 in 4 people say it’s important that video features people who are genuine, authentic, and relatable…. Authentic content makes learning or buying less intimidating and gives people the confidence they need to take action.”

Most importantly, video motivates people to go from watching to doing.

Said one viewer in the study, “I prefer to watch someone who has done it before. They’re like me trying to figure out how to do something. OK they’ve mastered it so it can’t be that hard. That’s comforting.”

Cold Email Marketing Trends

Only 18% of marketers say that outbound practices provide high quality leads. Yet if you have outbound tactics in place, there are simple things you can do to improve your results.

Statistics show that simply sending more follow-up emails will improve your response rate. Insufficient follow-up is a problem in almost every marketing channel, so it’s no surprise that’s the case here, either.

On top of that, email personalization (whether via cold outreach emails or to your list) can increase response rates up to 100%.

Mobile users also check their email 3 times more than non-mobile. Make sure your emails are optimized for mobile.

Segmenting in email marketing remains largely ignored, despite statistics that show it can give you a 700% increase in ROI.

(For more details, get a free copy of Growing Your Business with Email Marketing here.)

Paid Advertising Trends

Although Google gets 96% of smartphone traffic and 94% of all organic traffic, 30% of paid traffic comes from non-Google search engines.

That tells me that there is likely some good ROI in paid traffic spread across multiple search engines. Yes, your main work should focus on Google, but don’t neglect audiences in other digital media outlets.

Lead Generation Trends

It’s no surprise that lead generation is the top challenge for 61% of marketers.

One quick way to boost leads for your business is to use automation. Companies who did saw a 10% increase in revenue within nine months.

Blogging still works for lead generation. Various studies continue to show that companies that blog 11 or more times or more monthly get more than 4 times as many leads as those who blog 5 times per month.

Blogging is a longer-term strategy, but it works. If you’re not doing it for leads, it certainly pays to start. You’ll thank yourself next year.