There were over 4.39 billion internet users globally as of January 2019, according to data from We Are Social and Hootsuite’s Digital 2019 report. That’s more than half of the world’s population! Furthermore, the figure showed an increase of 399 million users compared to last year’s results. With this continual and rapid growth, it only makes sense for business owners to maximize digital marketing to grow their company.
While older and more traditional digital marketing methods like managed SEO services are still effective, innovations like AI, virtual reality, and more are proving to be successful when it comes to connecting and engaging with customers. In fact, companies like Domino’s Pizza and personal finance platform Mint became leaders in their fields because of their willingness to adapt to these new technologies. Take a look at what they and several other companies are using to get to the top.
The Future is Mobile and Fast
The We Are Social report showed that over 5.11 billion people in the world have a mobile phone. Though you may have recently adapted a mobile-first for your site, you may still be losing out on potential conversions if your pages or web applications are even slightly sluggish. According to a study on mobile page speeds, over 53% of mobile users leave a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
Your customers want to see and interact with your content and products instantly, especially when they’re on their smartphone. One way to do this is by using progressive web applications (PWAs). A PWA uses modern web development tools like HTML5 and JavaScript to create a browser experience that’s as fast and responsive as a mobile and desktop application.
One of the best examples of this is the PWA transformation for retail clothing platform Debenhams. The video showed that an e-commerce platform that uses PWA could make purchases up to 20 seconds faster than traditional mobile sites.
Apart from store pages, your blogs and other articles may also benefit from this platform. If you’re an avid user of social media, you may have noticed that your friends sometimes share articles with a lightning bolt symbol next to the headline. When you open them, they load almost instantly, even if you’re on a slow connection. These pages run on a PWA called “Accelerated Mobile Pages” or AMP.
AMP is a Google-backed web framework that allows a page to load as fast as possible. One of its success stories involved a logistics company called U.S. Xpress. It had trouble getting job applications through their website because the majority of drivers are in areas with slow mobile data.
By using AMP on their site, the company increased its loading speed by up to five times, and in turn, they got 62% more applications than they did with a traditional webpage. Companies like Time, Inc. also used AMP to accelerate the loading time of their online ads and saw a 13% increase in revenue because of it.
It just goes to show that like your deliveries and services, your website needs to be fast if you want to succeed online.
Personalization Galore
If you’ve ever used Netflix before, you’ve probably seen a list on the platform’s home screen recommending shows and movies similar to what you just watched. And you’ve probably discovered new and great stuff to binge using this list. And they’re so good that you just have to get another month’s subscription. This is called personalized marketing. It’s used by not just streaming platforms, but also online stores and marketplaces like Amazon.
Personalized marketing uses data collected from people when they visit a site (like buying and browsing history) to create automated content that’s distinct to the user’s behavior and personality. This individualized content can come in the form of recommendations on their website, ads on other sites and social media platforms, and email newsletters.
Like Netflix and YouTube, Amazon recommends items based on the products you’ve bought, left in your cart, and viewed. According to e-commerce information outlet Econsultancy, the company gets 10% to 30% additional revenue from these suggestions. One reason for this is that people are afraid of missing out on great deals or an item that could supplement the one they just purchased.
For instance, you already bought an expensive smartphone, so you might as well get a protective case for it.
If you want to apply this to your business, personalization software like OptinMonster can help you get the data, insights, and implementation tools you need for your campaign. With the right strategy, you’ll keep customers coming back for your goods and services. Businesses such as ClearBit make it surprisingly easy to extract data, albeit almost scary how well they can extract informatino about your business when you visit their landing page, without even setting up a profile.
Every Moment Matters
Search engines like Google have become so smart that they can recommend the nearest hotels and restaurants with just one search. They can even show you a list of ingredients from one of their search results when you look for recipes. These recommendations are Google’s response to “micro-moments,” or their users’ need to learn or act upon something.
One of the best ways to respond to micro-moments is to get on Google’s knowledge card and local pack. A knowledge card features a website with the most relevant answers to the user’s search query. This appears as a box that’s separate from all the search results. A local pack, on the other hand, is a list of establishments that appear when a user searches for businesses in a specific area.
Gone are the days of running to the bookshelf to flip through the encyclopedia, dictionary, or directory. Your customers now rely on their smartphones and computers to answer everyday questions. And you need to be the one to supply those all-important responses. This way, you’ll get the all-important clicks and conversions your business needs.
Conclusion
Digital marketing is more important now than ever for businesses. As a private label SEO provider we’ve witnessed more and more customers are using the web for everyday tasks – from buying groceries to looking for accommodations for their trip. These examples use advanced software, automation, and techniques to help you connect and engage with your audience. Use them to your advantage and you’ll always be one step ahead of the competition. Trends come and go, it’s the marketing models that have a shelf life greater than 2 years that are here to stay, and here to slay.
