2019 brought us many changes with digital marketing, and you shouldn’t expect anything different as we enter 2020.

Many of the digital marketing trends we saw in 2019 will follow us into the new year, but they’ll be new and improved as we continue to evolve the digital landscape.

This year, we want everyone to have 2020 vision, so make sure to keep reading to know what trends are on the horizon for your business!

If you’d rather listen to what we have to say, check out our podcast about 2020 digital marketing trends.

Voice Search

Voice search is still on the rise moving into 2020. Although voice search may sound intimidating, it really isn’t!

Believe it or not, over 50 percent of online searches in 2020 will be through voice search. As we continue to add more smart speakers and voice-activated devices to the market, it’s essential that your business’s online presence is optimized for them.

Not only is voice search available on mobile devices and smart speakers, but more and more vehicle companies are including it in the latest car models because of the hands-free driving laws going into effect around the country.

With the addition of Apple Carplay and Android Auto in vehicles, more people will be searching the internet with the use of their voice. If your business hasn’t looked into voice optimization, now’s the time!

To top it all off, Google made an algorithm update near the end of 2019 that allows search queries to understand natural language instead of just choosing keywords that may be relevant to the search.

Google made this optimization because of how quickly voice search is growing and the need to better understand voice queries so they can give the right results to the searcher.

Social Media Strategies

Social media continued to grow throughout 2019, and it’s safe to say that Instagram made some huge jumps, including reaching one billion active users!

Facebook and Instagram Stories have started to become more popular, including the use of the Shopping feature for businesses to utilize. And we predict that Stories and Shopping for those platforms will continue to grow.

We also anticipate that user-generated content will soar through the roof next year. By allowing your followers or audience to contribute content for you to share, it makes them feel like more of a community and a part of your business.

In fact, 80 percent of brands say that community building efforts help increase traffic to their social media pages and website. Who wouldn’t want that?

Influencer Marketing

It might seem like influencer marketing is only for big brands, but it’s transitioning to be a great tool for small brands. Micro-influencers are people who have a smaller following but are still experts in what they’re promoting.

Micro-influencers may actually be more successful in the long run. Studies have shown that influencers with only 1,000 followers generated 85 percent more engagement than people having 100,000 followers.

For example, a local restaurant could pair up with a food blogger to help promote a new menu, entrée or drink, and vice versa. This also goes back to being part of a community. Your audience is more likely to trust someone who genuinely cares about the product they’re promoting.

Before we move on to the next point, keep in mind that having millions of followers doesn’t matter if the content you’re creating isn’t quality, or your audience isn’t paying attention to what you’re posting. Sometimes less is more.

Paid Advertising Strategies

Over the years, the way people advertise has evolved to fit the current generation. With that evolution, attention spans have decreased to eight seconds, which means you need to create short, simple and clear ads.

And guess what? 2020 may throw you a curveball based on the audience you’re trying to reach.

Advertising used to be as simple as “here’s what the product/service is.” Nowadays, people want to know the why behind the product. Generation Z is coming into the world, and they want to know the ethics behind your business.

Gen-zers look for the value of products/services and if it fits their needs. They also care a lot about giving back to the community. If something costs a little more than normal, but a business donates part of the profit to an organization, most Gen-zers will choose that product over another.

Of course, marketing to the proper audience is key. If you aren’t exactly sure how to define your audience, our team at RevLocal is happy to help!

Final Thoughts

2020 is going to bring a lot of new changes and optimizations, but we’re ready to tackle anything that comes our way!

Stay tuned throughout the year as we continue to share digital marketing updates and industry tips.

Whether you need help with your local search presence, social media, paid advertising or review marketing, our team has the industry-specific experience you need to create a strategy that’s right for your business.

Ready to get started? Request a demo to discuss the best digital marketing strategies for your business!