Hear Us Out 

Smart speakers have been growing in popularity over the past few years. Sales have soared from around 800,000 in 2015 to over 26 million in 2018. From Google to Alexa, these machines are designed to help us save time, with directions, playing music, answering our questions and the occasional bad joke. Around 65% of smart speaker owners would never go back to their life without them. They act as our personal assistants, except unfortunately they can’t make us coffee. More advertising has been brought to these speakers, with them becoming more and more popular and being used daily it is the perfect way to promote your business and gain customers. Digital marketing will benefit from this by expanding into the audio market and learning how to engage customers from this new platform. Publications embracing voice and sound will be developed and used for promotion. Getting a publication spot on these devices “Flash briefing” could mean your site is getting used daily.

Any generation can use these smart speakers which is why they will continue to skyrocket the market in this year.  From young children to their grandparents, all that you need is a voice, a name, and a command. The simplicity of them is why they are so loved!

According to Google, 20% of mobile questions are made through voice searches. This is because without even touching your phone you can activate Siri and ask her a question, it’s a simple solution to all our problems. The more we rely on AI, the smarter they become. Learning about our likes and dislikes. This creates an ideal gap for advertising, by absorbing this information our phones can suggest certain websites, brands, series for us to look at or watch.

Online Shop ‘til You Drop

The reign of high street shopping is coming to an end. The long queues, the unhelpful staff and the shop crowds are all up there with the top reason’s customers find shopping on the high street irritating. The online market picked up in 2018 and will continue to rise as technology continues to advance.

Personal Live Chats

Customers want to feel like they are in a store without the need to leave their bedroom. Personalising these live chats can help gain repeat customers as they have that sense of friendliness and human interaction. Marketing these chats as a friendly support system will help to gain awareness and activity.

Updating Mobile Apps

Customers are more likely to shop on a tablet or on a phone than get out their laptop. However, the issue here is that most mobile apps for online shopping are not up to scratch. Updating these apps will draw in customers, old and new.

Social Proof

Online shopping can be unreliable, you never really know what a product will look like until it arrives. Customers should have the option to post a photo of the product they bought being used or worn for other customers to see. Open your website to the public and embrace your customers’ needs. Current examples of this can be seen on websites such as ASOS and Missguided, they both contain features that show customers wearing the clothes.

The online vs high street debate will be ongoing until high street shops are no longer needed. The more advances in technology and the more updates in the online market, mean that it will most likely be happening sooner rather than later.

Smile You’re On camera

Reality has been slowly blending together with technology for years, but with things like augmented reality progressing, we’ve only just scraped the surface of it. Retailers are rumored to be launching an AR app within the year, this “cool” feature will help to draw in customers and improve their digital marketing campaigns. Lacoste started the trend in 2014 when they launched their unique app that allowed their customers to try on a range of their trainers in store through their phone.

The brand Timberland have created a virtual fitting room on the window of their store, to gain traffic and allow their customers to try on boots without the faff of having to take off their shoes. So, what’s next for these apps? Will we soon be trying on clothes in a virtual fitting room from our own homes?

The U.S. Army is planning on testing its first augmented reality system this year! This could be a game changer, allowing the troops in the field to work out where they are, and the rest of their unit is. This system could save lives, allowing soldiers to gather information whilst on the move will make them faster and more efficient!

Recorded Adverts

The video advertising trend is not over, it has only just begun. Adverts need to be engaging for the viewer to focus and stop what they’re doing. 

The best advertisements that win over the public eye make us want to go out and buy the product. An advert needs to spark a conversation between viewers. The McDonalds’ Monopoly ‘peely peely’ advert massively hyped the start of the monopoly feature coming back to McDonalds. By introducing the term ‘peely peely’ this gave customers something to refer to once they had watched the advert.

An advert can barely show the product but at the end when the brand is revealed, if the story is captivating and realistic, viewers feel a connection with the brand because they have told a story rather than just show off their product.  Budweiser’s “A Dream Delivered” advert does this, by showing a man delivering a life changing scholarship to a family who have made a lot of sacrifices.

The most loved adverts are the ones that show real people doing normal, mundane things. This is because people can relate and trust other humans who are going through the same things they are. The director of the Barclays advert “Love is Tough”, Benito Montorio finds real people who don’t act, and creates something special.

Only time will tell what dramatic things will change in the world of digital marketing, from minor to major changes, apps to advertising there are so many platforms to promote your business. If you need any help and want new ways to promote your business digitally, don’t hesitate to get in touch, you can contact us at marketing@meralidigital.co.uk and we’ll be happy to help!