What Can We Expect in the Digital World in 2020?

From CRM systems Artificial Intelligence, through the Chinese “TikTok” app and to communicate with customers on WhatsApp - all the hottest trends expected to dominate the world of digital marketing in the upcoming year.

The digital marketing world is constantly evolving and changing and as marketers, you have to stay in the loop at all times. Whether it’s new applications or technological changes, you cannot be left behind. You have to instantly embrace new technologies, market movements and hot trends in order to reach your full sales potential.

 Take, for example, EasyJet airline. In 2015, when it celebrated its 20th anniversary, the company used marketing through email and sent an especially festive campaign to its clients. It features stories from passengers and added fascinating facts about its flights and trip recommendations. This email’s opening rate was twice as high as the regular company’snewsletter, with 25% higher click rate. Even more so, about 7.5% of the customers who received the newsletter booked flights. Those are phenomenal conversion rates. This was without a doubt, a great success that derived from their leveraging of the digital marketing technologies at their disposal.

EasyJes Campaign, screenshot

So, what does the future hold? 

Here are the trends we should expect in the digital marketing world in the upcoming year.

1. Instagram Changes: Social Media Shopping, Hiding Likes, and Story Trivia

We all know how well Instagram marketing works, but did you know that you can buy products on social media? Since March 2019, you can purchase various products directly through Instagram by clicking tags on different posts. According to data published by Instagram, 60% of users discover new products through the app. As marketers, you can take advantage of this arena to sell your products, mostly if your target audience are Millennials (the Y generation).

Shopping on Instagram, screenshot

Since we’ve mentioned Millennials, it would be interesting to find out how hiding Likes would affect the young generation’s use of Instagram. The platform started a Likes hiding pilot on May 2019 in several countries; Canada, New Zealand, Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Japan and Italy. 

As part of the ‘Likes hiding’, the user uploading the post can view the Likes his post receives, but other users’ Likes would be hidden from him as a default. This initiatives’ goal, according to Instagram, is to invoke in its users an interest in the content itself, rather than the popularity level set by the number of Likes. Furthermore, the comparison between the number of Likes might cause a decrease in self-worth in its users, provoke envy and unhealthy competition. 

The Story on Instagram is also about to change. Nowadays, the Story function is mostly used as a tool to upload pictures and videos, but now Instagram is encouraging its users to upload things like surveys, trivia and questions. By doing so, they expect to raise the target audience’s engagement percentage. As marketers, this platform can be used to test the preferences of potential target audience and create tighter and more personal relationships. 

2. Email Marketing Will Grow Stronger in 2020

It goes without saying; email marketing simply works. The option of sending marketing messages and news about your products, directly to your target audience through emails, has already proven its effectiveness. 

According to studies, 72% of the population prefer receiving promotional content to their mailbox, as opposed to 17% who prefer to be exposed to the promotional content on social media. With that said, it’s recommended to integrate email marketing and social media. If your brand has an active Facebookpage, you can invite your friends to register to your Newsletter. This way, you will increase the number of customers who are exposed to the Newsletter and your sales promotion email contents. 

Moreover, email marketing can assist you in increasing the engagement on your Facebook page: send reminders to your Newsletter subscribers that your Facebook page is still live and kicking. This could strengthen your brand even further and would allow your Newsletter subscribers to get updates on social media as well.  

3. Artificial Intelligence on CRM Systems

As marketers, you must be working with CRM systems: Customer Relations Management system concentrating all your customers’ details – from personal information such as age and marital status to a communication log via email and phone calls. A CRM system is especially relevant when it comes to email marketing, since it arranges everything and allows you to reach customers according to a certain section. 

In 2020, CRM systems are about to get even more advanced, with their integration with Artificial Intelligence. What does that mean? The systems will have prediction and self-learning algorithms, so you – as marketers – would be able to predict your clients’ needs before they even approach you. This technology would allow for a smart client marketing.

4. ‘TikTok’ App Will Take Over the World

It might be hard to believe, but in the following year, Facebook’s popularity might be severely damaged. Serving as its biggest threat is a new player coming from the far East – a Chinese app named ‘TikTok’. The application, launched in 2018 by ByteDance, allows you to create and share short one-minute videos. Ever since TikTok was launched, it became a sensation and was even able to get through to markets in the western world, such as the US and, of course Israel. It has gotten over 500 million downloads in 40 countries worldwide. 

It’s based on the ‘Musical.ly’ app. However, ‘TikTok’-s success lies in its targeting all audiences, not just children. In addition, it sends multiple alerts, so it’s impossible to avoid. By advertises itself on apps such as Facebook it enjoys a substantial amount of downloads. Speaking of Facebook, it seems that Mark Zuckerberg’s people are afraid of it – recently, the social media launched its Lasso app, trying to compete with TikTok and also allowing to create and share short videos. 

Alongside its great success, TikTok’s name is also tied to less than flattering headlines, such as distribution of pornographic content, racial incitement against black people and Jews and fake news. Either way, it seems that it is here to stay and holds a vast marketing potential. On TikTok, you could advertise your marketing content using ads, create your own channel, where you could upload videos with marketing content or work with a community of influencers – popular users on TikTok who can promote your products.

What can we expect in the digital world in 2020?

5. WhatsApp as a Digital Marketing Tool

WhatsApp has become a big part of its users private and business life. Other than talking to our friends, the instant messaging app is a platform for businesses to communicate with their customers. Sending clients messages via WhatsApp allows for a personalized client marketing. You can invite clients to a company sales event, update them on sales and provide them with support and service using chatbots. 

 It’s an automated chat, through which a virtual representative answers customers’ questions, provides them with information and can identify when the client is impatient and should be directed to a human representative. According to ProfitBooks, a WhatsApp chat instead of a phone conversation could help you get a 40% higher response rate. 

Marketers’ use of WhatsApp will grow stronger in 2020, and funded ads will also become an app feature. Facebook, who owns WhatsApp, announced the move during its marketing convention in Holland, in May 2019. According to the company, the ads will appear as part of the on app statuses.

That’s how WhatsApp ads will look like, screenshot from Matt Navarra’s Twitter

6. More interactive content

With the development of interactive technology, your clients will also want to receive marketing content in more creative and original ways. For example, an image website styled as Virtual Reality, 360o websites, trivia and surveys. This kind of content will encourage your potential clients to interact with your brand and will make your marketing content stand out.

Despite all these innovations, we must remember that the main streams for digital marketing, such as social media management and organic promotion still exist. As marketers, you have the option to combine the traditional ways with the new trends, as you strive to increase your potential target audiences and sales promotion. Have a great year.