Nowadays, securing digital presence is essential for any type of business. Digital marketing is a key driver for intensifying your business activity and attracting new customers.
According to a recent digital marketing survey, 84% of all companies worldwide agree that digital marketing helps them boost their sales and increases customer loyalty.
However, digital marketing alone will not help you achieve your ultimate goal of increasing profit margins. In order to succeed in building your digital presence, you should keep track of the latest digital trends and adapt your business strategy accordingly. Thus, establishing a goal-oriented digital marketing strategy is absolutely vital. This is what separates the pros from the amateurs and helps companies achieve.
In this article, we will look into 7 unexplored digital marketing niches in 2019. Make use of the technologies your competitors aren’t yet aware of and always stay one step ahead of them!
RCS Messaging
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a communication protocol that aims to replace common SMS messages by providing phonebook polling and transmitting in-call multimedia. It looks very similar to chatbots but relies on cellular networks instead of the Internet.
Though the technology emerged way back in 2014, it’s still not fully implemented due to the lack of high-speed wireless networks. The problem will be solved after 5G connectivity is available in the majority of countries worldwide. According to Statista.com, by 2025, the number of 5G-connected devices will be 10 times bigger than it is now. With this in mind, make sure you have already included RCS technology in your digital development strategy.
Content Marketing
How much do you spend on content marketing? Is your content aligned with the three parts of the marketing funnel? The majority of marketers produce articles or ads and post them on social media hoping to attract more clients. In 2019, customers are extremely sensitive to the content you offer. Nowadays, you should align it with the three parts of the marketing funnel, namely ToFu (Top of the Funnel), MoFu (Middle of the Funnel) and BoFu (Bottom of the Funnel).
ToFu is how you attract customers and interact with them. ToFu content should be eye-catching and always have a CTA (or call to action). It can be a CPC ad, a short video with an invitation to visit your website or a review of your partner website.
MoFu provides your customers with some useful info. These are the essays that help them get to know your business better and gain some useful information. For example, if you produce baby bath products, you can shoot a step-by-step video tutorial on how to shampoo a baby. This will improve your relations with your customers and provide them with some useful advice on how to make use of your products. It will also show your clients that you care about them, and not just selling them your merchandise.
BoFu ensures that your customers purchase your products. This includes retargeting and remarketing strategies, as well as discount messages. Be sure to remind your customers of the items in their online shopping cart by sending them a personalized message.
Voice Search
Voice search optimization is one of the newest technologies any self-respecting company should include in their digital marketing strategy. Why? Although the technology is not yet fully developed, Google already has a snippet that can read search queries out loud. For example, if you type “How to remove vinegar from carpet” into Google’s search box, you will be presented with a voice-activated step-by-step instruction on the first page.
In the next few years, the percentage of voice search users is expected to increase significantly. And it is early adopters who will benefit the most from the technology, as they will get the highest places in Google rankings. By optimizing your website for voice search, you can boost your traffic figures and become a leader in your chosen niche.
Video Marketing
Video marketing can hardly be called an innovation in 2019, but it is only partially true. Over the past decade, video hosting services like YouTube and Vimeo have revolutionized video marketing by introducing different types of video ads, such as instructional, feedback, invitational, explanation and more.
You should, therefore, keep track of the latest trends in video marketing and exploit the available niches. You can, for instance, have a look at Instagram’s IGTV platform. It requires its users to upload only vertical 60-second videos. Besides increasing your brand awareness, video marketing also allows you to maximize your revenue and achieve higher conversion rates.
Programmatic Advertising
Programmatic advertising implies the use of artificial intelligence for automating ad bidding. This is a modern algorithm that allows ad publishers and consumers to calculate a fair price. AI analyzes ad quality and gives it a rank — a numerical value that reflects ad conformity and its correspondence to a specific search query. An ad with the most unique content and user-friendly interface (e.g. widgets, metadata, etc.) gets the highest place and lowest price. This is a win-win strategy because users get the most fitting ad while ad providers get the fairest market price. The system was first introduced by Google and later implemented by other key industry players.
Another application of programmatic ads is the personalization of ads. This means that a search engine implants a cookie (i.e. a small piece of text) into a user’s browser that keeps track of their interests and preferences. In this way, they get shown the most relevant ads. For examples, if you frequently search for inflatable boats, a programmatic ad engine will show you ads for spinning fishing poles or air pumps. Keep in mind that there are a lot of programmatic ads providers except Google. They are usually cheaper and not yet overcrowded with ad providers. Jump on the programmatic ads bandwagon and get maximum value for each dollar spent on ads!
Chatbots
Though RCS is said to replace chatbots soon, the latter still have a significant market share in 2019. According to Mindshare, 63% of customers prefer online communication via chatbots. Chatbots have several distinct advantages over human operators: they work 24/7, they never lose patience and they give your business precisely what it needs. These programs ensure outstanding customer service by providing you with automated replies and functional interface. What’s more, they can memorize your preferences and buying history to make their offers more personalized.
Chatbots are relatively cheap to develop and maintain. Some of the most popular messengers, such as Messenger, Telegram, and WhatsApp, already support this technology. Examples of companies that are benefiting from chatbots include Pizza Hut, Uber and The Wall Street Journal. You can also develop your own chatbot by using an algorithm created by the SAP company.
Augmented Reality (AR)
While Virtual Reality is still at the development stage and will take several more years to infiltrate marketing strategies, Augmented Reality is already being made use of on a mass scale. With IKEA’s innovative app that can place furniture into your room in real-time, AR technology is becoming increasingly popular among marketers.
Another AR pioneer is L’Oreal company that has come up with its ModiFace app. With its help, customers can apply different makeup styles by using their smartphone’s front-facing camera. You can consider doing something similar to increase your customer base and boost your sales.