Future-proof marketing trends
Nobody can deny the genuine results that can be achieved through a carefully considered marketing campaign. We’ve seen small and large businesses exceed their marketing objectives through a wide range of strategies, but how sustainable is it?
Are these marketing methods here for the long haul, or will they be displaced by innovative new methods connected to tech advancements?
Are there any future-proof marketing trends?
Effective online marketing typically stands the test of time. For example, social media marketing and Google Ads have both been around for a very long time, and that’s because both of these marketing strategies yield excellent results when done right. So, you could argue that those types of marketing methods themselves are fairly future-proofed.
But what are some of the emerging marketing methods that may last even longer? To identify these methods, we must look at emerging technologies that are unlikely to be replaced for some time, such as:
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Virtual reality (VR)
- Blockchain technology
- Voice search functionality (Google Home, smartphones, etc.)
We’re going to consider how these (fairly) new advancements are impacting the next generation of marketing methods.
How will AI impact future marketing strategies?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already causing earthquakes across industries and niches and the world of marketing is being affected too. We’re seeing AI tools being used to replace some professionals within the marketing space – such as copywriters, graphic designers and editors - although we’re also seeing reports this is having a negative effect on long-term results.
AI can be utilised to accompany marketing professionals to make them do a better job in quicker timescales but, replacing people completely with AI often causes materials and campaigns to miss the mark and yield lower ROI. This could be due to many reasons, including the lack of human touch and brand resonance which AI cannot match against a real marketing professional.
There’s no doubt that AI can have a place within marketing and co-exist with marketing professionals harmoniously. Marketing experts will find ways of utilising current and future AI tools to their advantage but, the best marketers won’t only see AI as a shortcut and forget about client results.
Virtual reality (VR) is a type of technology that allows us to perceive a different or adjusted reality through software or devices, such as VR headsets. VR is being enhanced and growing in the online gaming industry and we can easily find VR gaming locations in towns and cities. But how will VR affect the development of future marketing strategies?
The answer is quite speculative as limited businesses are frequently using VR in their marketing. VR marketing campaigns and adverts could be embedded into other areas where VR is being used more often, such as the aforementioned gaming industry. VR adverts would allow users to immerse themselves in products and services in a revolutionary way not experienced before, and people could be exposed to these advertisements when playing video games.
Additionally, VR is seen as a tool to expose people to products and services at conferences and professional events. We have seen businesses attending events with a VR headset to allow interested parties to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the product or service on offer. Either way, VR does present a unique opportunity to market, with more realism that no existing marketing strategy could ever compete with. It’s all about growing the opportunities that enable VR marketing for now, considering that most people don’t own a VR headset at home already.
How will blockchains impact future marketing strategies?
Not everyone knows what a blockchain is. Most people believe blockchain technology to be tied to the cryptocurrency arena, more specifically Bitcoin. Bitcoin has indeed rifled blockchain technology into the mainstream but, they are not exclusive and blockchains can be applied to other areas.
A blockchain is a secure public ledger that can store data with the highest level of security. A blockchain is exactly as it sounds, whereby a new block of information is added to the chain and all previous events within the chain cannot be altered, keeping a perfect unalterable record of events or information. The uses of blockchain extend past the financial industry. For example, there are considerations to use a blockchain to record vehicle records which would then prevent dishonest sales regarding the vehicle’s history.
So, what about marketing? Although there isn’t a way to use blockchain as a direct marketing method – as of right now – there is a way to use it as a way to store records of marketing campaigns. Thus, there is scope for blockchains to be used as a marketing analytics strategy whereby previous campaign edits could be tracked against results. Out of all the tech advancements to date, blockchain is arguably the least developed in the marketing space but it does have considerable application potential.
Voice search capability is a functionality that we are seeing more of across devices. The most prominent places we may use voice search is when using our smartphones to search for things while our hands are tied up, as well as with devices that control multiple other devices within the home.
Voice search will have the biggest impact on a marketing strategy called search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO is an alternative to Google Ads, although both are recommended simultaneously and our team can assist with both. It concerns itself with improving the ranking of your website pages on search engine result pages which are the pages of results you receive when you enter a search term on a search engine like Google.
The search engine result pages are designed to give the user the most relevant and valuable content at the top of the first page. As fewer than 0.1% of the population ever click on the second page of these results, it’s essential that you get your website pages optimised and ranked on the first page to receive significant website traffic and more chances of sales.
SEO is made up of a lot of moving parts but one part is the inclusion of SEO keyphrases into your website content. An SEO keyphrase is a word or phrase that is most often searched on a search engine. By using the same popular search terms and the same common questions that your market is typing into the search engine, your content is judged to be more relevant and contributes to a higher page ranking.
And this is where voice search functionality comes in. We don’t speak the same way as we type. So we now need to adapt our website content and other marketing campaign content to include SEO keyphrases that are relevant to an audience using voice search. We are less lazy and typically use more words when executing a search term, which is revolutionising the SEO content creation space within marketing.
AI can complement marketing in the future
AI has the potential to take marketing up a level through AI tools and resources marketers of the future can utilise. AI can help marketers save time and analyse marketing data to help refine campaigns and get better results. Thus, those that do and don’t use AI in the future could experience significantly different levels of marketing success. The same could also be argued regarding blockchains.
VR has massive potential too
Virtual reality will open the door to a new generation of immersive marketing. However, this progress is limited as few people have VR technology already. We predict that as VR gets more mainstream, VR marketing will really take off and be a mainstay within the modern marketer’s toolkit.
Voice search to change SEO
With more technologies and devices accommodating voice searches online, this will have an effect on the search engine optimisation techniques when creating content. SEO content creation of the future will need to consider voice search patterns as well as written searches, which can be vastly different.
We often find there are two types of clients. Those who like things how they are, and those who always want to explore further marketing options, even when their stock is up. Yet, it can be better to explore innovative marketing and next generation marketing when your ROI on existing campaigns is going well. Although the next generation marketing methods are unlikely to displace the current crop of strategies, we believe having an open mindset to what is coming is the best approach. Remember, businesses that stand still are losing out to those moving forward.
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Future proof your business’s marketing results by speaking to our marketing department, supported by designers, creatives and branding experts. We have all the professionals you need under one roof to launch sales-driven marketing campaigns that hit the mark. Book a consultation with a WEBPRO marketing expert to start your business’s next chapter today.
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