The new year always comes with new things. This year we decided to put together a short list, a very short list, of some of the most important digital marketing trends for 2020. So here goes!
1. Digital Intelligence
We’ve done a lot of talking about “the digital transformation” in 2019. This is only going to intensify in 2020. This is the time when that transformation starts to turn into digital intelligence. In fact, when it comes to the marketing world, it will no longer be “digital marketing,” just “marketing.”
“70% of companies either have a digital transformation strategy in place or are working on one.”
“89% of all companies have already adopted a digital-first business strategy or plan to do so.”
Those are some staggering percentages. So if you’re saying “What heck is digital transformation?” you need to get up to speed if you want to compete. No worries though here’s a quick definition for you.
Digital transformation is the changes associated with digital technology application and integration into all aspects of human life and society. It is the move from the physical to digital. From Techpedia
Once companies have achieved the transformation they need to do something with all the data. Digital Intelligence takes the transformation to the next level. It is the ability to transform digital data into real-time, actionable, customer-centric insights.
The idea is that we are no longer living in a simple physical world. So much of what we do digital:
- We shop online
- We date online
- We work online
- 96% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind.
- We read online
- We have connected health and fitness trackers
The fact is digital has become so pervasive that you have to make a very conscious effort to not be connected.
To bring it back to business if you don’t have a plan to manage your employees and company data digitally you will lose the ability to be competitive. There are 5 key barriers that companies across the globe struggle with when tackling the transformation. If you can conquer these you are well on your way to a high level of digital intelligence.
- Data privacy and security concerns
- Lack of budget and resources
- Lack of in-house skills and expertise
- Regulation and legislative changes
- Immature digital culture
2. AI (Artificial Intelligence) In Everything
AI (Artificial Intelligence) has really been a buzzword that the last couple of years, but 2020 will be the year that it really starts to come to fruition.
In 2019 Google released the update I called BERT (Understanding searches better than ever before). This is powered with Google AI. This will be huge in 2020 and will change the way sites are ranked and how marketers promote their sites via search.
2020 will also see AI for AI or AI automation. This means that you can use someone else’s AI to create and run your own AI. Again google is at the forefront with AutoML. This is a tool that simplifies the process of creating machine learning models and makes the technology accessible to a wider audience. So companies that don’t have the technical chops to build their own platform can leverage Google’s to get them there. So uses that come to mind.
- Ad placement
- Copywriting
- Data evaluation
- Tracking
- Targeting
While there are many more digital marketing trends we could cover for this year (and we will likely talk about them as the year goes on) these are the two that are set to make the most impact on our industry. Well, maybe every industry.
If you need help navigating the digital marketing landscape of 2020. Let’s talk. We can help you stay up to speed and competitive.
