Online Digital Marketing Strategy: Getting It Right in 2020

By Kari Jenkins

The year 2020 recently started, and, true to form, digital ads have taken the top position in terms of marketing strategies. Research by eMarketer indicates that spending on digital advertisements and media will amount to almost $376 billion globally, and around 70% of advertisers plan on increasing their budget for mobile social advertising. Despite the patent importance of having a sound digital marketing strategy, many companies are falling short in this sphere, with Smart Insights research showing that around 49% of organizations in the U.S. do not have a clearly defined strategy. If you are embracing digital this year, take note of the following trends and make sure you get it right from the word "go" to avoid wasteful expenses and to follow a coherent plan with clear goals.

Personalized Strategy Building

Marketing teams are working more towards building highly personalized strategies in an effort to reach their target market more efficiently. This trend pays more than simply upping spending on rebranding or social media with no clear desired outcome. Through technology such as artificial intelligence and the direct request of information from clients in return for the chance to download reports and whitepapers, companies are seeking to boost revenue and brand loyalty, but also to achieve greater consistency across channels. New companies are utilizing marketing packages that contain a host of resources that can help them achieve greater personalization. These contain items such as checklists, goal templates, and persona templates.

Enhancing the Customer Experience

Give customers a great experience online and they are more likely to return to your site, purchase more items, and share their positive experience with friends. According to research conducted by PWC, around 73% of people see customer experience as a determinative factor in their purchases. Around 43% would actually pay more for greater convenience, and 42% would do the same for a friendlier experience. When it comes to your digital strategy, enhancing the customer experience should focus on three key areas: speed, convenience, and friendly service.

The Role of Social Media in Branding

Strongly related to customer experience is the way you use social media. What strategies do you already have in place to deal with customer complaints and queries posted online? Answering a complaint on Twitter or other media publicly, quickly and with a sincere desire to help is vital. Reviews and criticisms have a bigger influence than ever, with surveys by the Spiegel Research Centre showing that around 95% of modern-day shoppers read reviews prior to making a purchase.

Design for Life

One response to the technological boom of the past couple of decades has been an increased valuation of design. Marketing teams need to regularly assess the impact, nuances, and degree of connection with the client offered by their aesthetics - these include their logo, website, social media uploads, etc. The format of uploaded content should also be up-to-scratch. Zohar Dayan of the Forbes Technology Council states tat around 91% of consumers prefer interactive and visual content over traditional/text-based media. How can you convey your message to readers while including more dynamic elements into your website and communications?

AI and Personalization

AI permits your company to sort through millions of pieces of data in order to create a personalized, well-catered experience for your target and existing clients. Through predictive analytics, you can send targeted offers, emails, and other precise information to different groups and sub-groups of clients. An Epsilon survey has shown that around 80% of customers prefer dealing with brands that personalize content to them, but given the sophistication of AI, this number is likely to increase over the upcoming year.

If you are seeking to hone your online marketing strategy or you are making the transformation to digital this year, some of the key considerations to watch out for include design, personalization, and enhancing the customer experience. New trends like live video are always worth dabbling in, but you should get the basics right first. Branding, building a well designed and functional website, and using social media to your best advantage are good places in which to start.

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