Author: Writer

The digital marketing landscape is constantly changing. And with new techniques, technologies, and the ever-changing algorithms, most digital marketing teams are always on their toes, staying up-to-date with upcoming trends so that their clients’ digital marketing campaign stays effective and successful.

And as a new decade draws near, here are some of the hottest digital marketing trends we expect to see this 2020.

1. Vlogging

Branded vlogs are truly a vlessing and expected to dominate in 2020.With the ongoing success of Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and YouTube, video blogs are hogging in attention. In contrast with other video types such as short filmsand explainer videos, vlogs offer a more direct and personal approach.

Vloggers speak directly to their viewers, creating more direct and personal connections which are obviously a great technique for marketers trying to forge stronger relationships with customers.

Vlogs can be strategic and practical. You can live-stream special kinds of events that not everyone has access to such as a musical concert or corporate conferences. You can even post other homegrown contents that customers are curious to see such as behind-the-scenes looks and celebrity interviews.

2. Visual Search

Other than the manual typing search and the much-advanced voice search comes another kind of online searching that takes user experience to a whole new level— visual search. People can now upload an image in order to conduct a search and get more accurate or specific results.

Some of the top runners in this trend are Pinterest Lens, Google Lens, CamFind and Bing Visual Search. Marketers will be able to have an edge against competitors by jumping on this visual search trend in order to draw more customers and serving them the perfect product.

3. Micro-Influencers

Influencers have been a top digital marketing trend for the past few years now. It has been too successful, though, that the big-time influencers are now calling the shots. And it is not enough to just send them some free samples in hope that they will review it— you also need to offer a pricing list and payment tables.

In short, social media influencers are now a product and a damn expensive one.

However, instead of competing with large enterprises for the top-tier influencers, medium and small-sized businesses can work with micro-influencers. This refers to the medium and small-sized influencers with narrower niches— not overloaded with sponsorship offers but still popular enough to influence hundreds to thousands of people.

Not only are they much more affordable, but micro-influencers are known to have a better engagement rate than the top-tier influencers. Since they have fewer followers, they get to dedicate more personal to each follower.

4. Shoppable Posts

Once upon a time, businesses were wondering how they can get their followers on social media to visit their online stores. This year and the next, they no longer need to!

Social commerce allows you to buy products directly through social media ads or posts, without leaving the app or site. These shoppable posts are not exactly new, however, they are rapidly gaining more attention.

It creates fewer steps for shoppers, selling directly on social media which reduces the chances of customers abandoning sales. Plus, you do not need to be an e-commerce brand. AS long as you’re selling a few pieces of branding merchandise, you will see greater returns by allowing transactions via social media.

5. Artificial Intelligence

2020 is said to be the year of AI dominance. It is expected to be the heart of the global industry and businesses and is already taking over numerous simple jobs.

In terms of digital marketing, AI analyzes search patterns and consumer behavior as well as using data from blog posts and social media platforms to help companies understand how their customers find and use their services and products.

AI will soon be the main force behind most services and is currently being implanted in areas such as:

• Product recommendations
• Basic communication
• Email personalization
• Content creation
• E-commerce transactions

Conclusion

The digital marketing landscape is obviously going through some major changes with each passing year without showing any signs of slowing down. And as we enter a brand new year, stay ahead of the competition by preparing your business and implementing these top trends into your digital marketing efforts

One of the biggest challenges facing businesses is staff retention. This impacts not only the individual teams who are always getting new people but also the HR professionals who are responsible for maintaining the requisite workforce and talent levels for the productivity output needed. High staff turnover can be an expensive issue as training investments are lost while key skills need to be re-sourced or developed anew; the impact on your business’s bottom line can be significant. In this article, we look at a few of the ways you can minimize staff turnover and retain the kind of long-haul loyalty you’d expect from the core team members in your business.

Start as you mean to go

Prevention is always better than relying on a costly cure. When it comes to staff retention, one of the most effective methods exists at the very start of the journey with your hiring process. Always ensure that the role is clearly defined and understood by you as much as by your prospective employee. If expectations are apparent right from the get-go, then you are more likely to find your staff investing in their new role and the culture of your company for the long term.

Maintain fair remuneration

If an employee feels strongly that they are not being paid in alignment with current average rates for their role in your industry, then they might start to look elsewhere. As they develop, improving their worth and their value to your business ensure that their wage and the benefits are adequate with their output. Hence, set personal expectations that staff would eventually question their salary grade so you need to allocate time for a discussion. Undervaluing your staff is a sure way to risk their perception that the grass is greener elsewhere.

Make your engagement strategies consistent

Most companies restrict their staff engagement policies and efforts to the bare minimum, perhaps ticking a box with an annual survey. To invest in your team and ensure maximum retention, you need to make your engagement consistent and create a complete plan that focuses on engagement all year long, and this will ensure that everyone feels like their voices are being heard. There are experts and software platforms out there to help support you in this; inpulse.com is a great example. Invest in employee engagement to significantly boost staff retention.

Treat and reward your staff

Alongside a fair pay and staff benefits structure, you should additionally look to positively reward your employees in recognition of their continued efforts, successes, and loyalty. Do not just make annual or Christmas bonus schemes, but also regularly throughout the year. This is as motivating as it is loyalty supporting, and if you aim to make your rewards targeted to the recipients a social experience, it will amplify the effect.

Support flexible working conditions

Too often today, the work-life balance presents a challenge to both employers and their workforce. Creating a flexible working environment for staff sends a strong signal that you are investing in the whole of their wellbeing. Studies have shown that remote working does not equate to a drop in productivity, and, very often, your flexibility will be rewarded with improved productivity, staff positivity, and retention.