3 Digital Marketing Trends Here to Stay in 2019 — and Beyond

As we head into the last quarter of 2019, the Digital Marketing Services team here at RelationEdge has been working to keep pace with the latest and greatest in digital marketing trends. Members of our team attended both Salesforce Connections and San Diego Interactive Day to learn about what’s new and improved as it relates to digital marketing and helping our clients, and we’ve been busy applying what we’ve learned to our work. 

I spoke with expert members of our team to find out their favorite digital marketing trends this year. Here’s what they had to say!

Want help capitalizing on these trends to better market your business? Get in touch with our team to discuss our digital marketing services.

Karisa Booth — Demand for Data Privacy is Only Increasing

2018 saw the introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which, along with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, kicked off some lengthy conversations about data privacy. 2019 brought us the recent heavy penalties against British Airways, as well as much talk about the upcoming California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which will go into effect in early 2020.

Karisa Booth, Director of Service Delivery, says marketers would be wise to keep an eye out for increased consumer pressure regarding data privacy and additional regulations, as similar legislation to CCPA is likely on the horizon. CCPA’s name is also misleading; if you are a business in the United States, CCPA applies to you. If you need help getting ready for CCPA, check out our post on how to do just that.

Heather Ferguson — Personalization and Dynamic Content are Necessary to Connect With Customers

Audiences today expect more than ever for content to be made just for them. Heather Ferguson, Manager of Digital Marketing Services, points out that if you aren’t personalizing your messaging and delivering it to the right people at the right time, you’re missing out on valuable opportunities to communicate with your market.

Marketing automation software allows you to streamline your processes and never again miss a chance to connect with your customers. You can nurture your leads, set up automatic drip email campaigns, manage your contacts, and more. The beauty of the software is that so much of it is automated, you ultimately end up with more time to focus on and refine your strategy. 

Emma Heycock — Artificial Intelligence is Growing Rapidly

Artificial Intelligence is becoming a part of so many things we do on a routine basis, we may not even recognize it as AI. For example, if you’ve ever gone to a website and responded to the pop-up chat that appeared in order to get your question answered, you were probably interfacing with a chatbot. Chatbots are just one example of how AI can help marketers focus on more complex issues. 

Perhaps you’ve decided that AI is, in fact, a worthy investment for your company. However, Emma Heycock, Email and Marketing Automation Specialist, cautions you to not get overwhelmed by everything that AI is capable of. Rather than wanting AI to do everything, marketers should focus on a few particular uses of the technology: personalizing the customer experience or automating content creation, for instance.

When it comes to digital marketing trends, it can be hard to determine what will work for your company and what won’t. At RelationEdge, we stay on top of the trends so you don’t have to. Get in touch today to discuss how we can put our expert knowledge to work for you.