5 Marketing Trends That Will Impact Analytics in 2019

It’s that time of year again–the new year–when all of those in the marketing industry will predict what’s coming up for 2019. The truth is that things do change, but maybe a little more slowly than we imagine; however, these are trends that have already begun, things that you will have seen around and heard of, and some things you’re already actively doing, but are predicted to be even bigger in this upcoming year. But, more importantly, you’ll want to adopt or expand some of these strategies soon because it will impact your business if you don’t.

Here are 5 marketing trends that will impact analytics in 2019.

1. Consumer opinion will affect social media metrics
2. Video will continue to capture consumers’ attention
3. Content marketing will still be king
4. Voice search is gaining traction
5. Analytics dashboard platforms will rise

1.  Consumer opinion will affect social media metrics

Consumers often buy from companies they trust and consumers increasingly buy based on good old-fashioned word of mouth. If people they like and trust vouch for a product, they’re more likely to buy. With the average person seeing over 250 ads per day, consumers are no longer fooled by advertisements. So, that’s why it’s important this year you ensure your social media branding and customer service are on point.

More consumers reach out to businesses via social media–whether it’s in the comments section or the inbox–and 59% of Americans feel that social media outlets for businesses mean it’s easier to get their important questions answered, which is a great thing.

Although, it’s curious that as technology advances, many retreat further into old-fashioned ways. For example, recently, a company worked hard to source their customer’s addresses to send out a flyer marketing campaign to reach their consumer base and it worked! Print isn’t dead! As with any marketing on social media or otherwise, it’s about connecting with what your audience wants in the way that they want it–and getting creative. You have to know your audience, even (or especially) in the days of chatbots and email marketing. Sometimes tried and tested strategies work, which includes social opinion. But, for 2019, it’s a must to keep your social media brand ticking and public opinion favorable.

However, in 2018, Facebook took a hit with its data breaches, which led consumers to feel distrustful of social media platforms, which will certainly affect marketing metrics this year. But, don’t worry too much; your social media brand is still important. It’s good to know that of Earth’s 7.59 billion people, 3.19 billion people actively use social media. In fact, consumers love social media so much that statistics note that social media and video viewing are a couple of the most popular online activities. Which leads us to our next point…

2.  Video will continue to capture consumers’ attention

Video is everywhere. If you log onto any social platform and most websites, you’re bound to see video. Google even encourages businesses to create video ads for every step of the customer journey–and, of course, to know your consumers better. Of course, what good is video if your analytics platforms aren’t linked to measure the metrics? More on that later…

Wordstream in 2018 noted that customer conversion rates rise by 86% when you use video on your landing pages. Plus, Omnicore realized that video content drives organic search results 50 times more than plain text alone. Neil Patel, the founder of Kissmetrics, asserted that product videos increase purchases by 144%.

So, what does this mean for your marketing efforts? Well, that means you may need to set some budget aside for some video. Making videos can be expensive, but if you want to get attention, it’s worth considering what content will give you the most conversion for your spend. You don’t have to produce hundreds of videos to gain traction; you need to create the right videos for your audience. Now, get that camera rolling!

3. Content marketing will still be king

The phrase ‘content is king’ may be way overused. But it’s still true. Companies who drive their content marketing efforts (i.e. publish at least 16 or more blog per month) gained 3.5 times more traffic than those who only published 0-4 blogs per month. Does that mean you should get writing now, like, right now? Er, make sure you’re writing the right kind of content before running to your keyboard.

Content marketing is one of the biggest converters and 55% of marketers want to make content creation their top marketing priority this year, but Google only likes good, quality content–quality as suggested by their crawlers, which not as subjective as you might think. What that means in Google and consumer terms is that your content has to be thorough (i.e. long enough), it has to cover the topic well using all the right keywords and, most importantly, it has to be of value to your audience.

The average first page result on Google SERP is 1,890 words, according to Backlinko. You’d think consumers would like shorter pieces, but that isn’t the case. In fact, Google penalizes what it denotes as ‘thin’ content, which is content that it deems to have little user value.

However, the good news is that whilst content can be expensive to produce (although not as expensive as video), it usually pays off. Content marketing generates 3 times more leads than paid search (say what?!). And while volume of content is a great thing and valuable, at least 10% of your content will continue to develop leads long after it has been written. These posts are known as ‘compounding blog posts’ and they can often create as much traffic as six decaying posts.

Even if you don’t know exactly which content will become the most valuable in time, it’s best to keep writing and keep generating as much quality content as you can. Content marketing may be one of your most important assets, especially if you write with SEO and Google best practice in mind.

4.  Voice search is gaining traction

Voice search queries have increased by 3,400% since 2008. Over 60.5 million Americans talk at least once per month to Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, or Amazon’s Alexa. There are even statistics that support that some talk to their preferred voice assistant on a daily basis, which means that voice search is more popular than ever. If your website isn’t optimized for voice search, then you’re already behind.

Google notes that mobile searches now account for half of all searches. Half! That means there’s a good chance that people will find your website or services via voice search and you need to be ready. Though, all you’ll need is to begin to rethink your content strategy this year. Simplify and adjust your strategy to answer questions in simple terms. So, when you’re out there writing new content, think about how well it will answer voice queries too by being detailed and conversational. Just think about how ‘scary’ optimizing for mobile search seemed a few years ago and your website has probably been mobile-friendly for years. You’ll get there.

5.  Analytics dashboard platforms will rise

According to Gartner, a leading research and advisory company, the budget for marketing technology spend is now higher than that of advertising for many companies.

Any smart company knows that customer data should inform all business decisions. But if you have no way of gaining that data what do you do? You may see, for example, that your blog is being viewed by hundreds of readers (potential customers) per day, but are you finding a way to capture that data and see what your potential customers are doing next? Are they buying? Are they reading more content? Are your blogs converting, in other words? And can you measure your efforts? For example, you may be spending thousands (or tens of thousands) each year on your paid ads, but if you had some way to measure your analytics you might realize that 90% of your leads simply come through your blog and social media engagement, meaning that you’re wasting your money. That’s where analytics dashboards will come in handy in 2019 to collate data in meaningful and useful ways.

Dashboard platforms such as Google’s Data Studio enable marketers to produce advanced data visualization and reporting. That way, you can make data-informed decisions in the upcoming year (if you aren’t already). Let’s get real, you can’t really guess where your leads are coming from without the data to back it up. In fact, leads can come from a number of different sources. To find out what sources you can use and where to plan, take a look at our piece on the bullseye marketing framework here. Data Studio features community connectors that have recently allowed for much–if not all–of the Analytics from various dashboards in one spot.

Yes! That means you can connect all the ways you find out your data and connect them in one, easy-to-use dashboard. You may have been using five or more platforms, but now Google has just made it easier so you can see everything in one integrated place. That will certainly make anyone’s new year.

Don’t panic! Key Medium is ahead of the trends

No need to bring a towel. (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference, anyone?) Guess what? Here at Key Medium, we are already prepared for what’s upcoming. We acknowledge that a vast majority of marketing agencies don’t have their data in one spot and often infer an opinion when making decisions that should be informed by data. And that’s not good enough. Your marketing efforts should be based only on facts. However, when we build websites, we automatically prepare them for voice search and we connect them to Data Studio so that you have a fully-integrated marketing machine from the get-go. We advise on how you can continue your content marketing efforts and also how video can help boost your content. See, all of our 5 marketing trends covered in one fell swoop. Get in touch with us today if you have any questions.

Want to chat with us about integrating Google’s Data Studio with your website?

Call us or email us to discuss your web needs–whether it’s simply setting up your data platform,  an SEO audit or a complete web overhaul, we have you covered. We’re here to speak to you to improve your conversions in 2019.