Change is the only constant when it comes down to digital marketing. Technology is changing advertising at such a speed that well-tested strategies can become obsolete in a heartbeat. It is important to keep your skills up to date in this competitive and fast-growing world. While there is still an emphasis on personalization, micro content, and video, marketers prefer using other tricks to convert readers/viewers/followers into customers. In this article, we will present the digital marketing techniques that you should include in your strategy this year.

1.     Incorporating AI powerhouses – in other words, chatbots

Who has not heard about chatbots? They are virtually everywhere. Chatbots are nothing more than computer programs that simulate natural human conversation, powered by artificial intelligence. You communicate with the bot via the chat interface or by voice; it is like having a conversation with a real person. Chatbots are so smart that they can understand complex requests, provide personalized responses, and perform sentiment analysis. The world of digital marketing has adopted artificial intelligence successfully and chatbots are no exception.

Since every customer demands a quick and responsive service when they visit a website, a chatbot can come in handy. It can offer answers to all queries, meaning that no question will take the bot by surprise. In addition to answering basic customer service questions, chatbots can sell and process orders, monitor order information, and even take on social media marketing. You may decide to create your own chatbot from scratch or use a chatbot-building platform. Either way, it is worth the investment.

In case you were wondering what the best practices are for chatbots, read a little bit further.

• Keep it stupid simple – A chatbot can be something downright simple, such as basic patent matching with a response, or complex (a sophisticated conversational AI bot). It is recommended to keep it simple, especially if you are a newbie. The simpler your digital strategy is, the easier it will be to execute and yield good results.
• Do not use chatbots as a replacement for human conversation – The aim of chatbots is not to replace humans, but to work in tandem with humans to improve customer outcomes. Even if chatbots can manage simple or complex conversations, they should not be used instead of a real person. Customers prefer humans over bots, just so you know.

2.     Marketing on Instagram

Facebook is no longer the king of social media. Instagram offers users a better experience – it is easier to use, more personal, and safer. Its high engagement rate enables businesses to get more success with their marketing techniques. Instagram has not yet removed the likes from the platform, so there is wasting no time. If you take advantage of certain hashtags, you can get organic following, even if there is a great deal of competition. Hashtags will make your content more discoverable, not to mention that they strengthen brand image. Use hashtags in Instagram content such as feed posts, stories, and IGTV.

Brand collaborations are just as important as competition. More exactly, they can get you more followers. Collaborating with a blogger or influencer does not have to be complicated. Find someone interested in working with you and determine the details of your collaboration. You will want to know what Instagram features the partner will be doing (ex. live video, shoppable tags, filters)  and how many posts will be featured. An effective collaboration has to be beneficial for both parties. The last thing you will want to do is to partner with someone who is in direct competition with you.

The great thing about Instagram marketing is that it features original content that sends a positive message about your brand, it aligns with the target audience’s interests and expectations, and encourages engagement, which takes the form of likes and comments. If used wisely, Instagram will help you connect with potential customers. The use of social media in digital marketing is certainly picking up. For more tips & tricks, visit Drip Digital. Find out what you can do to improve your branding on Instagram.

3.     Featured snippets in Google search

Finally yet importantly, do not ignore Google’s featured snippets. The small bits of text appear at the top of search engine results. Why are they useful? Because they quickly answer people’s queries. Taking into account the growth of mobile and voice search, it should not come as a surprise that there is an urgent need to optimize for featured snippets. If you want to steal traffic from search engine results, keep in mind a couple of things. Inquiries fall into the following categories: how does, how do, how to, what is.

Most importantly, you have to provide the best answer. Readers want and expect detailed information. Here is a suggestion: break each step of the answer and include visual cues, such as screenshots and infographics. The information may appear in various places; nevertheless, it should be at the top of the page, right before the organic listing. This is commonly referred to as position zero. If you do not know how to achieve position zero, you might want to reach out to someone with lots of experience in SEO because they are the only ones who can help you out.

Google’s featured snippets may not increase your website’s traffic dramatically, but they are a valuable source of traffic. If you do not optimize for featured snippets, your competitors will and they will steal all the traffic. Google might take you by surprise by using an image from a completely different site. The point is that even if you provide quality, eye-catching images in your content, they might not be illustrated in the featured snippets. There is no guarantee that will be used, so do not be disappointed.

You must be forward-thinking if you want to succeed with digital marketing. What worked for 2019 no longer works for 2020. It is paramount to change your approach and leverage the marketing techniques that we have discussed. You will not be wasting your time, you can be sure of that.