The marketing landscape is constantly changing, but the pace of this change has been accelerating since the last few years. From evolving consumer behaviors, advent of new technologies, to sporadic infiltration of new trends that moulds the way people consume content and interact with each other, there are a variety of factors driving this change.

It has become imperative for business owners and marketers to be aware of the marketing methods that has worked in the past year to identify patterns and trends that is expected to fuel the biggest conversions for business this year. 

Here are 5 trends that every growth-savvy marketer should be aware of:

1) AI adoption is on the rise

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly gaining traction among marketers because of its unique ability to deeply dissect the health of a sales cycle, analyze its performance and offer accurate predictions based on strategies currently being implemented. Conversational AI, or chatbot,  is an innovation that has completely transformed customer service to its core. According to a report by Grandview research, the global chatbot industries expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2025, growing at a yearly rate of 24.3%. Chatbots are useful for automating repeated tasks, collecting customer insights, providing instant answers to customer questions and providing real-time assistance to users to complete their purchase.

2) Video Marketing is here to stay

Video marketing is no longer just a buzzword; it has established a strong foothold within the marketing sphere. 74% of marketers who did not use video as a marketing tool in previous years plan to use video in 2019. People don’t turn solely to YouTube for their daily craving for video content. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat are just a few other platforms inundated with audiences actively consuming and sharing video and image posts. Video formats are also diversifying. Viewing videos in vertical format  is becoming very common. In fact, Instagram launched IGTV last month so the viewers could watch videos in vertical mode, and they now also support longer content. 

3) The faces of influencers are changing

Celebrities are no longer who brands approach when they want to spread awareness about a new product. Mega brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Apple, Samsung and Wish have been using influencer marketing to dominate the digital space. Authenticity is the game changing catalyst that will lead influencer marketing campaigns successfully across the finish line. People are becoming increasingly sensitive to influencers who work with brands just to receive monetary compensation. Because of this, in 2019, branded content will have to evoke engagement through raw and genuine content. Brands will also have to work with influencers on a long-term basis to create a strong bond with their audience. Repeated exposure will be key to converting a view to a purchase. Another thing to note is that, micro-influencers, that is social media personalities with a small but a highly-engaged follower base will be targeted for brand sponsorships more than influencers with a large but inactive follower base.

4) Voice Search is the new way to search 

Voice search enables users to speak into a device rather than type a search query through a keyboard. Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google assistant are just some of the programs being used to conduct voice searches to quickly find local business, find products and place orders. Throughout 2019 and by 2020, it is predicted that 50% of all online searches will be conducted via voice. Voice search capabilities is also embedded into products that people use on a daily basis, one example being our smartphones. To get your website voice-search ready, ensure that your content is written using conversational language that answers a question that your customer would have, and make sure that your pages are easily crawlable by creating a sitemap and using a structured data markup.

5) Content is still the king

Crafting useful content and keeping it regularly updated can do wonders for your website when it comes to keeping your search engine rankings high.  Also, websites that continuously publish content on a set schedule are likely to get more organic traffic than websites that publish content infrequently. Content marketing is still a cost efficient way to attract leads when compared to other marketing strategies. And since the use of ad blockers are on an all time high,  producing and publishing valuable content is an unobtrusive way to get people to engage positively with your brand, which could lead to conversions later down the line. 

The future of marketing is definitely being influenced by advancement in technology, but value driven content still hasn’t lost its power in nourishing a cold audience. Implementing these trends into your marketing efforts will keep you ahead of the curve.