In order to make a brand, you need to create a compelling journey between the point at which a potential client first hears about your brand and the point at which they become a paying customer. Sure, some argue that for the most devoted of customers the journey doesn’t end there, yet, this is something we’ll discuss later on. In both B2B and B2C interactions, you need to appeal to the both emotional and rational side of your customers, due to the fact that they are, to a degree, under the influence of both of these stimuli. All in all, there’s a long journey ahead and here are some branding trends that you should look out for in 2019.
Organic influencers
One of the most important things you need to understand about the influencer marketing is the fact that about 46 per cent of people actually listen to every word that influencers have to say. However, people are also quite suspicious towards sponsored content. For instance, there are some instances in which it’s so obvious that the influencer doesn’t really use the brand that they’re advocating for. The best example of this came last year when Gal Gadot tweeted about her new Huawei phone via an iPhone.
Needless to say, such controversy works against the brand it was supposed to promote and it’s something that you need to avoid. Therefore, you need to find a way to generate organic influencers, but this takes time. First of all, you need to understand that people don’t just automatically become brand ambassadors. They go through several stages also known as customer lifecycle. First, they start inspecting your brand. Then, they become a buyer. After this, they might turn into a return customer and only then do they become brand advocates. Sure, in some cases, such a thing is also possible after the first purchase (if the customer experience is that good), yet, the rest of the pattern is more or less the same.
Voice search is the next big thing
Another thing you need to understand is that you, as a brand, aren’t creating trends for other people to follow. You’re adjusting to the trends that are already there on the market. So, upon hearing the statistic that by the year 2020 about 50 perHYPERLINK “https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/just-say-it-future-search-voice-personal-digital-assistants/1392459” HYPERLINK “https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/just-say-it-future-search-voice-personal-digital-assistants/1392459″cent of all searches will be voice searches, you need to understand just how big and how important it is to start with voice search SEO. This means changing the way in which you do your keyword outreach, sticking to a more grammatical form and much, much more.
Your brick and mortar have to play the part
If you have a brick and mortar store or an actual headquarters (which some online businesses really don’t have), you need to start including them into your marketing campaign. People need to see that you’re not just another online scam, but rather a real thing, with real people, real premises and real products. Take images of your office and post them on your blog or even your homepage.
In fact, take it one step further and invite your clients to come and visit you in person. Take them through the work area and show them that you take your work very seriously. For this to work, however, your office needs to be A) impeccable and B) well stocked and organized. When it comes to the first, it’s all about the details. For the latter, you can look for retailers like Winc online and see what they have in stock.
Activism is a huge plus
Nowadays, people align with brands in order to define themselves in the eyes of the public. Therefore, they sometimes opt for brands that they share common values with, regardless if the offer from the competitor is slightly (objectively) superior. The easiest way to promote your company values is to take up a cause and start engaging in some activism. Human rights, environmentalism and social justice are just some of the things that you could stand up for in order to get some extra points. Local businesses could take some plights of the local community as their cause, yet, they too can choose to tackle one of these global issues.
Sales and marketing collaboration
At the end of the day, you need to understand the fact that the only way to know if your marketing campaign is giving the desired results is to take a look at the metrics that really matter. We’re not talking about vanity metrics such as likes, shares, comments or even traffic. We’re talking about conversions and, above all, sales. Still, you don’t necessarily have to look at things from this angle. By putting sales first and embracing tools and platforms that offer a higher precision of analysis, you can achieve a lot indeed. This way, you can automate your email marketing for a more efficient post-sale follow-up.
Like always, in order to stay in the game, you need to intensify your branding efforts every year. In 2019, focusing on the above-listed five trends is bound to bring you both the greatest results and the greatest ROI. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from supplementing these trends with some other innovations that cross your path, as long as they help you achieve your goals.
The post Branding Trends to Keep an Eye Out For in 2019 appeared first on Digital Media News & Training.
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