The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected many businesses this year, but there is one thing that has kept some of them going — the Internet. Digital marketing is alive and well and is rapidly becoming the method many customers use to do business in a pandemic environment. If you haven’t developed a digital marketing footprint, DigiSphere Marketing can help you. If you have some exposure to the digital marketplace, here are five trends we are watching and using to optimize our clients’ digital presence.
Interactive Content
When a potential customer visits your website, you only have seconds to get their attention and keep them there. One way to do this is by offering interactive content on your site that educates your customers about an aspect of your business rather than just sitting there as static content. Interactive content can include polls, interactive 360-degree videos, quizzes, posts that connect to your online store, and even AR or VR (see below). The intent is to get your visitors to keep looking at your site rather than just hitting your landing page and moving on.
AR/VR
AR refers to augmented reality, where digital information is overlaid on photos or other objects on your site. This allows the visitor to see both in a related context. Digital handhelds or digital eyewear can trigger the AR content which can include videos, sound, images, graphics, or animation.
VR refers to virtual reality, a truly immersive experience where the user is brought into a digital world using goggles that create a full field of view. Users can move throughout the digital scenario and interact with objects there. The user can change a point of view by looking around but typically stays in one place while moving the scene digitally. This can be useful for companies who want to showcase their facility or physical products in a simulated 3-D environment.
It is estimated that over 70% of businesses will experiment with the use of AR or VR technology in the next couple of years. It’s a very useful way to bring customers to your business without them having to physically be there.
Evolving SEO
Search engine optimization or SEO has become a critical way for businesses to maintain high rankings in search engine results. But if you are using SEO techniques from earlier times you may be negatively affecting your search engine rankings, or worse you may be penalized by Google for doing so. SEO must evolve continually as the search engines are constantly revising their algorithms. Don’t be content that your website is optimized correctly if it is not being reviewed regularly using current SEO guidelines.
Social-based Commerce
If you are using social media simply to keep in touch with customers, you are missing a sales opportunity. Smart companies are changing from simply social media to social-based commerce. This can be done by a combination of shoppable postings, plug-ins, and links from social media to your eCommerce site. You have to go beyond simply posting information on social media — you need to sell there.
Google Ad Bidding
The new normal for Google Ads is the ability to automate bidding to take advantage of optimum ad costs. The “old” days of manually searching for Ad keywords and placing bids are rapidly going away. Google Ads continues to be a key way for businesses to reach customers, but those customers need to adapt to faster processes to stay current in the marketplace.
Digital marketing is becoming more important than it ever was in the COVID-19 marketplace. Customers are relying on digital marketing for safety and security, and your business needs to respond accordingly. If you need more information on how to take advantage of digital marketing trends in today’s world, please contact DigiSphere Marketing at 1-800-807-3031.
