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2020 Marketing Goals Setting For Any Small Business
The world has gone digital and this change has affected how people perceive EVERYTHING! Society, as we know and it norms are changing rapidly due to this technological shift, and it is definitely here to stay.
Along with changes in our personal lives, the way we do business has also changed. As more and more of your customers have an integrated digital lifestyle, their shopping habits have also adjusted to this technological takeover. As a result, YOUR BUSINESS has to adapt accordingly in every way possible in order to survive and make connecting with your customers as seamless as possible.
The digital landscape is not stagnant, it is ever-evolving and is continually updating itself. What was viable a few years ago is not going to be viable in 2020. Good news though, those businesses that are proactive, ahead of the curve, and can anticipate changes in shopping behavior will have no problem with adapting.
One major change that will hit the world of online retail like a power punch is the Instagram shopping cart. The 130+ million users of the app will for sure shift to shopping and checking out their total purchase without ever leaving the app. Have you heard about this feature?
Learn more about the Instagram shopping cart.
So, with 2019 ending soon and the wrap up of the decade, industry experts are already clamoring about the next generation of changes. In order to ensure that your business is ready, set, to go into the next decade, check out these 2020 marketing goals and changes small businesses should adopt ASAP.
Integrating Chatbots
Chatbots are automated software that businesses have been using for a little while now. In 2019 this website communication feature became more widely available for free or at little cost to the business. This 24-hr customer agent software has become really easy to integrate into your small business website. It has huge potential in the areas of customer acquisition and retention. They respond fast and with precise information for any online customer inqury during all hours.
One free option is Hubspot’s feature. Hubspot’s chatbot is an easy way for customers to chat with you and your team instantly, while also having the ability to receive automated messages after-hours.
One of the reasons small businesses often suffer from bad customer service reviews is because humans attitudes and moods can become unpredictable at times. This is why industry experts believe that automated chatbots are being integrated by a vast majority of small business owners in order to streamline their customer service experience.
Usage Of Messaging Apps
Messaging apps are not really being used widely today, but change is coming. Big technology firms have been working day and night to find a way to monetize messaging apps. We Chat Pay has already done so, informed brands now know that it is possible to benefit from these tools and its only a matter of time before these apps takeover the customer service and shopping experience.
There is plenty of testing going on to discover ways to make paying using messaging apps possible. Technology will progress rapidly and when the time comes for customers to adopt this wave it will happen overnight. The good thing is that more and more businesses are already shifting to utilizing private messaging apps and groups in order to personalize the customer experience, the only thing that is missing is the checkout option.
Allowing customers to use messaging apps to receive customer service, see products and/or checkout will become the best way to connect with customers on apps like Viber, Whatsapp, and Venmo. These apps have gained massive popularity, which is exactly why developers are scrambling to establish a monetizing system.
It is expected to be the norm within 2020 and something small businesses should look to integrating as this will be a big source of revenue.
Hyper-Targeted Shoppable Ads
Have you ever seen ads online that made absolutely no sense to you? You’re wondering why you’re seeing it and why you’ve been targeted for this ad display specifically. Often times you may not even know what the ad is about and nor do you have any interest in the product or service at all? Yeah well, that will all change in 2020. This is the year of the hyper-targeted ad!
Gone are the days when your customers were bombarded with random ads from your business that have nothing to do with them or their lifestyle. Instead, online users will begin to see ads and content from businesses like yours that is more akin to their preferences. Your company will be able to use shoppable ads that are hyper-targeted due to the improved ability for businesses to leverage the data that your customers share online. These hyper targeted ads will allow you to ensure that the right ad is delivered at the right time to the right users.
Social media is important to the conversation here, and it is highly improbable to find someone who is not on any social media. Even if they don’t use social media regularly, some part of their life, that is their personal data, is intertwined with the internet in some way. This is why hyper-targeted shoppable ads are becoming more accurate, precise and offering better ROI than ever before.
Hyper-targeted shoppable ads will allow users to see and buy directly from the ad itself rather than having to be redirected to a landing page on a website. Even non-shoppable ads like those that read “Book a Consultation”, or “Schedule Your Appointment”, or “Request A Quote” will be highly lucrative options for small businesses in order to help increase revenue.
If you are a small business who has not yet looked into hyper-targeted shoppable and non-shoppable ads then it’s high time you do!
Interactive And Engaging Content
People are looking for more relatable, interesting, and engaging content online than ever before. Online users seek different sorts of experiences in every sector even when they are buying things. In fact, the stats show that 91% of people are looking to actually interact with content more and more.
This is because interactive content is fresh and new and it is refreshing for the customer to feel like they are a part of influencing their own online experiences. These contents keep people engaged for longer which ensures that they are staying on your site even longer. If you have fun interactive content up and people find value in it then it will be used and then shared with others. Take our SEO Analysis tool for example, it is not only interactive but it also provides you with real data that addresses the issues with your website that are preventing you from ranking well in search. This tool is used on our site by businesses of all sizes in order to improve search visibility for their website and location based content marketing, for example, content marketing charlotte.
When interactive tools are shared with others online via social media or email links your brand gets a boost in its visibility to those who may not even know that your website exists. Brand Awareness is just one of the reasons why small businesses are innovating and adopting a way to introduce interactive content in their site. Within 2020 most small businesses will have adopted this method in some way as it brings in a vast amount of traffic.
Buyer Personas & Personalized Ads
As we’ve have stated in previous passages, consumers can just avoid generic unrelated ads. 2020 promises to be a personal affair between customers and businesses. In 2020 you will see more and more businesses adopt a personalized approach to creating ads.
One recent Adweek post cites that 90% of customers find personalized ads appealing. In that same article 80% of them said that they are more likely to purchase their goods or services from a brand that with personalized ads that reflect their image and their lifestyle in some way.
So do you see the scope? Small businesses have the best opportunity marketing is personalized. Every small business should be looking into creating buyer personas that truly reflect the image of their ideal customer. If you need help with creating buyer personas that can help you attract your ideal customer, reach out to us and we can help.
Bidding Smart On Google Ads
As a small business, it is likely that you may not have a big budget for ad campaigns, that is understandable. Even if you do, have a huge budget there is no point in over spending on Google ads with a hope of a bit of a return. Now that Google has already announced the new ads update, smart bidding will be the way to go. Google has integrated machine learning technology so that your ad campaigns are that much optimized.
With this new update, you will be able to choose your conversion action at the campaign level. You will be able to alter your bids automatically as well. So be sure to integrate this into your marketing goals for 2020 if you are a small business. It will save you a lot of time and money.
Content Is Still The King
Content has been the crown jewel of digital marketing since its inception. In 2020, this will still be the case. Internet users are looking for quality content that address their specific problems. For that reason, keepin your content calendar filled with helpful and relevant articles, tools, posts etc will ensure your business is able to attract those types of customers that are searching for your products and services online. High-quality content allows you to interact with your customers from a level of authority and be viewed as an expert in your industry.
Site visitors and social followers will be looking to you for any sort of information regarding the industry you specialize in. So make sure that you do all you can to maximize your content marketing efforts with high-quality, trending, helpful and relevant content.
Videos
Visuals, visuals and more visuals…Why? Because video and self-explanatory imagery is in high demand. Content like videos and images get a lot of response and shares, allowing you to leverage them for increased brand awareness anywhere online.
Video content has taken off like a rocket and has already established itself as a cornerstone in digital marketing. However, in 2020 you will have to ensure that your videos aren’t just about your brand, they must also reflect the needs, and address the issues faced by your target audience. Video content should follow the 80/20 rule, that is 80% of your video content should be helpful and relevant content that reflects the issues, desires and needs of your customer while 20% should be sales content.
In 2020 the role of video content will be even higher as it is becoming easier and easier to create quality video content. With most customers responding highly to video content you as a small business owner should be looking at ways to integrate it in 2020.
Being Number One On SERPs Is No Longer The Goal
So all those efforts we discussed above should converge somewhere right? With so many new marketing techniques adopted you as a small business owner should now focus on ranking number one on SERPs right? Well, that is not the goal you should set in the coming year.
Now I know what you are thinking, if not the goal then what is? What is the digital marketing goal I should set for the new year? Well, you should rank for spot zero. If you look closely you will see that now the first result that you see is a featured snippet.
Otherwise known as position Zero. Most times customers only look and click on that snippet on the SERP and not at any other results. Not even the number one search result. This is prime real estate that is open for the taking.
This is why the most important digital marketing goal you should set in 2020 as a small business owner is to be featured on that snippet. The techniques mentioned above will help you achieve great positioning in search and even more visibility elsewhere online. So what are you waiting for? Go and start working on your 2020 marketing goals now and feel free to reach out to us with any questions, concerns and assistance with meeting you business growth goals in the coming year. Good luck!
