‍Digital marketing takes advantage of the various offerings of technology and the internet to establish and promote a brand or business. As the digital world and the allied consumer behaviour continues to evolve at a rapid pace, companies find that they must have the ability to adapt to these changes to maintain their competitive edge. Companies who have taken advantage of the various digital marketing tools have managed not just to create a brand with distinct characteristics but also edge out the competition. Airbnb is one of the prime examples of a company that has taken advantage of digital marketing to take over its niche business offering. Today, Airbnb is still the most significant player in the realm of renting stay during vacations.

Here are the Top Five Marketing Tools you should consider in 2020 to grow your business like never before.

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1. AI-Based Automation

Traditionally, market researchers were at the helm of finding patterns in consumer behaviours. This was easier than it is now since the areas of actual consumption were limited. People bought services at brick and mortar stores and consumed advertising on traditional media. However, today the landscape has vastly changed. The process of tracking and predicting consumer behaviour has become more challenging to do so in conventional methods. This is where AI-based automation shines. It is used to get insights on spending patterns and beautomated to have timely marketing messages. For example, AI can detect when a consumer has made a search on a shopping site like Amazon and recommend similar recommendations at a later date. AI has also been used in no small degree of success in creating chatbots as seen with MasterCard.

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2. Voice Search

The proliferation of home assistant systems like Alexa,Google Dot, and Siri are hugely popular and are quickly becoming a must-have home gadget. Global smart speaker shipments have jumped from 9.36 million units in the first quarter of 2018 to 26.1 million units in the second quarter of 2019. The result of this explosion of voice assistants is the increase in voice searches. In fact, according to recent numbers, 50% of all searches in 2020 will be voice searches. Optimising your content for voice search is different from your regular content since people speak differently than they type. Your keywords have to be optimised accordingly, and so does the tone of the material.

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3. Personalisation

In 2020 you must put in the effort to making your marketing drive personalised. Highly generic content no longer resonates with the audience. According to Kevin George from EmailMonks, “personalised, triggered emails based on behaviour are 3x better than batch-and-blast emails.” Netflix and Amazon are the best at personalisation with their emails containing tailor made recommendations.

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4. Live Video

Video marketing is the new normal and the quicker you jump on board with this strategy, the higher your results will be. Live video is used for product demos, behind the scenes of the brand, interviews, and more. This creates a feeling of transparency with your audience and offers greater relatability. Live videos also take advantage of social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram and help your brand stay relevant and in the eye of the consumer.

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5. Influencer Marketing

Time and time again, we have seen that influencer marketing has been instrumental in boosting the growth of sales for a particular product or brand. However, as the landscape continues to evolve, your strategy of using influencers also needs to become more refined. Brands are quickly realising that niche, micro-influencers are not just more viable, but are more effective than using big-name influencers with large audiences. You can use AI to search for and zero in on micro-influencers whose audience form a part of your target demographic. Most makeup companies use this tool to a large degree of success.

Digital marketing tools continue to evolve and change, as should your marketing strategy. Brands no longer have the luxury of waiting for months to try and test out a device. Instead, the name of the game is a quick adaptation and application of new tools and trends.

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