Digital marketing is getting more and more competitive, as marketers look for ways to have the most appealing content results. 2019 will be another year of many changes in the field of digital growth and digital marketing. New trends will be strengthened while others may not. Businesses that move fast, continue to gain more customers by updating their communication strategies, as slow ones get left behind.

Below are the top 5 five digital marketing tools that will be used from the digital experts in order to fulfil the companies’ commercial goals:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a key role and will affect excessively the marketing strategies around the globe. It is important to see how exactly it will be used to benefit both consumers and businesses. For example, you can use AI for tasks like scouring your databases and providing insights to your team. You could leverage AI to find prospects which look like your existing personas or scan social media conversations to provide you with real-time intel on your competitors. The biggest burden lies in the development of chatbots and how these will be used to meet the challenges of business.

Chatbots are also included in the top range of the trends which continue to improve and will be at the bottom line of a marketeer’s strategic plan this year. It is necessary to mention that it is said that the mobile apps are about to take more of a backseat in favor of chatbots. Chatbots are more suited in mobile purchasing, as they make the process a lot easier and more direct. There is already a shift towards chatbots for simple everyday e-commerce transactions and it’s estimated that by 2020, chatbots will be used in 85 per cent of all B2C interactions.

Voice searches will continue to advance, since someone can search or purchase with his voice via digital assistants. There are many predictions that almost 50% of the searches in the United Kingdom will soon be voiced. Many people may be reluctant to give orders to their device, but keep in mind that the new generation finds the above process fun and totally useful. As technology evolves, it is important to save valuable time and try to simplify our lives. For this, it is a fact that voice searches are a trend that ‘comes to stay’.

Personalisation is getting more advanced. Companies are now cutting out their communication campaigns in smaller and more personalized ones. The personalized approach to the customers has now become easy: firstly, because of the electronic means that provide us with the basic information, such as interests, desires, behaviors and secondary, because of the electronic systems we have, to record in specific the clientele. Personalization works best because each customer has different needs and different characteristics. Today, we are aiming for a 360 approach that satisfies the entire customer experience in our business. Moreover, today the customers expect a personalized approach, making the marketers tailor each digital marketing messaging accordingly.

Video still has the top seat of content marketing tools. Google wants “words”. The need for high quality content is higher than ever as competition is growing. On the other hand, only good content is not enough. This is because Google’s goal is to make the internet user friendly, ie to meet the needs of users and not to bother. Here comes the video, which becomes an inherent part of marketing very quickly, because it is much easier to pass a message through it than it would go through a lengthy text.

It also offers several other benefits to a marketing campaign that will help your business find new customers and drive sales. The first and most obvious thing that video use can do while other content formats can not, is to have a person in your message and give it the character you want. This is a way in which marketers can begin to build trust around a product or service. We are much more willing to hear someone and look at his message when we can see his face. The video creates a connection that is real and simple.

Platforms like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Facebook Live, give a clear boost to the livestream era as well, by making it a bigger online trend, that will continue to grow. According to Cisco, 82% of internet traffic will be through video by 2021 but you don’t have to wait till 2021, you can start taking advantage of the trend now.

All the above mention tools and strategies are the ideal ones for a marketeer to focus on for 2019, but It is a fact that these tactics do not replace good marketing plans and campaigns. The top ways to stand out from the crowd, as many marketers report, are to build your brand, tell a great story and provide authentic content.

Follow those three things consistently and lift the latest trends, and it will be a game over (in a good way) for you and your business!