Does Your 2020 Digital Marketing Game Plan Include These 5 Things?

Hopefully, you already have your 2020 digital marketing plan all flashed out and ready to go. Still, if you're just starting your research on the latest trends of the 2020 online marketing world, put your worried face on the shelf and embrace the possibilities in front of you.

Storifyme team dug to the depths of interwebs in an exhausting (but fruitful) attempt to summarize everything you need to survive (and thrive) when it comes to all-things-online.

Here are 5 things that all marketing experts claim are crucial for success in 2020:

Collect All the Data Needed

To make it easier on you and less annoying for your consumers, systematically gather data about their behavior and build your strategy around it. And by that, we don't mean just compile statistics and stare blankly at the pretty numbers you've collected, without doing everything about it. No.

Gathering data about consumers' habits and actions will help you get to know "your people" on a deeper level. You need to truly aspire to understand your customer base, to see what drives them, what bores them, what they want, and what they need. Then figure out what your company's unique contribution to their lives could be with your findings in mind.  

Explore, try something new, collect data every step of the way, rinse, and repeat. Analyze your previous actions, which aspect of your approach didn't deliver, and educate yourself on how you can improve it. Having a wast and meaningful knowledge will help you with the next step, which is: 

Get Personal!

And let's get one thing clear, spelling their names correctly at the beginning of a mass-email doesn't even scratch the surface of "getting personal." We're talking content, design, customer service, personal recommendations, and everything in-between. Make marketing more human again! 

Your potential customer is likely bombarded with tedious ads all the time. If you want to distinguish yourself from the sea of tiresome, repetitive, useless advertising efforts they have to live through 24/7, you have to put your money where your mouth is. Give them proof that you're not "just like all the other ads that monopolize my feed with nothing useful to show". Create storified landing pages and content that will make it evident that: 

• You're in their feed because you want to help them
• You're there because you *know* what they need 
• You're here because you care, not "seem to care"

If you don't want to be one more "skip ad," show him/her that they are so much more than just one more possible order number! Don't forget that they can (and likely will) research your business before making any decision. User experience above all attitude will get you far in 2020+.

So, don't waste time and money on catch-them-all kind of approaches. Use your resources wisely and be genuine, helpful and concise within every customer interaction. All the data you've collected can and should be used to your advantage. Have "hyper-personalization" in mind with every message you write, any picture you post, any content piece that you create or revise. Speaking of revising:

Content Makeovers FTW 

Nothing you ever post is final. Revise your old content regularly, format it in a new way, turn it into something different. Breathe in life into your outdated content and watch your numbers skyrocket.

Not only that editing/repurposing/recycling of the already existing stuff is easier than creating new content (usually!), but also it's one of Google's favorite things to see aged content getting upgraded. It's a win-win. Let the brainstorming commence: 

• Look at the posts carefully
• Have they aged well? (be honest) 
• Is there really nothing to change? (again, be honest)
• Would you have anything to add? 
• Can this be re-packaged as tutorial/email/video or podcast? 

Pack your suggestions in a cute little box with a bow on top, because things are always better presented with a bow, aren't they?

Video and Audio to the Max

To put it plainly, how much content do you, yourself *watch* and how much do you *read*? Most of us seem to prefer video to text, and why shouldn't we, if it's already so widely and easily available? Any video may be harder to produce than your average article, but it will yield much more attention as well. Come to think of it, it's no wonder marketing departments and consumers all around the world prefer it. 

Try packing anything you can in little, concise, appealing easily-shareable videos. If that doesn't make sense for your subject or niche, try live streams. People love those, too! Or if you don't like the camera or think videos are too much of a hassle - maybe go with a podcast? It might be a bit contradictory to all those "video this, video that" vibes people usually give out, but 2019 has shown that podcasts are one of the favorite mediums to enjoy. 

SEO (Local, Voice and Mobile Search Optimization)

 It's only natural that your position among Google searches would be crucial in the marketing strategy of 2020 since SEO is a huge part of online anything. For starters, make sure your sites are easy to navigate, quick to load and beautiful to look at. Moreover, pay attention to: 

• Local SEO: Namely, utilize everything "Google My Business" option offers you. It's a free Google tool that gives new opportunities to establish your online presence all the time. Make the most of it - post, update and watch your local success grow

• Mobile-friendly: If your website isn't mobile-friendly, you have SEO trouble on your doorstep. Why? Your site's ranking is likely going "down under" if you're not thinking of smartphone-using part of your audience. Don't forget that we all use our little screens more often than big ones, especially when on the go 

• Beware of voice optimization, since speech is slowly (but surely) taking over the internet, search engines and everything along with it. Voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, Corona make it so that people don't have to type what they want anymore, but rather *say*, which changes things quite a bit

So, What's The Game Plan?  

Good ideas and improvements of today may not seem as prudent tomorrow. And that's ok, trial and error is part of every marketing process and progress, but you have to keep on:

• Learning from your mistakes
• Actively using what you know
• Updating your old creations in a timely manner
• Showing instead of telling
• Remembering that SEO is your friend

Go forward with the "Everything is connected" mindset, and 2020 will be the year when you'll dazzle your customers on the fronts and platforms. Stick to the guidelines above, so do your research and stay proactive. We're looking forward to hearing about your storified success!