Breaking down the essential emerging trends of the week as we step into a new month, with new digital strategies and content plans to look forward to. Here's what happened this week #InDigital New feature updates: 1) Google Dataset Search- This tool is useful for all those who require in-depth and quality information to support their research. 2) Employee notification option on LinkedIn - This option is for company page admins to let the employees know about business updates and prompt them to re-share the content. 3) LinkedIn brings Elevate and its company pages together - LinkedIn Elevate’s core functionality will be available in pages by December 2020. New AR try-on feature on Pinterest: 1) Pinterest is all set to launch its new AR feature for users to try on lipstick shades, and see which one looks the best on them. 2) The platform will have a "try it" button which will directly open a reverse facing camera, for the audience to choose the colour shade from the slider. 3) As per the users choice of shades, Pinterest will then show relevant product pins for purchase. Valuable insights 1) Value-based marketing - Around 50% of millennials expect brands to take up their stand on existing social issues and thus, show involvement and concern. 2) Come back of brand awareness - Branded keywords have double conversion rates as compared to non-banded terms. 3) Personalisation to humanisation - 53% of business leaders agreed that they were ready to pay more for personalised recommendations and services as opposed to generic. UI/UX Design trends: 1) Typographic overlap - To help retain lines that stand out. 2) Spotlight on key elements - Empty space so that multiple elements do not fight for attention. 3) Low-key gradients - Visual elements that are subtle and simple with a diluted colour scheme are set to rise in 2020. Important platform queries addressed by Instagram: 1) The type of page we access (business or personal accounts) does not have an impact on the ranking of posts which is why there is no favouritism to the content shared by business accounts. 2) Comments, reshares, likes and views are the most crucial engagement metrics for feed ranking. 3) Instagram feed ranking does not recommend videos or photos. Every individual has a customised feed, which is why the content type is based on the conditioned behaviour of the user on the platform. "Change is a Team Sport" campaign by Adidas: 1) The short film highlights the brand's Superstar shoe and its legacy. 2) Adidas celebrates 50 years of the iconic sneaker by showcasing creators from varied professions, and generations who come together wearing Superstar sneakers, and display teamwork as the driving factor to bring about change in the world. 3) The film is directed and starred by Johan Hill who released a cryptic Instagram post that announces his partnership with the brand. Download the PDF version 

Extend your digital success by staying on top of all the significant trends that can make a difference in your next strategy. Regardless of which platform you use, it is crucial to target your audience with updated measures and strategies. Here's the digital week in a review.

Voice technology, 5G and niche communities

1. Voice technology for conversational AI is all set to evolve and take up the digital space.
2. 5G is expected to bring advancement in the world of entertainment, which will set forth a ground for brands and users to engage more.
3. Dirty Lemon, Glossier and Taco Bell are ranked as the three most significant online communities by Zyper, a peer-to-peer marketing platform.

Trends in SEO

1. Zero click searches are gaining prominence in 2020, which is why featured snippets are expected to rise.
2. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) score will continue to matter when it comes to SEO ranking.
3. Use schema markup to highlight the elements on your site with various ‘tags’, thus telling search engines what these elements are.

Snapchat's deal with NBC

1. The deal with Snapchat will provide NBC an access to younger audience, while Snapchat will get a chance to entertain its audience with exclusive content.
2. The 2020 Olympics partnerships includes 4 Snapchat programmes which are originally produced by NBC.
3. Two of the shows will be showcased in real time, while NBC plans to produce more than 70 episodes for Snapchat.

Authenticity over ideal deception of self through Instagram filters

1. The AR improvements have resulted in a reduction of likes because people are more inclined towards authentic content.
2. Adding filters on Instagram stories has also shown a negative impact on an individual's confidence.
3. Instagram is expected to roll out a filter to block the posting of highly edited images.

Tiktok overtakes Facebook

1. Tiktok and its Chinese alternative Douyin gathered 740 million downloads last year and now becomes the second most downloaded app after Whatsapp.
2. Short video content came in the trend because of Tik Tok.
3. The only restrictions faced by this platform is monetization challenges and resistance shown by US lawmakers over privacy and security issues.

Emoji reactions for DMs on Twitter

1. A user can now share a simple emoji response to any message within a thread on Twitter.
2. To add a reaction, one needs to double tap on the message and pick an emoji from the pop-up. The feature also has an undo option via which the message can be deleted.
3. This feature will help Twitter increase the engagement level and make the conversations interactive.

Methods to work on B2B campaigns

1. This year B2B strategies should have more user-generated content because it has more influence on the buying decision of the consumers than email campaigns and search engines results.
2. Industry influencer marketers are more likely to increase returns than traditional forms of marketing.
3. 71% of the consumers are interested to be a part of loyalty programs that offer discounts or free products.

Download the PDF version

It’s honestly quite impressive how far marketing automation has progressed in the last decade. It seems like only yesterday that digital avenues entered and severely disrupted the marketing scene. Now, not only are all the digital channels being actively utilized by the majority of brands that are adopting new-age marketing trends, but these efforts are also being automated quite extensively. There was a time when resources were hired for the sole purpose of sending emails, posting social media updates, and following up through other channels. Now, all these tasks can be accomplished by a single entity that utilizes marketing automation tools to schedule and automate all of these actions. With the dawn of a new year, marketing automation is only bound to improve with a whole host of new and improved processes that will permeate this particular vertical of marketing. Here are some of the major marketing automation trends that should be adopted by marketers. 1.  Advanced applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Artificial intelligence has always been at the forefront of marketing automation, and 2020 is no different. Social media tracking and lead nurturing will reach new heights in the coming year as this technology continues to reach new heights. On top of these developments, AI technology is also becoming more accessible to masses, which implies that a higher proportion of brands will have the option to utilize AI technology to improve their marketing efforts. AI is also rising in the Programmatic advertising space. It helps marketers in buying ads efficiently and targeting the audience in a more specific way. Hence, the overall cost is reduced leading to higher ROI. 2. Personalized content offerings Content marketing has turned into one of the most effective and prevalent marketing strategies of the 21st century. Brands all over the world are utilizing this strategy by nailing down appropriate content distribution channels that will help them target the proper audience. Keeping this in mind, marketing automation can help companies identify customers who are interested in or have purchased a particular product or service. By doing so, relevant content can be provided to these consumers basis their buying behavior to improve conversion rates and hence sales. 3. Predictive lead scoring Leads are a dime-a-dozen in the marketing world, which makes it essential to nail down a particular system that can help brands differentiate the legitimate leads from the fancy ones. There are many metrics that’ll help a person identify this scoring system, and the latest innovations in marketing automation will aid these companies in analyzing all the different factors such as consumer behavior, target demographics, and social media interactions – to name a few. Lead scoring will help in qualifying the leads throughout the sales funnel i.e if it’s an MQL or a SQL and hence, the right marketing or sales actions can be taken on those leads basis the scores defined. This laser-sharp marketing will help businesses to target leads in the most efficient manner. 4. Prominence of chatbots We’ve already talked about the importance that Artificial Intelligence will hold in 2019, and the best way to illustrate this is by talking about one such application of this technology that has taken over the marketing world by storm – chatbots. Smart chatbot usage has increased interactivity by leaps and bounds, as seen in the fact that over 60% of users who were pinged by a chatbot on Facebook Messenger have replied back! It’s a great statistic that goes to show that chatbots are here to stay. 5. Cross-channel marketing becoming the norm In a nutshell, cross-channel marketing refers to the integration of different forms of marketing and making their respective teams work together, as opposed to working in a silo. This is imperative for content marketing to succeed, since – as discussed before – the term itself is incredibly varied and covers various elements such as social media marketing, mobile marketing, email marketing, and everything else along the same lines. To make sure that all these forms of marketing work together in harmony in 2020, it’s important to ensure that cross-channel marketing takes precedence. 2020 is poised to bring about many new and improved trends in the realm of marketing automation. The trends discussed above are just skimming the waters when one talks about the sheer possibilities enabled by marketing automation, which will play a dominant role in augmenting marketing strategies and ROI  across all industries and markets.

Technology evolves at a very fast pace, which is why it can often get challenging to keep up with the daily trends and developments in the digital scenario. Read this article and get a quick round up about the new trends that happened this week.

Roll out of direct message on Instagram through desktop

1. We will now be able to access Instagram DMs on our web screens.
2. Only a small number of users will be given access, because the feature is still in its experimental stage.
3. Facebook intends to connect the messaging system by creating a coordinated service for all.

Apple's Chinese New Year ad

1. The ad focuses on the three generations of women in a family. It is shot with Apple's 4K technology on iphone 11 Pro.
2. The story is called "Daughter" and is inspired by a woman who went against cultural norms to raise her daughter.
3. Apple has also launched a behind the scenes video to teach professional quality film video making.

Design trends

1. Breaking typography rules: This should be done in a way that it does not hurt text readability.
2. Liquid animation- An animation that seems water-like and has the perfect speed of movement.
3. Audio user experiences: using sound to enhance the quality of the user journeys. It is best used in designs where there is a language barrier.

Google ad simulator support

1. Bid simulators are essential for comprehending the performance of ads at different levels.
2. Google Ads have introduced a new simulator, the Target ROAS bid simulator. It reflects on the relationship between a ROAS target and your key metrics.
3. The projected impact will be based on the auctioned data from the past seven days.

Platforms taking a step towards combating misinformation

1. Tiktok is actively working on a new feature which will pull out deep fakes from its app.
2. Tumblr has announced an initiative to teach users about suspicious web activity. The program is called "World Wide What".
3. Reddit updates its policy on impersonation, which includes malicious deep fakes of politicians.

Download the PDF version

Staying ahead is crucial to give your work a competitive edge. Here is a weekly digital round-up that will ensure that your vigorous attempts to achieve big are a cut above the rest.

Staying ahead is crucial to give your work a competitive edge. Here is a weekly digital round-up that will ensure that your vigorous attempts to achieve big are a cut above the rest.

The landscape of marketing is constantly shifting and flowing with the sands of time, discarding new trends and bringing in new ones at the drop of a hat. A deep dive into the 2010s is more than enough to illustrate this point, with marketing trends coming and going with immense swiftness – sometimes surprisingly so. What used to be a perfectly viable marketing initiative just a year or two back suddenly became obsolete in every sense of the word.

As a marketer, keeping up with all these trends can be incredibly challenging and exhausting, mandating you to stay up to date with these developments at all times. A momentary lapse can have severe repercussions for your marketing strategies – an outcome that is avoidable with the right information and tools.

Our work this decade has been enlightening in figuring out the trends that have lasted for a while and the trends that have fizzled out. We’ve noticed various patterns that have fuelled the prominence of these marketing strategies, allowing us to discern certain facets of consumer and industry behaviour that govern marketing as a whole.

Content Marketing Trends

(Video Marketing | OTT Platforms | Public Relations)

1. A shift towards short & long-form video consumption

• Ease of consumption: Video content has reached immensely high levels in India, with the online consumption of this content doubling in the last two years to reach an unprecedented 3.7 billion videos per month.
• A choice between brand-owned and partnered content: Brand-owned videos allow for a more personalised marketing journey. Meanwhile, making content with third-parties allows marketers to disseminate a higher volume of video content, bolstered with a fair bit of advocacy marketing as well.
• Technology becoming an integrated part of marketing: With live videos and AR/VR coming into the foray, it goes without saying that video marketing strategies also need to harness these forms of video content into their plans to maximise results.

2. Engaging content by influencers and 3rd parties

• Massive engagement without outside influences: Engagement on influencer content is multifold and quite high when compared to that of branded content. This is accomplished without any media boost as well, making it all the more impressive.
• Quick creation of content: Influencer marketing is reaching new heights mainly because of the fact that enlisting multiple personalities for marketing purposes results in quick content generation and dissemination, leading to major dividends for brands.
• Consumers are smart: The authenticity of influencers is reflected in their content, making it a stark departure from the usual ads one perceives regularly. This kind of content helps build loyalty and increase goodwill.

3. The prominence of OTT platforms

• The Prevalence Of OTT Platforms: Over-the-top platforms have reached incredibly high levels of popularity and acceptance, achieving a growth rate of 21.8% to reach a valuation of $1.7 billion – a far cry from the relatively low valuation of $638 million in 2018.
• Ads on these platforms perform better: Advertisements on these platforms will inevitably reach a wider audience, making the integration of these platforms a must for a new-age marketing strategy.
• These Platforms Help You Target Customers With Ease: OTT platforms are a great way to practice personalised cross-marketing campaigns, which are able to target – and retarget too, for that matter – customers efficiently.

4. Blurring lines between Content Marketing & Public Relations

• PR is all about right Communication & Content: Most of the prominent PR tools including guest articles, releases, interviews, stories are all subset of content. A lot of organisations have already started merging both for best results.
• With data insights of digital content, now you can easily choose your channels wisely: Without viable channels to disseminate your content pieces, it goes without saying that all your effort will go to waste. With attributed data on website & 3rd party channel brand has started mapping the directional results.
• Narratives Quality is of utmost importance: Conversely, the content that you share with the press needs to be of high quality so that your PR efforts can generate better awareness for your brand.

Social Media Marketing Trends

(Short-Form Content, Permanent Content is Key, Instagram & Micro-Influencers)

1. Short-form content is the way forward

• Content is now consumed in seconds: There’s a reason why Vine experienced unmitigated success during the first half of its run – the platform nailed down the concept of short, fleeting content with their bite-sized 6-second video format.
• Utilising short life content for higher engagement: The rise in popularity of Snapchat and Instagram stories further cement this point – ephemeral content is a powerful social media marketing tool. With attention spans decreasing from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8.75 seconds in 2015, it’s imperative to realise that brands have a very small timeframe to make a resounding impact with their audiences.
• Using FOMO as the core of communication to drive authentic interactions: This form of content feels more authentic, especially with the large majority of ephemeral content being formed off-the-cuff. This, coupled with the fact that this content disappears over time, compels your audience to absorb this content on a regular basis.

2. Smart utilisation of permanent content

• Avoid relying solely on transitory content: However, the fact that Vine tanked further down the line is also something that one should analyse as well. Relying solely on ephemeral content isn’t recommended in the slightest.
• Excellence in permanence: Permanent content on social media was, is, and will be the prime way to absorb content. Just take a look at these successful social media campaigns, all of which utilised permanent social media content for excellent results.
• From ideation to execution: An overarching campaign thought that resonates with your audience is the first thing that must be nailed down. Utilising social media to promote this thought and distributing content on these channels will pay dividends in the long run.

3. Instagram is moving beyond the concept of “likes”

• Engagement, redefined: Mapping engagement on Instagram is mainly about checking views, comments, and – perhaps the most important metric of them all – likes. However, the latter might soon become a thing of the past.
• Likes removed in the US: Instagram is already moving forward with the idea ofremoving likesin the United States, which might become common across regions. Brands need to foresee this development and plan their strategies accordingly.
• Figuring out new ways to map engagement: Marketers will place more emphasis on genuine performance indicators as opposed to superficial metrics. The communication between brands and influencers will also change to an extent, with the former placing more emphasis on research before selecting individuals who can ensure the best and most relevant engagement with their outreach.

4. Using micro-influencers to great effect

• Micro is the new macro: Micro-influencers have taken over the realm of influencer marketing by storm, leading to higher engagement and allowing for specific targeting in a particular demographic.
• Strategic influencer marketing: Enlisting multiple micro-influencers to create content for your brand – as opposed to a few macro-influencers – can lead to excellent returns for your business.
• Targeting marketing outreach: Employing this form of marketing can help you target specific niches that engage regularly with a certain set of content on social media, allowing for excellent reach across the board.

Search Engine Optimisation Trends

(Voice Search, Why Mobile-Friendly Websites, Google Snippets)

1. Voice search is no longer secondary

• Accessibility to voice search is on the rise: More than 7 lakh smart speakers were shipped to India in 2018– a number that is bound to rise over time. Along with this, over 850 million people are expected to use a smartphone in India by 2022.
• Getting the first-mover advantage: With these developments, it goes without saying that people will be asking way more questions in 2020 – a trend that marketers must capitalise on.
• Spoken content is overwritten prose: Content must be framed around these search keywords and provide pinpoint information for a better search ranking. Writing the way people speak is perhaps the first thing that should be kept in mind.
• Localised content for a wide audience: With a significant proportion of Indians using their local language for voice searches, it’s important to create content in different languages that resonate with these audiences and negate the problem of a language barrier.

2. Make your sites more accessible and mobile-friendly

• Avoid static website designs like the plague: The statistic about smartphones mentioned above also makes it important for brands to make their sites more accessible on multiple devices. A static design that functions perfectly on a browser will still not attain significant traffic if their responsiveness is not optimal on other devices.
• Load times need to be minimised: Websites must be optimised at regular intervals to ensure that all elements load with minimum delays. A delay of even one second is enough to compel people that browsing through the page is not worth it.
• AMP is a must for mobile-friendly websites: Google’s AMP framework is a must for developers who are making mobile sites. This technology enables websites to load at a lightning-quick pace on mobile devices, allowing for a streamlined browsing experience.

3. Featured snippets will get the most clicks

• Google, the search engine king: With Google being the biggest and most prominent search engine around, it goes without saying that the majority of clicks will be redirected through this site.
• Address queries with your content: So, content on sites should be crafted in such a manner that it answers clear and common questions, allowing these content pieces to be a part of the upper echelon of Google Search results –a featured snippet.
• How to write a featured piece: To have your content piece features as a snippet, the first thing you need to do is nail down keywords that are ranking on the front page. These keywords can be integrated in an article in two ways – either a paragraph that can incorporate these keywords or a listicle that accomplishes the same.

Media Buying Trends

(Beyond Programmatic, Tribal Advertising, Cross-Device Advertising)

1. Beyond Programmatic Advertising

• AI’s role in media buying: Programmatic advertising is an evolving form of media buying, where AI utilises data in new, innovative ways to generate excellent results across the board.
• Evolution of programmatic: With the manner of data farming and management platforms evolving beyond general parameters, programmatic advertising will be more about behaviours and psychographs that will decide who sees your ad, and on what platform.
• Benefits of this form of advertising: Programmatic advertising is a cost-effective & scalable strategy, allowing for the better targeting of KPIs, improved customer insights, and – ultimately – easier media buying.

2. Advertising to Tribes/Audiences - i.e audience buying

• Demographic targeting is becoming obsolete: Advertising on the basis of demographics is quickly becoming old news. There’s no guarantee that people in a specific age group will share the same likes and interests.
• People with common interests have the strongest groups: This is where tribal advertising comes into play, with marketers finding it in their best interests to advertise to specific tribes that are formed based on common interests.
• The gaming industry is a prime example of tribal advertising: There’s a reason why gaming has managed to generate$138 billion in 2018(a figure higher than the movie and music industry) – the sheer passion that gamers have has transcended demographics, making them prime candidates for tribal advertising.

3. Cross-Device Advertising

• Consumer is king: Audience targeting has always been a key aspect of media buying, making it of prime importance to understand the consumer journey.
• Tracking the user journey is a must: With the majority of consumers utilising multiple media devices, marketers must keep a tab on the user journey across multiple platforms and advertise accordingly.
• From your laptop, to your tablet, to your phone: By implementing cross-device advertising, a person can search for earphones online, get the same ads on his tablet, and use his phone to finalise the purchase. Convenience is how marketing will progress, and cross-device advertising will propel this notion.

The onset of a new decade also signifies a new chapter in the book of marketing – a book that is constantly unfurling new information at every step of the way. It’s a manuscript that will forever be in a state of flux, which is why marketers have a tough challenge ahead of them. These insights can help these marketers follow a base on which they can develop killer advertising strategies and ensure that their efforts are a cut above the rest.

Staying ahead is crucial to give your work a competitive edge. Here is a weekly digital round-up that will ensure that your vigorous attempts to achieve big are a cut above the rest.

It is important to unfur new and interesting information that paves the way for excellent business strategies. Presenting another round-up for another eventful transformation in the industry.

Digital continues to change and flourish at a rapid pace. Propel through your marketing strategies as you stay updated with the round up of yet another week, perfused with new, exciting and gripping digital marketing trends.