The internet is constantly changing. It punishes old practices and rewards innovative solutions with each passing day. So much has changed in the past two decades. AI is transforming the healthcare, commerce, travel, and real estate industries.
If brands want to be successful, they need to be agile and flexible in their plans today. They cannot count on time-tested established practices anymore. In this article, you will see the factors that have changed the marketing industry.
The Era of Personalization
In the past, companies ran television ads and print ads to attract customers. Their strategy was to attract a large group of people with the same interests. So, television channels and newspapers would feature ads that maintain the same narrative.
Since the 2000s, businesses have shifted their attention towards the individual. Researchers at that time predicted that one-to-one communication would rule the future. They also hoped that advertisers would be able to address consumers more personally in the future. If you want to develop a personalisation strategy, work with a digital marketing company in India.
The early 2000s marked the beginning of personalized marketing. In those days, marketers would address customers with their names in their emails. This approach was more personal and human. Companies, later on, would follow in their footsteps to deliver personalized services. Get the help of a digital marketing company in India for personalized email campaigns.
Customers expect brands to be familiar with their interests and preferences. So, personalization is indispensable in our age. Big companies like Netflix and Amazon use AI to provide personalized recommendations. Get the PPC Services of an agency to personalize your ads.
Real-time Decision Making
In the past decades, companies would update data about customers every month. Then they were happy that they had updated information every week. But now, AI helps companies get updated data every second. AI helps brands be more agile and flexible, as they can now respond to threats instantly. Companies can now use analytics to track the orders and deliver them in real-time.
With the help of AI, companies can get notified about orders and shortages in supplies. This data will help them react without any delay. Get the PPC services for help with automated campaigns.
The Google Smart bidding feature allows marketers to bid on keywords in real-time. Another application of real-time analytics is dynamic pricing. AI helps companies like Uber and Airbnb to adjust prices based on demand throughout the day. So marketers should adopt real-time decision-making solutions to stay relevant in the business.
Innovations in Search Industry
In the early days of the internet, people stuffed keywords to rank their sites higher. They also added block paragraphs at the end of articles whose sole purpose was to house keywords. But Google is changing all that with its updates.
The Panda update in 2011 penalized keyword stuffing and thin content. The Hummingbird update in 2013 helped Google to fetch results based on user intent. The Bert update in 2019 helped Google understand the meaning and context of the query.
Google also made changes to local searches with the Penguin update in 2014. It has not stopped yet: Google continues to make changes to enhance the user experience from time to time.
Then there is also the rise of voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. They make voice search optimization more crucial than ever. Social platforms like Pinterest have popularised image searches. These developments have put much pressure on marketers to develop creative solutions.
Ads don’t work anymore
In the last decade, marketers used various ads such as pop-up ads and banner ads for brand awareness. But customers today get irritated when pop-up ads affect their user experience. They use ad-blockers to block intrusive ads. They also don’t trust ads and read third-party reviews before purchases.
Customers understand the importance of data protection and privacy. They are aware of data breaches happening at big companies, and they are reluctant to share their personal information. Not only this, companies display ads to customers based on their past behavior. Some customers would see this as a violation of their safe space.
Customers are not receptive to ads any longer. So marketers have to challenge current marketing approaches. One way to do this is by providing value with free ebooks, guides to encourage customers to buy products.
Rise of Social Media
Social media is not only about friends coming together today. Almost every company has social media presence to keep their customers engaged. They understand the value of communicating with customers.
Social media has more power and influence over people today. It is especially true with influencer marketing. People with a large social following can use their social capital to promote brands. Celebrities can ask their fans to try their favourite products. So, the rise of social media pushes marketers to develop tactics to boost their company’s reputation.
