As the end of the year approaches, it’s time to think about tough budget decisions you will need to make next year. What priorities should you start or continue to invest in? To begin this journey it’s important to understand where marketing is headed and new opportunities to build and engage audiences.
Below are four areas to consider as you begin pondering your 2019 spending priorities:
1. Content Marketing
Content marketing has become a core aspect of digital marketing, and will remain as such. Creating content that your audience finds engaging and useful is a great way to attract leads. It also helps position your company and executives as industry leaders. If your team lacks a content marketing plan, it's going to need one. Should you already have a plan, then reviewing and revising it is highly recommended.
2. Alternative Search Formats
A good marketing team knows that understanding consumer behavior is a key to success. Knowing how your target audience searches for content is a big part of this. Recent developments point to a shift in the way people are searching for content. The rising popularity of voice search is one example. There also is growth potential in the use of visuals as a search tool. Google is touting plans to do this. As a result, marketing teams will need to prepare for additional search formats.
3. Chatbots
Audiences tend to be more satisfied when they can have additional interactions with brands on their own terms. Chatbots are one of the tools marketing teams can use to connect with audiences where they live. In addition, chatbots can provide data and insights to influence and inform marketing strategies. Chatbots are a win-win—they provide audience members with what they want when they want it. And they provide your team with precise information about what your audience is looking for and when. Your messaging can refined using this information. With all these benefits, chatbots should be high on your 2019 budget radar.
4. Data Privacy & Online Security
As we know, issues related to data privacy have been an increasing problem for brands and customers. The past year was filled with stories about data breaches and hacks. As a result, marketing teams need to understand that consumers are more aware and alert to issues of online security. To counter the decline in consumer trust, marketers must initiate and communicate measures that demonstrate safe, responsible collection, storage and protection of customers' information.
Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR