As an experienced digital agency in Farnham, Thunderbolt Digital know a thing or two about current trends to watch out for… but what about the future? We obviously don’t have a crystal ball, but our expertise in the field allows us to make some pretty accurate predictions about the coming months as we have been web designers in Surrey for nearly 7 years, allowing us to keep ourselves and our clients ahead of the curve. In the spirit of the season, we’re feeling rather generous and would love to share a little of our 2020 forecast with you too – why not check back in a few months and see how we did?
Indirect Marketing
It may not be immediately obvious, but customer service can definitely be used as a form of indirect online marketing. The past few years have seen a rise in the use of social media for customer service (such as Facebook messaging companies, or @-ing them on Twitter) and this is only set to continue. If used wisely, it can be implemented in tandem with online marketing to boost revenue from existing and lapsed customers, which in turn cements loyalty and can even secure more interest via word of mouth. Trust us, social media customer service is definitely something you’ll want to invest in next year!
Instagram and Likes
Instagram has been trialling the removal of likes on the platform since May this year, and by 2020, we could see the disappearance of public numbers from the platform entirely! However, this may not be as big as it first appears. Users may definitely get a different experience from it, but account owners are still able to see their own metrics, and company partnered with API influencers can see theirs too.
Of course, some working in marketing already view likes as something of little value, as they don’t automatically mean that either attention or sales have been won, especially on more “fast paced” sites like Instagram where users may scroll quickly and like almost habitually. To calculate ROI on the platform, it’s suggested to look at different metrics of engagement, including directed traffic and generated sales, video completion rates, shares, and saves.
The Rise of TikTok?
Another year, another platform to delight users and confuse marketers. The platform has actually been around since 2016, but didn’t start to gain popularity until after the shutdown of Vine in 2017, leading TikTok to become something of its spiritual successor. It remains heavily popular amongst younger users, and marketers predict that its popularity will only grow in 2020, though many are still unsure how best to utilise it. Our advice is to treat it like Snapchat: only develop a marketing strategy for the platform if you’re offering specific goods to specific audiences – for example, entertainment sectors may do well, but tradesmen and security would definitely struggle here!