In this episode of Starting to Scale with Emmie Faust, I chat with Matt Duggan – a Digital Marketing expert – about what he thinks is going to be big when it comes to digital trends in 2020.

I have known Matt for quite a while, and he has consulted me on a number of projects. He really knows his stuff when it comes to the nitty-gritty of social media ads and digital marketing.

You can click here to listen to Starting to Scale with Emmie Faust on your favourite podcasting platform, or listen using the link below.

Trend 1 – Science and maths in marketing – Data.

  • Be Clear on your own data. Google Analytics has a wealth of data but it can be confusing and overwhelming for many. Google Analytics is free.  
  • Make sure that your Google Analytics is set up correctly. You can get someone to help you do this e.g. on Upwork if you are not sure how. You can ask them to create a dashboard that will show you all the data you need.
  • Create a view for PR, Social Media, paid advertising, etc. This will help you make really intelligent decisions. Set up analytics properly so you can track how much revenue you are making from the different activities that you are doing.
  • This means that business gets easier, and you don’t waste money on marketing that is not going to convert. Happy Days.  Measuring is so important I know I bang on about it, but Matt is a believer too!
  • Google Analytics is pointless if not set up properly, but if you haven’t set it up properly don’t despair! If you have all the data there, then you can still find someone that can help you get it set up so that you can get some valuable insight.

Trend 2 – Interactivity of social media and personalisation on social media.

  • 63% of CMO’s stated that their big priority in 2020 is on social media, according to a report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
  • Keep on top of Social Media Trends or use an agency that has their finger on the pulse.

Focusing on the Interactivity of Social Media

  • Make sure that you respond to comments – if someone is having a conversation with you and commenting then it’s good to reply back.
  • Social Media is a great place for customer interaction and some brands are using social media as their customer service platform.
  • Social Media gives us a huge chance to interact with our customers and to get feedback.

Communicating via Facebook Messenger

  • Messenger is a huge opportunity and customers are using messenger so why not use that to communicate with your existing or prospective customers.
  • Using Messenger as a communication channel can produce amazing open rates compared to other channels (and great click-through rates too)  ManyChat is a platform that enables you to market via messenger.
  • The trend is social media becoming more personal because people want a conversation with someone. We’re all craving human connection.

Trend 3 – Making less noise and going deeper with the content.

This relates to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

  • Create in-depth content, such as ‘the complete guide to’ or ‘the definitive guide to’ something. The reason that this kind of content does so well is that the articles are really in-depth and focus on specific topics etc. Go deep into your topic and drill down.
  • Know your market and the platform you are focusing on. 
  • Take your content and slice and dice it in multiple ways – re-mix it. So take a piece of content and use it in different formats – transcribe it and turn it into blog posts or social media posts, for example.
  • Make less noise, but make it mean something. Less quantity and more quality.
  • Update existing blog posts once every 3-6 months. That piece is more likely to rank in Google than a piece written a long time ago that has not been updated. If you update a blog post, then you normally get a bump in visitors and rankings and it becomes more valuable in the search engines.
  • Make your content the go-to place and show that you are the expert.
  • Write regular, relevant and unique content.

Trend 4 – Voice search is a big trend

  • Everyone has devices in their houses, especially the ones like Alexa.
  • The information that they get comes from Google, so essentially it’s just providing an interface between you and Google.
  • Write short sentences within your blog post that answers questions so that people using voice search can find the answers easily.
  • Create a subheading (H2) in your piece of content and include keywords. The subtitle above, Trend 4, is H2. 

Trend 5 – Snippets in search

  • Google takes data/snippet from a website and shows it in search results so that users don’t have to click through. This can have benefits for content creators and also drawbacks, in that users don’t always need to click through to the original piece of content to find what they need.
  • Write pieces that are from a more personal perspective so that the reader gets to hear your voice and your unique take on the topic.

Related LinkedIn post

This post got quite a lot of traction on LinkedIn do add your own comments and let me know what you think!

Connecting with Matt Duggan

Matt used to be a professional magician 🙂

You can find Matt here on Click Smart Digital on Instagram.

Matt’s agency: Click Smart Digital.

The Business Marketing Mastermind.

More about me

If you want to find out more about how I can help you grow your business, then get in touch and we can arrange a free 30-minute discovery call to talk more. Head over to my Work With Me page for more information.

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#13 – Are you creating the right kind of content?

#14 – Why is SEO important for your business growth? 

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