There’s a line in that old traditional New Year’s song that says “should old acquaintance be forgot,” which is appropriate with the holidays behind us. Boston-based ecommerce company Databox recently surveyed 100 marketers and asked them for their input on the new year.  Even though many marketers have planned for 2020, there may be some things to consider and perhaps forget.

MORE USER-GENERATED CONTENT

In addition to influencer-reviewed videos and contests, expect to see more user-generated content. Online reviews were still seen as important but the feeling is that these posts by customers will carry more credibility over professionally-produced content.

VIDEO CONTENT

In spite of the move towards user-generated content, many respondents also believed 2020 would be the year that video would grow even more.  One participant went so far as to say that nearly any video would be better than none. 

Others cited video as a way of showing authenticity and personality, while others suggested many videos could be repurposed into shorter clips which could be recycled for promotional pieces or the audio used in podcasts.

EYES TOWARD SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media platforms like LinkedIn will be given more attention by many of those marketers surveyed.  They said the fact that more people are searching on these platforms allows companies to increase their organic reach.  Of all social media platforms listed, LinkedIn ranked highest among marketers who said they would be designating most of their time and/or budget to in 2020. 

REPRISE OF DIRECT MAIL

Contrary to some reports, direct mail is not only alive but coming back stronger than ever.  Mega direct mail company Taradel said that it has received several reports indicating that response rates to direct mail are at its highest level ever.

MICRO-CONTENT

Others cited real-time micro-content as the target of their focus, particularly Instagram stories.  Jason Harriman, CEO of the real estate firm, Harriman Group, reported that since delivering micro content via Instagram stories, their web traffic has tripled over the past four months. The Harriman Group serves several thousand clients in more than 30 cities across Texas.

GROWING INFLUENCERS

Not only has there been a steady increase in the use of influencers between 2016 and 2019, but Influencer Marketing Hub reports that brands which focused on engagements or branding experienced an ROI of 800%. The reliance on influencers is expected to continue increasing in 2020.

OPTIMIZED CONTENT

Content will continue to be important and more emphasis will be placed on optimizing it for even better results. How it will be accomplished varied by respondent but some content areas being looked at more closely include redirection of marketing distribution, syndication, longer form, and technical SEO.

CONNECTED TV

An area that will also be watched more closely by marketers, and even entered by some, is the growing popularity of connected smart TV systems like Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV. 

BRANDED PODCASTS

Canadian digital marketing consulting company Flawless Inbound says webinars and podcasts are at their highest viewing levels ever and expects more companies to begin doing this. Many marketers see podcasts as a passive, yet effective way to reach customers.

MORE TO COME

Those were just a selection of the vast array of changes Databox expects to occur in 2020.