Voice, video and regional content: Digital marketing trends to watch out for this year

From using regional language to reach out to a wider audience, to using voice search and adding videos to engage better, brands and companies can increase the demand for their products and services, with effective digital marketing.

Digital marketing took a big turn in 2018 as the dynamics of social media and SEO changed completely in the past year. With new social media platforms like Vigo Video, LIKE App, TikTok, etc., emerging and becoming popular, Facebook is not the only preferred social media for internet users today.

While 2018 was a game-changer for the Indian digital market, with regional languages and audience taking precedence over the existing users in the country, 2019 is going to be another year with lots of development and changes happening in the digital marketing space.

Here are the top digital marketing trend predictions for 2019.

Recognising regional language content

According to a study, India added around 10 million new active internet users every month in 2018. Interestingly, it was found that nine out of 10 new users preferred to interact in their regional language on the internet.

The year 2018 also saw the rise of new social media platforms like Vigo Video, TikTok (formerly known as Musically), now acquired by Vigo Video parent company), LIKE app, ShareChat, and so on. These new platforms have been targeting audience in tier II cities instead of tier I cities, which is mostly present on popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.

As a result, the content is mostly distributed in regional languages - Hindi being the most dominant one.

ShareChat, for example, has around 40 million monthly active users. The app has been developed by Indian founders, and enables users to share diverse content, ranging from news and viral videos to cooking videos.

A study reveals that by 2021, there will be more than 500 million internet users in Indian languages. Surprisingly, English language internet users in India are stalled at around 200 million, and the number is not growing because almost all English-speaking population in India is already on the internet.

It is important to note that if you have been looking for a chance to tap a wide audience base, which could have limited knowledge of the English language, this is the time to connect with them in Hindi or regional languages.

Some of the ways by which you can tap into the new internet users include:

•  Do not hesitate to create graphics, status updates, and videos in regional languages.

•  Identify your audience - is it spread all over India? Is it concentrated in a particular state? Choose your regional language accordingly.

•  You can start with Hindi/regional language banner ads on one of your display campaigns, coupled with some Facebook image posts.

•  Once you check the reaction, you can become regular with regional language updates, and you can also keep English content updates intact so that everyone is able to understand your brand’s communication.

Gone are the days when the internet users used to create content only in English. Hence, it seems to be the right time to channel your brand’s content in the language of your audience’s choice.

Voice-based search to take lead

Take note- Google is gearing up to elevate its voice search algorithms, because people, not just in India but across the world, are widely using voice search to look for content online. A research reveals that about 41 percent people conduct at least one voice search per day, and this number is growing. Also, by 2020, almost 50 percent of all online searches will be voice-based, which is up from 20 percent in 2016.

This shows that it is important to take voice search into consideration while optimising your website for search engines. Now, the question is, how it can be done. Here are some tips to increase the chances of your content being picked up by a search engine voice assistant:

•  The website’s ranking on top of the search engine results will be chosen by the voice assistant. So, your website’s page should be ranking at least in the top five.

•  Write a question as a subheading (use <h2> and <h3> tags) and write the answer in the paragraph. Google assistant faces questions from users and is more likely to pick up a direct answer from a website.

•  Try to make short paragraphs of 50-60 words so that Google can pick up small answers to the questions it receives.

Video is the next big thing (already!)

If you were too lazy and ignored videos in 2018, you cannot afford to do that in 2019. This year, video is going to be even bigger than it was in the year gone by. Not only have people started skipping typing into Google search, they have also started searching directly on YouTube.

We have seen many new YouTube channels sprouting in the last couple of years, and more so in Hindi and other regional languages. Still, a major chunk of website owners is missing out on creating videos, and it is not too late to start creating them.

If you want to showcase your product to the world, don’t restrict yourself to just YouTube videos, but create tonnes of other video content as well - such as videos for Instagram, IGTV, product demos, customer reviews, etc.

A study reveals that 55 percent of the pages ranked on top of Google search results have a video embedded in them, and the number is only going to increase. Going with the trend, several brands have started creating compelling short videos and have become extremely popular on the internet.

You can also create small, eye-catching videos for your brand, and get more engagement, brand recall, and sales for your brand. People buy from those with whom they feel connected. So gear up, get your resources together, and start creating engaging videos for your brand.

Advertising on Instagram

According to this study, 72 percent of users have purchased a product they saw on Instagram.

Compared to last year, Instagram has become much more popular among the Indian youth this year. Also, most highly-active Instagram users lie in tier I cities as opposed to the new regional language apps like Vigo, ShareChat, etc. Thus, advertising on Instagram is the next right thing to do after advertising on Facebook.

Last year was significant for the Indian internet industry, and the coming years will be the same, owing to the rapid increase of new active internet users. We can also credit this to lower internet prices or penetration of new internet providers and mobile phones into remote regions.

Today, marketers have a wider audience and multiple platforms, coupled with several modes of content creation in order to connect and create an impact.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)