2020 will be the year of personalized marketing as consumers now expect brand experiences to be designed just for them and the real-time data available today allows companies to deliver unique messages to an increasingly micro-targeted audience. But, what does this look like for brands?
APPS DELIVER PERSONAL CONNECTIONS
More brands will develop and release custom apps to deliver fully personalized experiences for their customers, delivering the convenience and custom content that drives deep connections. Brands should also explore partner apps for content sharing. Younger generations are moving away from large, public-facing social media platforms and are seeking out personalized experiences through interest-driven apps. For example, instead of joining a Facebook group for runners, younger generations prefer the personalized experience of Nike’s Running Club app. These interest-specific apps need expert content. Identifying the right partners to share your brand’s content will be crucial to creating personalized connections, amplifying brand reach and, ultimately, driving calls to action.
CONTENT CONNECTS IN A MEANINGFUL WAY
Speaking of content, it will become more personalized as well. Live streaming is going to continue to grow and is a terrific way to create personalized brand moments. Dynamic adaptive content will also become more valuable, especially for brands where location plays a large role in consumer engagement. Enabling web content to change based on individual demographics, behaviors and preferences ensures you deliver content that is personalized, valuable and meaningful to each consumer.
CONVERSATIONAL SEARCH KICKS OFF CUSTOMER JOURNEYS
Brands should also consider how personalization impacts search. As more people use voice search, personalized, conversational queries will kick-off the customer journey. After hitting his toe on a chair, a guy isn’t going to find his phone, open Google and type “broken toe.” Instead, he will shout, “Alexa, how do I know if my toe is broken?” For this example, healthcare brands should ensure all content is tagged and titled for conversational search – e.g. a video titled “How to know if my toe is broken.” This is true for locational search as well. In keeping with the healthcare category, people are going to ask, “Hey Siri, where can I get a flu shot?” By optimizing content for geo-tagged conversational search, brands can deliver these consumers right to their doors; early adopters will be the winners here.
MICRO-INFLUENCERS CREATE DEEPER CONNECTIONS
We are also seeing personalization impact influencers and media relations. The days of the Kardashians’ $100,000 brand tweet are over. Consumers are more interested in micro-influencers who create more personal interactions. Influencers with just a few thousand relevant followers who can authentically speak to consumers’ experiences will have a greater impact than the celebrity with 20 million followers.
ADAPTIVE DYNAMIC CONTENT DEFINES MEDIA PITCHING
Online media outlets are also leveraging dynamic adaptive content to serve up the stories each individual wants to see. In other words, what you see on CNN’s homepage is different from what I see, based on my recent clicks. So, it’s imperative that marketers understand, not just where target consumers get their news, but also the types of stories they want to see and pitch accordingly.
SHARE VALUES CREATE CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS
Finally, personalization means sharing the values of your customers. 85% of consumers seek out brands that support the causes they care about. This can be tricky terrain given the varying demographics and polarization of communities today. Identifying a universal cause or isolating values that speak to all consumers will be critical. But, it will be even more important to see cause marketing promoted in a personal way that is customized to each customer.
The bottom line is the macro trend of personalization will play out in a myriad of micro ways. Identifying the right strategies that deliver personal connections with your consumers will be the driver of brand preference and loyalty.
If you need help defining your personalization marketing strategy, visit Connected Comms or email me directly Jennifer (at) connected comms dot com.
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