5 Experts on Interactive Marketing Trends for 2019

What does 2019 hold for interactive marketing? Read on as five experts share five interactive marketing trends for 2019.

Interactive marketing enables brands to establish a 1:1 relationship with their users and customers. 2018 saw the rise of AR, VR and IGTV, advancement in the field of AI and chatbots, and video marketing becoming a core component of marketing strategies. The year 2019 will possibly see these trends taking center stage.

We have five industry experts sharing their views on the most important interactive marketing trends for 2019:

1. Personalized Videos Will Be at the Forefront of Personalized Content for B2B Brands

2019, undoubtedly, is going to be the year of video marketing. We have already seen an upsurge of 360-degree videos, live videos and horizontal videos in 2018. We can expect a substantial rise in the adoption of personalized videos, at least in the B2B space. Personalized videos convey your message to your users using a 1:1 approach.

Joseph Rinaldi (Creative Lead at ImpactNBD) says, “Given the ease of shooting videos with smartphones, marketers are discovering the value of lead nurturing and customer communications by sending personalized video messages instead of calling or sending an email. The notion of using a 1:1 video approach can apply to following-up on an inquiry, offering content, delivering support, simply saying thanks, or practically any application.”

Also Read: Why Localization and Personalization Will Rule in 2019

2. Instagram and IGTV Will Allow Brands to Communicate Layered Information

Layered information is a way to educate users and customers by breaking down your existing content into chunks. And what better way to communicate this information than by using Instagram? The photo and video-sharing giant allows you to share videos in 3 formats, viz — stories, posts, and IGTV.

Jennifer Novick (Head of Marketing, SocialCode) encourages brands to adopt a holistic perspective by saying, “Today, IGTV only allows for organic content. While the placement is evolving, the feature should be evaluated through the lens of what is already working on the platform. For example, brands seeing a lift in preference, intent or sales from long-form content on a channel like YouTube or Instagram Stories should consider experimenting with IGTV.”

Note: Here is a simple hack to post layered information — Use Instagram stories to post bite-sized content. You can post no longer than 1-minute videos, but since Instagram allows you to upload 10 videos in a single post, you can post 10 well-edited 1-minute videos. And with IGTV, you can upload 10-minute videos, and if you are verified or popular, the limit goes up to 60 minutes!

3. VR Will Facilitate Immersive Storytelling

The mainstream adoption of VR shows strong signs of it becoming a valuable marketing platform. The 360-degree experience simulated by VR headsets gives users an immersive experience previously unseen (pun intended). With storytelling being a powerful method to convey messages, merging it with VR will allow brands to adopt an immersive storytelling approach.

Simon Walker (eCommerce Consultant at FME) says, “Back in the days, film was the most immersive storytelling medium. However, people were just watching. Today, virtual reality provides a feeling of presence, which makes it a powerful tool of brand storytelling. Make sure that your virtual reality marketing strategy crafts a strong narrative for your user’s journey within your video. You can make user experience even more engaging by using interactivity and visual and audio cues to make the story more impactful.”

Also Read: 5 Storytelling Ideas for the Age of Interactive Marketing

4. Conversational AI to Enable Two-Way Interactions

Voice search, messaging apps, chatbots, and digital assistants are all AI in action. The conversational capabilities of AI let users converse in colloquial speech while getting the desired results. Conversational AI empowers users right from the discovery to the delight stage in the buyer’s journey.

Andy Shirey (Senior Product Marketing Manager at OpenMarket) says, “The future of automated business-to-consumer messaging, and more specifically, the retail market, will be shaped by AI-powered interactions between brands and consumers. If implemented the right way, NLP can exponentially improve the customer experience by reducing the number of steps and the time it takes to help a customer. More specifically, it will eliminate friction, create flow – and ultimately allow businesses to interact with customers on a more empathetic level.”

Also Read: 5 Ways Conversational AI Will Impact Marketing In 2019

5. Instagram Shoppable Will Make Social Commerce Unstoppable

Instagram has successfully blended interactive marketing and social commerce in its Instagram Shoppable feature. The Shoppable feature lets you tag products in your posts that users can tap on to view and eventually purchase. Here’s an example of the feature being used by Wampler - Pedals & Amplifiers:

With Instagram’s native shopping app — IG Shopping already in the works, we can expect a significant shift in consumer behavior. With over 1 billion active users and 25 million+ business profiles, Instagram will serve as the hottest social commerce platform for brands, organizations and individuals alike.

Thea Neal (Social Media Marketer at Hallmark Cards) has noted that in 2019, Instagram will provide big opportunities for influencers and small-scale DIYers (do-it-yourself) to showcase and sell their products.

The Path Ahead for 2019

One of the most significant elements that will fuel each of these interactive marketing trends is 5G. The first commercial release set to take place in March 2019, 5G is going to change the course of interactive marketing for the better. In the meanwhile, we hope you have great success in implementing the learnings from these expert-validated trends.

Which of the above interactive marketing trends do you intend to adopt in your marketing strategy for 2019? Let us know in the comments below.