6 Emerging Channels to Add to Your Marketing Strategy in 2020

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If you want to stand out with your marketing strategies throughout 2020 and beyond, you’ll need to target the channels that give you a competitive advantage. Channels such as podcasts and Reddit are among the most popular for many businesses, but the following are some channels that you should consider if you want to stand apart and stay ahead.

TikTok

If you want to target younger demographics, TikTok continues to grow into one of their most popular apps. What started out as a small video-sharing app in China merged with Musical.ly in 2018 to become what we know as TikTok. Today, TikTok has over a billion global users and serves as one of the best ways to reach younger consumers.

Some marketing campaigns you can launch on TikTok include:

• TikTok Challenges – Hashtag challenges that encourage people to produce memorable and potentially viral videos based on a given topic.
• Influencer Marketing – Influencers are on just about every social media platform, and TikTok is no exception. Influencers can promote your products or services and share them with their audiences.
• Paid Ads – You can also create ads on TikTok to reach millions of users.

Messenger Bot Marketing

You also now have the ability to automate Facebook messenger to create sales funnels and news blasts. It’s easy to use Messenger bots without knowing how to code. You can use Messenger bots to generate more leads, build subscriber lists, send automated messages along the sales funnel, and send lead magnets.

Bots can also be programmed to answer basic questions that customers may have, such as your business hours. Ultimately, bots can help you connect with your audience and nurture leads without spamming them with too many messages.

WhatsApp Business

WhatsApp Business is a free smartphone app that makes it easier than ever to create a product or service catalog that effectively showcases your offerings. You can also use the app to communicate with your customers through tools that can sort, automate, and respond to customers’ messages and requests.

WhatsApp Business allows you to increase your visibility with a detailed business profile containing information such as your address, description of your business, website, and email address. Automated messages also enable you to greet customers and introduce them to your brand, or send messages indicating when you’re away from the chat.

Smart Speakers

Smart speakers including Google Home and Amazon Alexa are becoming popular tools to use when searching for a service or product. As voice search continues to increase in popularity among users, marketers can use this to their advantage by marketing via smart speakers.

A lot of users rely on voice search to find more general information such as recipes or answers to questions they have about a certain topic. So, many brands use voice search optimization to try to be the source of people’s answers by optimizing around conversational questions and phrases. You can take advantage of smart speaker marketing by creating helpful, conversational content that attracts these users.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) is another popular development that marketers can use to connect with their audience in a way that helps them stand out. Virtual reality can immerse people in another world and can serve as a great, unique way to tell a story. You can use VR in social media, YouTube, and other platforms such as apps to allow prospective customers to interact with your products or services.

For instance, you can use VR to develop a strong narrative that takes users along on a journey that shows how your services or products can positively change their life. You can even use VR to shop for a car.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is an extension of VR that allows for even more possibilities. Using AR, you can project detailed 3D virtual images into a real-world setting through smartphones and tablets, blending imagination with reality. You can use AR to offer users a chance to essentially test a product in their home or elsewhere without the need to actually encounter the physical product.

For example, a furniture store can allow customers to customize their furniture and see how it looks and fits in their home. AR enables them to view a to-scale 3D model of the item in their home wherever they want, giving them a chance to see exactly how that item would look once delivered and put into place.

Take Advantage of Emerging Channels

New channels are arising all the time for marketers to reach audiences in increasingly engaging ways. It’s important to avoid spreading yourself too thin or limiting yourself to one marketing channel when so many are available. Don’t go after a marketing channel simply because it’s new; you should make sure that it’s right for your business and product or service offerings.

If a channel lends itself to your business, focus on dominating it instead of all of them at once, which will help keep your 2020 marketing plan focused and on-budget.