How technology plays a pivotal role in modern marketing

The internet has changed the way people do and process things. It has instigated an age of continuous technological advances and possibilities.

Today, we live in a digitized age that affects how we shop, interact and do business. This shift has brought about significant changes in the way companies market themselves and their products or services.

Modern marketing is a holistic approach that merges creativity, research, strategy and analysis to achieve targets. Technological tools are steadily making traditional marketing practices obsolete.

An online master’s in marketing from Emerson College equips students with a set of versatile skills to become holistic digital marketing professionals. Industry experts have designed the course material and aligned it with tools and technologies to navigate today’s modern marketing landscape.

Essential principles of modern marketing

All businesses want to grow. This growth includes expanding market shares, profitabilities and customer numbers. To achieve these targets, professional marketers establish brand awareness, cultivate audiences and action principles aimed at specific goals.

A focus on customer experience at every touchpoint signifies active engagement. This means a company must use all accessible means to reach and connect with customers. These include a streamlined website that’s easy to navigate, social media marketing and email outreach initiatives.

Content must inform and add value to improve the overall user experience. Marketers must zoom in on real-world challenges and experiences to develop material that speaks to individuals and groups alike. This means content must ‘see’ people and not center on vague constructs they cannot associate with.

Marketers must keep in step with changing practices and technologies. The professional marketing landscape is in constant flux. Connecting with audiences requires current strategies. This means using every available tool to deliver on-target marketing plans.

Technology in the marketing world

Although some fundamentals remain unchanged, technologies used in marketing are ever-changing. Experts have identified some key trends that dictate modern marketing approaches.

Valuable content

Combining written content with visual tools is an effective way to reach and connect with audiences. Analysis shows that long-form blogs and articles integrating video and audio material are well received by audiences.

Companies can post these on their websites and social media platforms or share them via email newsletters. It is important to balance product or service highlights with meaningful topics that speak to people. Research shows this approach nurtures brand awareness and customer loyalty.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Machine learning and the use of chatbots are common features on most modern websites. According to 2020 research conducted by marketing professionals, approximately 42% of consumers use conversational AI or chatbots to make purchases.

These innovations can answer basic questions and they are available 24/7. Using AI initiatives on a website makes customers feel their queries are important and deserve answers.

Customer support divisions can use AI-driven chatbots to enhance and expand their contact strategies with customers. This technology gathers, analyzes and offers actionable data to improve customer experiences.

Voice searches

Any online business or one with a published website should consider incorporating voice-search technology. The popularity of services such as Microsoft Cortana and Google Assistant, coupled with the increasing use of mobile devices, shows that people prefer this quick and easy way of searching for information.

Customizing a voice-search service for a website can help give a company a boost in a competitive environment. Reports indicate that more than 50% of searches occur on mobile devices and that voice searches make up 20% of these.

A voice-search service should answer common questions about products or services. These answers should be detailed and conversational, not stiff and robotic.

Data analysis

Data analysis is the cornerstone of successful marketing campaigns. Search engine optimization plays a crucial role in how strongly a website, in other words, a company, features on search engines. Gathering and analyzing SEO-driven data underpins digital marketing.

Experts indicate that customers constantly feed personal information to companies. This can include anything from purchase trends and favorite products to their preferred ways of contact. Marketers must use this data to run targeted promotions and improve marketing campaigns.

Edge computing generates predictive, scalable and flexible datasets used in marketing. Machine learning, which includes augmented and engineered-decision analytics, and data visualization, drives better decision-making for improved marketing strategies.

Social media

Social media marketing forms an integral part of digital marketing campaigns. Influencers also play an ever-increasing important role in their support or endorsement of products or services.

Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok have enormous reach. Aligning website, email and social media promotions is essential in today’s fast-paced digital world.

E-commerce developments

DeFi (decentralized finance) continues to grow in the digital sphere. People are turning to cryptocurrencies, blockchains and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to perform transactions on the internet.

Initiatives such as shared peer-to-peer ledgers establish faster and more secure ways of offering and receiving money. A blockchain runs through smart contracts that verify and guarantee transactions whereas cryptocurrency is replacing ‘real’ money in the digital world.

Online businesses must investigate the available methods of offering these as forms of payment. More and more brands are turning to NFTs, which are unique digital assets or collectibles, to drive awareness and market products.

Metaverse

The metaverse is fast becoming a reality. It incorporates virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and AI to establish a 3D immersive digital experience where people do business, shop and socialize. This concept aims to merge real life with digital life.

The latest marketing trends implement ‘gamevertising’, where marketers use gaming to advertise their products and services. It is prominent in the movie and music industries and will ultimately spill over to other areas of business.

Retail companies are already turning to AR initiatives to create blended shopping experiences. Here, shoppers can, through their avatars, ‘try’ on clothes, ‘experience’ different furnishings and ‘live’ in different destinations.

Technology advances from year to year. Modern marketers must keep pace with the changes and developments. These include the different algorithms used by search engines to prioritize websites. Technology has given marketing a lasting and dynamic facelift.