1. Inbound tools
In 2019, inbound tools remain a powerful ally to implement your marketing strategies, effectively position your website and generate leads or sales opportunities. Changes in the way all users are consuming online content are greatly influencing all aspects of marketing for technology companies and the sales area of companies, both B2B and B2C.
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Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard about the inbound methodology many times before, especially from us. But we have our reasons for being so insistent: the inbound method is, to this day, one of the most effective marketing practices in any market, including the technology market. Why its tools or practices can benefit your marketing strategy? Is it possible to practice inbound marketing in the technology industry?
First of all, the inbound methodology has the power to attract your target audience. Being in the technology field, you will have already realised that users have transformed the internet into their main source of information. Google has become the portal of answers and solutions for consumers. Yes, although your customers use Google to find your website, the truth is that nowadays they use it to look for answers to their problems or needs. And yes, becoming that source of information that can educate them about technology can transform you into a benchmark in your sector.
That is why appearing in a good position in Google search results has become one of the key steps to achieve an effective online marketing strategy. But SEO practices, which until a few years ago were viable, now need to be renewed and adapted to new user attitudes. It is not enough to place keywords on your website. You must use them in a smart way.
The inbound methodology can help you achieve this: adapt to the new attitudes and needs of your potential customers, to the new concerns that arise in the technological market, and generate online content that will help you attract them to your website. And thus, convert them from anonymous visitors to your future technology buyers. All this through smart practices and tools, which you have probably already heard about on more than one occasion: positioning in Google SERPs, blogging, online conversion, increased visibility, generation of valuable content…
And how can you check the success of the application of inbound marketing tools for technology companies? The 2018 statistics state that:
94% of link clicks on Google searches are organic.
And 68% of organic clicks are placed in the top three search results. (eConsultancy) In other words, you can gain a large number of visits to your website through Google, as long as you follow a proper SEO strategy.
75% of search engine users never go beyond the first page of results (NetMarketShare).
You can imagine how important the Google SERPs are, and how vital it is to plan your online strategy so that Google identifies your website as a great source of information about technology.
B2B companies that blog 1-2 times a month generate 70% more leads than those that don’t blog (HubSpot).
Not all your customers have a background in technology, and many don’t even know that technology tools can be the solution to their company’s problems.
Companies that increase their blog posts, from 3 to 8 a month, double their potential customers (HubSpot).
Educate your visitors with valuable content, and build their trust with you. Little by little you will end up becoming their first choice for buying technology.
2. Video marketing
Using audiovisual content as a marketing tool is an established practice in many markets, but you may not have seen much of video marketing in technology. And you may be wondering, how important is it to use video content? As the importance of video content continues to grow, brands are finding more and more creative ways to use multimedia elements.
Videos are able to touch the more emotional side of people. They can generate inspiration, excitement, motivation, a whole host of emotions. And yes, you can create emotions to sell technology using video marketing. At a time when it is so important to connect with buyers, to reinforce your relationship with them, it is a fantastic method not only to convey the values of your brand, but also to attract new users to your website. We can’t forget to mention the great positioning potential of videos on Google.
Until now, technology companies used videos occasionally to share random content on YouTube or other social networks, but the truth is that it is a fantastic attraction tool, so what better than to take advantage of the full potential of video for your marketing strategies? Positioning, engagement, creation of brand awareness, are essential to boost your online presence, and you can achieve all this by creating attractive videos for your audience.
Do you still have doubts about using videos as a marketing tool? Here are some numbers that demonstrate the rise of video as a marketing strategy for 2019.
81% of companies use video as a marketing tool (HubSpot).
Although more and more companies are using video marketing, the right strategy can convey a unique and differentiating message to your potential customers.
48% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their marketing strategy in 2019 (HubSpot).
YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google.
Including a video in your page content drives an increase in organic SERP traffic of 157% (Brightcove).
Use the potential of video marketing to drive more traffic to your website, and moreover, qualified traffic to convert into customers if you run targeted campaigns.
By 2019, video will account for 80% of global internet traffic (Cisco).
Launch your first marketing videos in the technology sector and start standing out from your competition.
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Using artificial intelligence tools (AI Marketing) is a method to take advantage of customer data already collected, anticipate the user’s next move and improve their journey and path on your website. You are probably already aware of the many opportunities that AI is bringing, especially in the technology sector, but what can you achieve by applying AI to your online marketing strategy?
According to a PwC study, 72% of digital marketing experts consider AI a business advantage. (PwC, 2018) The evolution of Big Data and advanced analytics solutions have made it possible for marketers to build a clearer picture of their targeted audiences than ever before, and in this multitude of advancements lies AI marketing. While this definition provides an overview and some basic AI tools, today they form an important part of strategies in the technology marketplace and there are many more being researched and developed.
AI is not a set of obscure isolated initiatives but a technology that, in the long term, will bring very disruptive changes to marketing worldwide thanks to its advantages:
Smarter searches
Artificial Intelligence solutions, together with Big Data, can analyse human search patterns and help identify key areas where you can focus your efforts.
Chatbots.
Chatbots are part of marketing automation, simulating conversations with customers automatically and achieving progressively greater perfection from their basic beginnings. This technology promises advantages such as cost savings in customer service staff and a more reactive and efficient interaction with the user.
Machine learning
AI tools can not only be used to uncover hidden data once, but can also learn to incorporate previously discovered information into new campaigns, optimising outreach to target only the most relevant users. This continuous learning will in the long run effectively eliminate wasted resources, increase conversions and ensure even more efficient marketing methodologies.
Developing smarter online ads
With the abundance of data available, online ads can become more intelligent and effective. AI solutions can drill down into keyword searches, social profiles and other online data to get results based on a human level of behaviour.
4. Voice Technology
Since its early days, there has been much talk about voice search, the technology that allows users to search the Internet by verbally formulating a question using smartphones, computers or other approved devices. Thanks to this technology, the user receives an answer from a search engine or a digital assistant without spending time typing on their devices.
Aware of its full potential, technology giants have launched voice search devices such as Amazon Echo and Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, Google Home and many more, focusing not only on basic tasks such as navigation, questions and answers, but also on activities such as online ordering, booking, managing emails, calendars, etc.
Voice search is not only a tool of the future that allows us to rank better in Google and other search engines, but the present and statistics show that it is becoming part of the everyday life of consumers. And of course, of your potential customers.
The global market for voice search devices grew by 187% in the second quarter of 2018. (Canalys)
That’s why in 2019 tech marketing wants to bet on harnessing the potential of voice search to gain a greater online presence.
Apple, Google, Xiaomi, Amazon and other manufacturers collectively shipped 16.8 million units of voice search devices in the first quarter of 2018.(Canalys)
A fascinating number of devices, right? Then you can get an idea of how important it is to adjust your marketing efforts to this new consumer trend.
55% of teenagers use voice technology every day (Citrusbits).
Are young people part of your buyer personas? Well, now is the time to leverage voice search to make a bigger impact on your teenage audience.
Mobile phone voice searches are three times more likely to provide location-specific information (SearchEngineWatch).
This way, you will be able to analyse the impact of your strategies in your geographical area.
Images: (CC BY-SA 2.0) Matthew Hurst | (CC BY 2.0) JD Hancock | (CC BY 2.0) Maurizio Pesce
