The 7 Biggest Marketing Trends to Avoid This Year

In the business world, staying up-to-date on the latest marketing trends is important to remain competitive. But it’s just as important to know which trends you should avoid. Every year, businesses are faced with new marketing trends that they are supposed to follow. While some of these trends can be helpful, others can do more harm than good. There have been a lot of interesting marketing trends over the last few years, but there are also some that haven’t quite hit the mark. This year, it’s important to know which strategies to avoid and focus your energies on something more effective. Among the biggest trends that are not recommended for this year include strategies focused on overly aggressive or intrusive tactics, trend-hopping or jumping on every new idea, failing to develop an effective digital strategy, pursuing quick fixes instead of long-term goals, feeling overwhelmed by data instead of leveraging it, and treating customers as numbers rather than people. This blog post will discuss the seven biggest marketing trends to avoid this year!

Overly Promotional Advertising

Companies looking to remain successful and competitive this year must be aware of the biggest marketing trend to avoid overly promotional advertising. Overly promotional advertising can be damaging to a company’s reputation, as well as put potential customers off. Instead of aggressively promoting products or services and aiming solely to increase sales, businesses should focus more on engaging with their target market. This can include content that educates their readers, debunks myths and preconceptions around their sector, or offers helpful advice related to their mission and goals. Not only is this an effective way of reaching people without relying too heavily on oversimplified sales messaging, but it also prioritizes long-term bonds between companies and subscribers over short-term revenue goals. If you are selling area rugs, you could write an article on interior decorating ideas that include area rugs or the best ways to care for and maintain carpets.

Buying Followers

The marketing landscape is always changing, and this year there are certain trends online businesses should avoid. One of the biggest trends to watch out for is purchasing followers on social media sites. While it may appear like an acceptable idea to purchase followers to appear more popular, it can have drastic consequences for your business. These ‘followers’ are not necessarily genuine, and this can have adverse effects on your brand rather than improve it; potential customers will be able to tell that the followers don’t care about your product or brand, so why should they? Buying followers isn’t worth the risk and is not a trend worth keeping up within 2020.

Automation without Personalization

Automating marketing activities, like customer segments and personalized messaging, is a tempting strategy to help save time. However, it’s important to remember that just because technology gives us the power to execute tasks faster doesn’t mean that our audience will be satisfied with watered-down content. Personalization can mean adding something as simple as someone’s name in an email or ensuring customer messages are tailored based on their current journey stage. Without addressing customers individually, businesses risk their messages not resonating strongly enough and being ignored. Overall, avoiding automation without personalization regarding marketing this year is critical to delivering successful customer experiences.

Focusing too much on Social Media Platforms

With the lure of social media platforms such as Instagram, it can be easy to focus too much on these seemingly invaluable marketing sources in the New Year. However, businesses should avoid focusing their primary marketing efforts only on these platforms. Surveys have shown that customers want more personal experiences with brands, seek increased customer service, and have a stronger connection to businesses. The biggest trend for successful businesses this year will instead be aimed at creating meaningful relationships with their customers. This task requires dedicated attention to strategies beyond relying solely on social media platforms. For example, if you sell Hand Knotted Rugs, you should focus your marketing efforts on building customer relationships through personal interactions. This could include offering custom designs, personalized service, and regular communication to ensure customer satisfaction. Additionally, investing in high-quality photography and video content would be beneficial to highlight product details that can’t be communicated through text or images alone.

Not Utilizing Visual Content

Visual content remains incredibly important for businesses looking to reach a larger audience. Visual content such as images and videos can be essential for marketing success in 2020. Those not utilizing visual content for marketing purposes may find that their efforts do not meet the same levels of engagement as brands that actively use visuals. With platforms like Instagram becoming increasingly popular, it’s essential to inspire customers and generate interest by creating striking visuals. For those still trying to get ahead on their marketing strategy this year, neglecting visuals could put them at risk of being left behind by competitors. Like most other marketing tactics, keeping visuals fresh and up-to-date is key. Try to keep your visuals as current as possible to stay competitive.

Additionally, be sure to utilize analytics tools that enable you to track how well your visual content is performing. This will give your insight into what works best for your target audience and can help you optimize your visuals for better results. Visuals can also build relationships with customers by informing them of upcoming events, offering promotions or discounts, and showing how they benefit from the company’s products or services.

Not Doing Your Research

This year more than ever, businesses need to ensure they’re on top of their marketing strategies. One thing that should be avoided at all costs is not doing your research. Not being adequately prepared can result in costly mistakes, particularly when launching a new campaign or product. To ensure your efforts are award-winning, it’s important to understand your customer base, how the market is trending for similar products and services, and keep up with emerging technologies in the industry. Doing thorough research could very well be the difference between the success and failure of this year’s strategy – so don’t neglect it!

Forgetting About Mobile Users

Moving into the New Year, businesses need to keep up with the latest trends in the marketing world. This includes considering all types of means when promoting a product or service. However, one trend that should be avoided this year is forgetting about mobile users. With over 50% of internet traffic coming from smartphones and tablets, an effective marketing strategy has to include reaching out to these customers who might not access websites through a computer or laptop. If a business solely focuses on desktop-only marketing strategies and overlooks mobile users, they miss out on many potential customers and reduce overall conversions. For example, a website should be optimized for mobile devices so customers can have a smooth, user-friendly experience. Companies should also consider using pay-per-click, or PPC campaigns, to reach mobile users through banner and video ads.

Conclusion

As we enter a new year, be sure you’re aware of these seven marketing trends so that you can steer clear of them this year! By avoiding these tactics and focusing instead on strategies that bring real value and engagement rather than simply “buying followers” or sending generic emails and message, you’ll be able to create campaigns that resonate with existing customers while attracting prospective ones! RugKnots, a rug-selling website, is a perfect example; it updates its website regularly with new and trendy rugs for customers. Additionally, optimizing for mobile devices is essential to ensure that you reach your intended audience and maximize overall conversions.

Comment below with your successful strategies to market your business!

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your digital marketing project!