With the marketing sector experiencing change at breakneck speed, marketers are constantly on the lookout for the latest trends. At LinkedIn’s recent Make Mine a Manhattan event, leading marketers from more 50 organizations were in attendance. Event moderators asked them to share their thoughts on the forces that will shape the marketing industry in 2019 and beyond.
Here is a highlight of the top marking trends marketers should follow when it comes to branding in 2019.
Key Marketing Trends for 2019
Six key trends identified by the marketers we interviewed are also highlighted below.
1. Content marketing must become a center of excellence
Andrew Goldman, Senior Director of B2B Content Marketing at TIAA Financial Services, said, “Organizations, particularly in B2B, are really going to commit to having content marketing as a center of excellence.” He suggested that while there is a strong will to bring content generation in-house, this will not be without its challenges.
2. Lead generation isn’t enough: marketers need to build their brand
Several marketers emphasized the need to build trust and demonstrate authenticity as key issues facing marketers. In a keynote speech, LinkedIn strategist Peter Weinberg highlighted the importance of brand building, suggesting the increasing focus on lead gen marketing needs to be challenged. Citing research by the Institution of Practitioners in Advertising he said, “Direct response works incredibly well out of the gate, but you get diminishing returns over time. It takes 30 months for branding to really ramp up, but then it quickly becomes more effective.”
3. Start with who
Weinberg also articulated the increasing demand for true customer-centricity. Using the example of Netflix as the ultimate radically individualistic, data-driven model, Weinberg suggested that the traditional B2B approach based on third party data and static personas is starting to evolve and that LinkedIn can partner with marketers to help drive this change. “You will see huge amounts of investment in LinkedIn over the next year or so in helping you understand what people are actually consuming on the platform, so you can deliver more relevant advertising,” he said. Also visit our B2B Trends website more of Weinberg and team’s insight into the trends shaping the future of marketing.
4. Context is king
Bryan Harmon, Senior Director, Demand Generation at ADP, spoke of customers’ increasing expectation of staying in-platform throughout their journey: “If I engage in a certain platform, I expect to be able to complete my transaction and experience directly in that platform.”
With this in mind, a quality platform which provides the right context for B2B businesses is becoming more important than ever. As Penry Price, Vice President of Marketing Solutions at LinkedIn, said, “Context has re-emerged as something which is incredibly valuable.”
5. Big data needs a human lens
LinkedIn Insights lead Jennifer Brett reminded marketers of the crucial importance of focusing on the human element when using big data. As Jennifer pointed out, we are creating almost unimaginable amounts of data globally every day – 2.5 quintillion bytes to be precise – with LinkedIn very much a part of that big data universe. “Leading the Insights team here, I feel very privileged that we get to work with such rich and unique data,” Brett said. “It’s this sort of data that enables marketers to really understand who their target audience is. But our real job is taking that data, giving it context, and bringing it together into a compelling narrative.”
6. Targeting will become more sophisticated
Aniko DeLaney, Global Head of Corporate Marketing for BNY Mellon, believes marketers will increasingly need to use data to personalize the client experience effectively. “We are really trying to target the right message, for the right person, at the right time,” she said. This deepening and strengthening of personalization capabilities will only be possible by combining big data with effective analysis and insight.
