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Yep, that “voice revolution” is still a thing<\/h2>\n
By 2020, 30% of all searches will be done using devices without screens, and by 2024 the global voice-based smart speaker market could be worth $30 billion<\/a>. This raises some big questions for marketers. How do we account for the shift in how users consume and engage with voice content? How will voice content rank? Will there be opportunities to optimize audio content’s visibility and engagement? Well, to get started:<\/p>\n As predicted last year, 20% of mobile searches are now voice-based and 40% of adults use voice search daily. As a result, the sharpest brands are focusing less on keywords. Instead, they’re creating content in a more natural, conversational tone\u2014and focusing on user intent. As with any technology, your audience should inform how deeply you should invest from a content perspective. The rapid uptake of these tools and devices suggests that voice will continue to grow as an interaction ecosystem for the foreseeable future. See our free voice search white paper<\/a> for more.<\/li>\n As video continues to grow in 2020, look out for NTWRK<\/a>, a website and iPhone app that combines video with ecommerce to give fans first dibs on new merch from their favorite brands. Highly experience driven, it features live, shoppable digital episodes hosted by pop culture personalities. With investors including LeBron James, Warner Brothers, Drake, and Live Nation, NTWRK allows brands to promote products without the logistical challenges of physical events\u2014although they do<\/em> plan to have live events in future.<\/p>\n On the chat and product discovery front is Kik<\/a>, an instant messaging app among the 10 most popular apps among US teens: 70% of users are between 13 and 24 years old, a third of whom use Kik to message both friends and brands. Brands have bots within Kik and users are incentivized to chat directly with them and consume content to earn a cryptocurrency called Kin. There are interactive quizzes and games, while brands can also give users branded GIFs that boost brand awareness and online sentiment. A collaboration between Kik and Paramount for the TMNT movie garnered 147.5 million total impressions and 21 million messages. A marketer’s dream! The platform is being acquired by MediaLab<\/a>, an indication of the potential growth opportunities for this app.<\/li>\n Savvy marketers know that email’s perception as an old school, outdated channel is undeserved. Email is in fact a performance channel that gives brands the opportunity to not only communicate with their audiences one-on-one but also measure its success instantly. In 2020 and beyond, personalized email content will establish itself as a norm rather than a “nice to have”, especially in nurture and retention strategies. Consumers have been demanding content that is relevant to their needs for some time now, and next year we’ll see an extremely low tolerance for mass marketing in the form of redundant, non-segmented email blasts (or spam<\/em>, in other words!).<\/p>\n A significant development to keep in mind here is predictive email\u2014a huge boon for ecommerce brands, who will be able to use automated functions to predict which content will be most engaging for specific recipients<\/a>. Predictive analytics will enable the collection of customer data for further analysis. It will also layer in purchase history, helping brands know which products are bought most often and how often store visits are occurring. With those insights, more brands will know what and when to email customers to maintain a good relationship with them.<\/li>\n\n
Discover, chat, shop: platforms to keep an eye on<\/h2>\n
![\"NTWRK](\"\/wpe-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/NTWRK.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEmail will become a top performance channel<\/h2>\n
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