Digital marketing has increased, and it continues to grow. Among its changes, we’ve also witnessed the arrival of a new era of influencer marketing known as Influencer Marketing 2.0. Brands are now partnering with micro-influencers, cultivating genuine connections with their audience, and much more. 

Is influencer marketing the next big thing? Let’s discuss this in detail.

The Role of Micro-Influencers in Influencer Marketing 2.0

When you think of ‘influencer marketing,’ you might picture celebrity collaborations or influencers with millions of followers. On the contrary, most brands prefer to partner with micro-influencers, who have around 1,000 to 10,000 followers. Don’t let the numbers fool you because micro-influencers are what drive the success of Influencer Marketing 2.0.

This recent trend of digital marketing reflects a desire for authenticity and meaningful connections. It’s why micro-influencers who seem relatable and trustworthy to their audience garner more engagement. In fact, their recommendations seem so genuine that 82% of consumers are likely to follow through with them. 

Building Authentic Partnerships

In Influencer-Marketing 2.0, it’s important to build long-term authentic partnerships with these influencers. Brands might prefer one-off collaborations for immediate recommendation and results, but they almost never have a sustained impact.

Instead, treating influencers like business partners can leave a lasting impression on an audience. It signals a trusted relationship between the brand and their favorite influencer while also making the recommendation seem more genuine. 

Other benefits of having a long-term partnership with a micro-influencer include:

• Higher Audience Trust: Micro-influencers often have a loyal following that trusts their opinions. If the influencer were to constantly recommend and represent the brand, it would garner trust in the brand as well. 

• Better Engagement Rates: Since mico-influencers are closer to their audience, they attract more engagement. A long-term partnership can direct steady engagement toward your brand and even encourage discussions about it.

• Build Brand Loyalty: As you can imagine, consistent positive exposure to a brand builds loyalty. Audiences eventually begin to trust your brand and choose it over competitors. 

• Create Authentic Content: Again, authenticity is a huge factor in Influencer Marketing 2.0. A continuous partnership allows influencers to integrate with your brand and create content that’s relatable, natural, and authentic. 

Measuring ROI in Influencer Marketing

Still questioning the effectiveness of Influencer Marketing 2.0? If you ever engage in this form of digital marketing, there are ways to measure your Return On Investment (ROI). Some of them include:

1. 1. Affiliate Links: This involves creating a unique link influencers can use on their social media bios, posts, and stories. Then, you can track the clicks, traffic, and sales gathered from their accounts. 

• Brand Engagement: Monitor the engagement rate each influencer can generate for your brand. You can create a hashtag for the influencer to use and see how popular it gets.  

• Unique Discount Codes: You can assign influencers discount codes and then track the sales they generate. This method also gives insight into each influencer’s performance.

Conclusion

Influencer Marketing 2.0 is all about engaging audiences with authentic and genuine content. Fortunately, micro-influencers can help create this kind of content to build trust and brand loyalty from their audience. 

If you’re still struggling with digital marketing strategies, feel free to consult me, Alex Smale. My years of knowledge and experience in digital marketing can help expand your brand’s reach.

Feel free to contact me, and I’ll be happy to hear your voice.

Did you know that marketing automation can potentially boost sales productivity by 14.5% and cut marketing costs by 12.2%? This technology allows you to personalise your customer’s experience at a much higher level. In this article, we discuss how exactly this is done and the benefits it brings.

How Marketing Automation Personalises Customer Experience

Personalisation is important for any business wanting to succeed in its industry. Marketing automation, defining the future of digital marketing, can make it possible to deliver personalised customer experiences quickly and at a long scale. Here is how it works:

Collecting and Analysing Customer Data

To personalise experiences, you first need to know what your customers like and how they behave. Marketing automation helps collect data from places like your website or past purchases. This data is then used to understand each customer better so the relevant messages and offers can be sent to them. You can get expert help to find the automation tool beneficial for your company. 

Customer Segmentation for Personalised Messages

The next step is to divide your customers into specific groups based on their interests, behaviours, or past actions. Using automation tools, you can create segments like first buyers, frequent buyers, first-time visitors, and even customers who abandon their carts. Once these groups are formed, personalised messages can be sent that speak directly to each segment’s needs. 

Delivering Timely and Relevant Content

Personalisation doesn’t mean you just send customised messages; you also have to deliver the right message at the right time. It is really important to make sure that the content reaches your customers when it’s most relevant to them. With marketing automation, it is easy to schedule and send messages at the perfect time without fear of any delay. 

Automating Interactions Across Channels 

Personalisation is most effective when it reaches customers through multiple channels, such as social media sites or email. Automating your marketing strategies will help you deliver messages to different segments across all the platforms you choose without putting in any extra effort. This is likely one of the greatest benefits of such automation tools. 

Personalised Sales Follow-ups 

Automation guarantees that no lead is ever forgotten. Through market automation, you can send follow-up messages customised to the customer’s action, like a product reminder or a specific offer. This keeps customers interested in the product or service you are promoting. Through this hyper-personalisation, you’ll be able to convert a one-time shopper to a repeat customer. 

Conclusion

Automating your marketing tactics makes personalisation easy, especially if you are scaling your business. You can create a much more meaningful and engaging experience for your customers, boost those stuck sales, and cut down on your previous marketing costs. 

If you are struggling with automating tools and want guidance and help learning what is best for your business, you can contact Alex Smale for a consultation. With my help, you will be able to understand the exact marketing strategy and automation you need to do and see your business growing in no time!

Digital marketing has become a crucial aspect of the success of any business. Additionally, it is advancing day by day, showing no signs of stopping. So, if you haven’t developed or updated your digital marketing strategy yet, you are looking at a major future setback. For more clarity on the topic, it’s vital to understand what major innovations will drive the future of digital marketing. 

Read on to find out as we cover these and the top trends that will be shaping digital marketing by 2030.

What Trends Will Define the Future of Digital Marketing by 2030?

The following are some popular digital trends that you can expect to make waves by the end of the decade.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation

The introduction of AI for digital marketing has been groundbreaking for businesses. You can do real-time analytics to understand consumer behavior and reevaluate your product recommendation strategies. The hyper-personalized targeted marketing engages old customers while consistently attracting many new ones.

Besides this, brands are even using AI chatbots to provide round-the-clock automated customer support. By 2030, this is expected to become more refined, making AI a core part of the future of digital marketing.

Artificial intelligence can do wonders in customer segmentation as well. It can segment the audience around pretty anything, i.e., demographics, choices, decision-making, etc. It allows marketers to target that particular segment of the audience, resulting in more refined leads.

Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Devices

IoT and smart devices are solid marketing tools because of the extremely accurate data you can pull from them. This user-specific data stored in each device is especially beneficial for targeted marketing. It gives a window into consumer behavior to navigate marketing campaigns accordingly.

By 2030, you can expect this technology to be ingrained in most electronic devices to enhance customer experience. Some present-day examples that can help you understand this are smart refrigerators and fitness trackers.

Virtual Reality (VR)

Immersive technologies have started making a mark in many industries like healthcare, gaming, etc. Moving forward, I can see it becoming an integral part of the future of digital marketing. In fact, it’s already being used to provide 360-degree views for products like mobile phones and automobiles.

By 2030, we can expect that VR technology will become a part of standard online and in-person shopping. Not only will consumers be able to experience certain products like clothes, but they will also be able to imagine some services. A good example of this would be travel agencies letting customers experience various destinations before finalizing one for travel.

Voice and Conversational Marketing

Did you know that among people aged between 16-64, 30% of users use voice assistants every week? With its popularity growing day by day, voice searching will become a major digital marketing trend by 2030. That’s why most marketers will have to invest in voice-responsive marketing techniques.

They will also eventually need to use natural language processing to make conversational and answer-focused content as well. Additionally, SEO strategies will be redefined in terms of keyword research, local SEO, and structured data.

Conclusion

Digital marketing trends are ever-changing, and each new one is significantly more effective than the last. If you want consistent growth for your business, it’s important to adapt these trends as they are introduced.  

If you feel lost about how to get started, feel free to connect with me. I’m Alex Smale, a leading digital marketer and  proud owner of the healthcare VR application “Immersicare.” With my years of experience, I can help you devise a digital marketing strategy that will make sure your business is ahead of the wave.

End Of Year Round Up: The Best VR Headsets Of 2024

The rise in popularity of Virtual Reality (VR) has been considerably slow. Still, it has had a significant influence in various industries, including gaming, education, entertainment, and even health care. However, with many models in the market, it’s difficult to determine which one offers the best virtual experience. That’s why I’m here to guide you on some of the best VR headsets of 2024.

By the end of this post, you’ll know exactly which headset will best meet your particular preferences and needs. 

Best VR Headsets of 2024

Here is a list of the best VR headsets of 2024:

1. Best Bang For Buck: The Pimax Crystal Light

For those seeking a high-quality VR without the trouble of a steep cost, the Pimax Crystal Light is your go-to set-up. It features an ultra-sharp resolution of 2880×2880 pixels per eye, with an impressive 35 pixels per degree. The display also uses QLED technology that offers vibrant colors and contrast compared to traditional LCD panels.

It’s also worth noting that the Crystal Light uses the exact same display as its more expensive sibling, the Pimax Crystal. Other significant improvements over the original Crystal include a 200-gram reduction in weight and a redesigned head strap. This means you’re getting the same top-tier display quality and added comfort at a cheaper price.

Pros

• Wide field-of-view (FOV) that contributes to a more immersive experience
• Uses inside-out tracking, which simplifies the setup and makes the headset more user-friendly
• Employs high-quality glass aspheric lenses that contribute to a large sweet spot

Cons

• There’s no eye-tracking feature
• Has a very large and clunky design

2. Best For Budget: Meta Quest 3S

The Meta Quest 3S is the best budget-friendly VR headset, offering impressive performance for its price. Most people would consider this setup to be a watered-down version of its well-received predecessor, the Meta Quest 3. However, Meta Quest 3S still carries more similarities than differences at a much lower price. 

The Meta Quest 3S consists of a Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip along with 8GB of RAM. The combination of both helps deliver twice-as-fast GPU performance, thus catering to faster loading times and overall smoother gameplay. Additionally, the 3S has a dual RGB camera system, allowing for full-color passthrough during mixed-reality games. 

Pros

• Rated for a higher battery life than the Quest 3
• Has an “Action Button” to easily switch between passthrough and immersive modes
• A smoother and less jagged visual experience due to that extra processing power

Cons

• Consists of fresnel lenses, which lead to lower resolution and less sharp visuals
• Lacks the fine-tuning PD (Pupillary Distance) adjustments

3. Overall Best: Somnium VR1

The Somnium VR1 emerges as one of the best VR headsets due to its acute attention to quality. One of the standout features of this headset is its crystal-clear visuals and exceptional brightness, which help add to the immersive experience. Users are able to explore virtual worlds with such stunning details and vivid colors that other headsets dim in comparison. 

Another feature that contributes to VR1’s experience is its expansive FOV. Most high-end headsets feature an FOV of about 130 degrees. So, you’ll be glad to know that the Somnium VR1’s FOV is more than 120 degrees horizontally and 105 degrees vertically. This means you’ll be able to view more of your virtual surroundings at once and feel fully present in the environment. 

Pros

• Accommodates PDs of 58 mm – 76 mm through manual adjustment
• Headset can be fully opened and customized by expert users
• Can enjoy the content without technical glitches or interruptions

Cons

• Does not have built-in audio speakers
• Front-heavy design that weighs on the user’s neck after a while

Conclusion

The VR headset you choose to invest in can make or break your overall virtual experience. So, we’ve narrowed down your search to some of the best VR headsets. To get the most out of your money, go for the Pimax Crystal Light or Meta Quest 3S. If not, you can also consider the Somnium VR1 for overall quality.

Besides this, VR technology can also help improve the quality of life of dementia patients. If you want to help a loved one and learn more about this service, contact me today. I’m Alex Smale, and proud owner of the award-winning VR application, Immersicare.

The 3 Biggest AI Video Tools Shaking Up The Content Creation Market – Remaker AI, Viggle AI, and Krea AI – by Alex Smale

Video content creation, being one of the most lucrative markets today, has been the key to success for many businesses. Whether for affiliate marketing, ads, training tutorials, or simply entertainment, videos are consumers’ preferred medium. However, the creation and editing process can be quite a hassle. Luckily, AI video tools have streamlined this process, making video editing easy and less time-consuming.

Read on as I cover the top 3 AI video tools that can assist in boosting your digital marketing videos.

Top 3 AI Video Tools for Content Creation

With over 200 million content creators worldwide, making content that stands out can be difficult. That’s why I recommend the following  AI tools to raise the quality of your videos:

Remaker AI

Remaker AI is a tool popular among consumers for its seamless face-swapping features. The outcome is so realistic that most videos made by the tool go viral. It’s best used for making gifs and humorous videos for ads and social media reels. 

Another great thing about the tool is its ability to enhance the quality of pre-existing videos. Simply upload any low-resolution video, and AI technology will work its magic in just a few minutes. In the end, you’ll get a high-quality, professional-level video that was originally unusable.

Pros:

• Easy to learn and use, making it great for beginner content creators.
• Supports multiple video formats.
• You get free credits in the beginning to test the features without investing.

Cons:

• The face-swapping feature isn’t as seamless with cluttered backgrounds.
• The loading can be occasionally slow.
• Some basic features cannot be accessed without a VIP membership.

Viggle AI

Viggle AI is designed to be your handy video assistant that creates content according to your text prompts. This helps turn your vision into reality without knowing any complicated editing skills. In fact, you can even use the tool’s pre-existing templates if you’re not sure where to start.

The AI tool also stands out from competitors because of its animation features. You can make unique characters and have them do your desired movements. Then, you can integrate them into your video to make original content.

Pros:

• Has an intuitive interface that can be steered by easy dragging and dropping.
• The tool uses a JST-1 3D physics model to make animation movements look real.
• Multiple users can collaborate on a project.

Cons:

• Some advanced features will take time to learn.
• Text-to-video text prompts may get misinterpreted by the tool.

Krea AI

Krea AI has a video generation feature called Beta Video. Using this feature, you can create your video using text prompts. You can even use negative text prompts if you want to remove something from the generated outcome.

Besides that, the tool also lets you create videos through images. Simply upload the image of your choice and then add animations. Additionally, Krea AI uses deep learning algorithms to enhance the resolution, stability, color, and frame rate of pre-existing videos.

Pros:

• Impressive processing speed.
• Allows you to generate videos from still pictures.
• Users can train personalized AI models to meet their particular style requirements.

Cons:

• You can’t do much with the free plan of the tool.
• The paid plans can be more costly than those of competitor tools.

Conclusion

To grow your business or be a top influencer, video content creation is an essential digital marketing skill to have. All you need to do is experiment with the above-mentioned AI video tools to see which one meets your needs best. Once you find the right one, let your creativity flow to make different styles of video content.

For more digital marketing skills that can bring your business success, contact me, Alex Smale, today. My years of digital marketing experience in various industries are just what you need to put your business on the map.