Ryan Alford [00:00:00] On today's episode of the Radical Company podcast, I sit down with our digital marketing manager at Radical. And we break down some of the 2020 marketing trends that we see coming. We also do a little flashback and evaluate some of the major trends that were out there for 2019 thumbs up or thumbs down or whether or not those came true. That and more on today's Radical company podcast. 

Ryan Alford [00:00:31] Hey guys, what's up? Welcome back to another episode of the radical company podcast. It's been a few weeks, but we did want to get at it today. I'm joined by Josh Hill, our digital guru. I'm going to call you Digital guru. He's a digital digital marketing manager here at Radical and really excited to have you all on the podcast with us. Josh is going to be a regular here. I'm forcing everyone on the team to get more active on the podcast. But thanks for joining me, Josh. 

Josh Hill [00:00:58]: Yeah, glad to be here. 

Ryan Alford [00:00:59]: So we've got some good topics today. We're going to look at what we're seeing as 20/20 trends in both marketing overall and digital marketing. And we're also going to have a little fun look back. I think, anyone can make observations and prognosticate and look into the crystal ball, but how accurate are we? So we're actually going to do a fun little segment at the beginning, looking at some of the trends. We looked at five to 10 of the top most searched trends for twenty nineteen. This list primarily was pulled from entrepreneur and Inc.com list. But we're going to look back at the top five from there and we're going to do a little lightning round of yes or no. Did these things truly become trends or are they still in the wait and see mode and or never coming? So I think most of them, we probably agree they're coming, but a little behind the first one. Josh, I got it for you. Voice search was all the rage because that Alexa hey, I think neither one of us disagree. We're all using voice more. It's coming. We're definitely looking at it more for our clients. We're talking about it. But did voice search really become the trend, a big trend of twenty nineteen. Yea, thumbs down on that one. It was talked about a lot, but I've never personally done it. Like I use Alexa at home for everything from the user timer. A lot for cooking. And maybe the weather every now and then but I'm just not ordering goods regularly. I'm not saying hey Alexa, what's the price of toilet paper? And, no doubt it's coming, but I don't see, 

Josh Hill [00:02:52] It’s happening now, but it's not the majority for sure. 

Ryan Alford [00:02:54] Yeah, there's you guys have it at home, right? Yeah. So, I mean, anyone like actively voice searching instead of because people are going to say they say I'm going to take over Essere. But I'm still on my phone. More than anything else, it takes two seconds. I know it's about removing friction being easy, but I just don't see this as quite here yet.

Josh Hill [00:03:17] Beyond just playing music and saying the weather. That's kind of it.

Ryan Alford [00:03:21] Do you and I don't know what's going to make it kind of go over the hill or the mountain faces more people doing it, but it still feels like we're, I think, climbing the mountain. 

Josh Hill [00:03:33] They're definitely trying to force it, especially with the whole Spotify and Google home mini free giveaway they were doing all year. 

Ryan Alford [00:03:41] Yeah, exactly. So number 2 micro influencers. I think we both give the thumbs up, this one, especially with our clients doing it with ambassadors on the e-commerce side, smaller niche audiences. I think you're seeing large brands, media brands kind of realize now, number one, they don't have the budget necessarily to hire the rock for every product launch. But I think this one's definitely taking hold and is going to grow even more in 2020. Do you follow or do you feel like you're making purchases personally from people in your circle? 

Josh Hill [00:04:20] Sometimes. It depends on what it is. But I think the people who are in that kind of like 1 to 10000 range of followers kind of talking about what they actually enjoy and what they actually like is I think that's a really powerful messaging. 

Ryan Alford [00:04:37] I think it's the authenticity more than anything, because you just assume someone's got five hundred thousand followers and quasi celebrity to celebrity. That there's probably money involved. 

Josh Hill [00:04:51] Most people just assume that anyway. 

Ryan Alford [00:04:52] Yeah, exactly. So we'll give the micro influencers. OK, that one's come to fruition. Three on our list, visual searches. So I'm at a store, take a picture of something and it brings up immediate content based on an algorithm that finds Google with your camera and things like that. It's another one of those where I definitely use the camera to take a picture of something to remind me later. Hey, go look that up. But I'm not using the technology, per say, of scanning the Internet based on the picture of Josh’s yellow mug. Telling me where to buy it and how much it is and every other color of paint that it's on, I don't know if I give this another one that's dragging a bit. 

Josh Hill [00:05:37] Yeah, definitely. It's just not as practical as I think people thought it would be. 

Ryan Alford [00:05:42] And I think that's probably the big word. It's like some of these things just aren't as practical. And we want things to be convenient. We want it to be easy. But it's I don't know if we've surpassed that with a visual search or the voice search just yet. Vertical video like we give this one a thumbs up. Working with small to medium businesses like we do, we're definitely doing the video at scale for them. It's just more approachable, more affordable, more realistic. And I think clients are realizing it and the biggest brands are definitely doing it. And so you're going to hear what exactly does vertical video mean? A lot of things. But if you think about omni channel, you think about YouTube, TV, connected TV, digital TV, Facebook, Instagram, all of these places where you can post video, it's all about are we able to distill those messages in different ways across different mediums and not just having a 30 second commercial in it, playing everywhere at the same time? And I think people have definitely adapted that. I think it's another one of those like micro influencers that's just going to continue to grow. 

Josh Hill [00:06:58] Yeah, I mean, it just looks better on the feed and definitely in stories it's with screens getting bigger and bigger. So it's more immersive filling up the whole screen. It feels more intimate and more connected. 

Ryan Alford [00:07:11] Yeah. And I know from the ads standpoint, we've seen it when we've distilled it or done it differently across mediums. We see better performance, right? So, all right. No, I keep having to look back to my phone. I had this in my notes. So if you're listening, you aren't quite able to see this. But if you're on video and I keep going on my phone, I'm not checking my messages. I'm just checking my notes here. Alright AR VR. There you go. Virtual reality is here in 2019. I don't think so. Another one of those heads not in the sand coming one day. Yeah, no doubt. But boy, it is not here yet. No matter what Facebook want to do with there, we're just seeing some holiday commercials. I don't know anyone using it in any kind of sophisticated practical way. 

Josh Hill [00:08:07] Yes. Just so much work to just get it cranked out. And then at the end of it, someone just goes, well, that's cool. 

Ryan Alford [00:08:14] That and I have a headache and I'm dizzy. Yeah, I did a couple, I went to a couple of shows and I put the headset on. I'm like, cool, I can see where this is going, but man headache and it is not practical over here yet. So thumbs down on AR VR. So those are the top five in the lightning round of twenty nineteen trends that have not come to fruition. So let's turn now to 2020. We really wanted to get practical. There's a million things that we could talk about, but we wanted to be practical in what we see as marketing consumer overall digital plays certainly a role digital's role in everything now in 2020. And so we're going to start with number one. This term that you're hearing batted around. It's called digital detox. We're always on our phones, our heads are down, college kids are on social media all the time, all day, there's a little bit of a backlash or a lot of a backlash where people are just getting tired. Yeah, they need a break. And I think that is going to be prevalent, I think more and more where you're going to see these break periods. And I think it's less about the sky is falling. Oh, no, it's all back to printed material and all that. And I think that's where the traditionalists are hoping. Oh, yes, we're going back to the newspaper. No, we're not saying that. But I do think we've got to be practical and realistic in, again, telling the right stories, the right message at the right time to the right people being contextual to not make this even more of wear out than we're already seeing. Do you think about this, Josh? 

Josh Hill [00:10:01] I think definitely you have to be a lot more. Kind of intentional about what you're putting out there, I think the pendulum swung too far and it was too easy to put out a lot of content really fast. And so it was just a wall of noise from everyone. And I think it's kind of moving back to where people want higher quality messaging that's more direct than actually speaking to someone and more involved instead of just kind of we'll just throw this out here. 

Ryan Alford [00:10:27] And I think you've seen that with companies like the phone makers, like how much time you spent. There's things there's apps. I think you're going to see an increase of that. And I think instead of hiding from being worried about it, I think the companies that will embrace it, either encouraging it, being realistic or developing their app, they're content with that in mind. And being a steward of embracing the reality that we do need breaks from, content and stimulation at all times, for lack of better words, and I think the brands that will embrace this in the right way and maybe sponsor it. There you go. Like latch onto it can still win. And so digital detox, we see that in increasing and I think you're going to see that it kind of plays in the number two, which is the Demetrification, which is a difficult word for me to say. Demetrification of social media. So what does that mean? It means, like you've been hearing, if you've been paying attention, likes going away on Instagram or Facebook, not being able to see the levels of engagement so that everyone isn't so self aware. On how many people looked at my thing. I mean, you have kids like, going into depression. And I think everyone's also changed the content because everyone's trying to rig the algorithm. And so they are all doing content they think is going to get the amount of likes. And, it's just kind of changed. Not only society maybe, but you just don't want kids in particular, not focus on kids. I know adults are doing it, too. Yeah, no doubt. But the self-esteem and you don't want to be raising a society of people that are so reliant upon some digital measure that really has nothing to do with their self-worth and self value. But this is coming. Whether it's what we see headlines for next week. It's coming next year, I think, without a doubt, to either Instagram or Facebook or both. 

Josh Hill [00:12:41] We'll probably see some test communities get and taken away soon. But it'll definitely whenever Facebook, Instagram test things. 

Ryan Alford [00:12:48] So if I'm a brand, Josh, I mean, what's your thoughts on this? I mean, well, I can't see how many people this person likes and finding the right influencers and stuff like that. I think it might lead into one of the trends that you're high on that we've been talking to clients with. But overall, what are your thoughts on it for brands? 

Josh Hill [00:13:09] I think it can be a good thing if you think if you lean into it, like you said, adapt to it. If you're messaging, speaks to your audience, if your audience and you're connected with them, then it's not really going to change anything. In fact, it could be even better because you're not really relying on a number of likes which can be influenced by hashtags or bought stuff like that. You're going to have more direct feedback of maybe someone might message you or people are going to respond better. That kind of leads into the building your communities. 

Ryan Alford [00:13:44] And one other thing I'll say before Josh jumps into that trend, if you're a brand and you're seeing this in like, “oh, no, we won't know how many people they other people won't know and we won't be as popular” and all that. There are still metrics you will still be able to see. You will still be a report to our clients, what's working, what's not, what's the engagement levels? Because we'll be able to see this. Yeah, but all of your followers will not. And so there's no question that will have an impact, but will actually be able to maybe get focused on the right things. And I think what it's also if I was a gambling man, which I used to be the I think you're going to see software. There's going to be SAS companies built on top of this that are somehow because it's being read, there's probably a place where it could be that data can be pulled. Yeah. I guarantee you, you're going to start to see startup companies that will tell how many likes everyone's getting still because someone's going to build businesses. All of this, you remove something, but it's still kind of there. There's a data pool somewhere waiting to be had. There's going to be somewhere. But I do think you're going to see businesses built on top of the backs of this. You're going to see analytics on the back in with agencies even more important, because it's not just as easy as going and seeing definitively how much another business, how many likes they have. So that competitive reporting will be even more important because you can't just eyeball test certain things just taking glances at your competition or other things like that. So it's going to be interesting. It's coming. I think this is a practical one. You need to be ready for it. And that leads into number three. 

Josh Hill [00:15:22] What we call this group marketing? 

Ryan Alford [00:15:27] Group building group think group marketing, the proliferation of digital groups. That's already been happening. But I think we see it even taking off more. 

Josh Hill [00:15:38] Yeah. I think these are definitely really big on Facebook and LinkedIn for sure. And these are your communities or your groups. A lot of businesses are jumping in with either existing groups or they're building their own branded groups of. Like Taco Bell could jump in the fast food group or they can make their own Taco Bell like a big super fan group. I think that's a great way for companies to get involved with their audience. I think social media is a great way to spread your messages, but you can kind of build that wall. We are no longer connected with people. There's people who are not coming into your store and you're not having conversations with them as much. So I think this is a great way to get feedback and get a lot of people can give quality feedback like, oh, this would make the product better or this is how I use it. And so you can get that information of like, oh, people are using this differently than I thought they would be. You kind of adapter messaging to speak to others who might be able to benefit from your service or product, stuff like that. 

Ryan Alford [00:16:42] I totally agree. I call this the digital grassroots. Yeah. So 10, 20 year, I guess 15, 20. I age myself a bit. Your grassroots marketing, it used to be mass media. You got outdoor radio, TV and now put mass social media, mass media. Now the digital age. I call this like grassroots like this is almost like the door to door community grassroots stuff in a digital forum. It's the digital grassroots proliferation. And it's not just because these things have been happening. Yeah, I think that's what you're saying. But I think companies getting involved and being more authentic, me being more engaged in those conversations and providing value is the real opportunity.

Josh Hill [00:17:32] I would challenge companies to look beyond likes and a lot of people get stuck on one metric and they're not having they're getting all these like quantification data and not this like quality data. And it's not that they're not just kind of like not engaging with their audience as well as they should be. I think that's a sum. I think it's a lot of room for growth in social media of actually connecting to your customers. And that's the thing.

Ryan Alford [00:17:58] People, brands, small, big, large, they love the quick, easy fixes of digital ads and getting the message out there. Yeah, it takes time, effort and true group think to get in those conversations. Yeah, it takes resources. Let's be honest, because to have those authentic messages and communication, you've got to take the time to really be processing what the customers or the consumers are saying and providing value in context to what they're doing. So tremendous opportunity that social media and because you couldn't do it scale 15 years ago. Unless you had your grassroots marketing teams, your street teams, now it's like your digital street team. I'm just creating words and take all the business models left and right for you out there. So fourth or fifth, we get six today. I'm going to keep beating this drum. This is forever being in marketing forever. But now that you can buy just about anything on Amazon and you've got unlimited choice, brand is more important than ever. So what do I mean by that? Yes, it's your logo. Yes, it's your colors. Yes, it's design, but it's the experience and it's the way you make your customers feel and it's the connection that you have with your customers. I think that connection is a big word. I think it's, again, the emotional impact when people do business with you or see your company or when you see that Nike swoosh or you see that BMW logo or you see that Audi logo or you see that Gucci logo. Yes, there's an emotional impact of those things that those brands have created over time. Yeah. And back to work with small to medium businesses. The budgets are tighter, the time is shorter, and everyone wants results today. But consumers have a lot of choice and you have to. Do the time you have to make them feel and think and act a certain way, and that takes an investment in your brand and in your content and in your community involvement and in putting a stand for something, your belief system that is more important now than it ever was. And I think it'd be real easy to say, well, everyone who's started an e-commerce business now we can just go direct to consumer goods as a brand when you have unlimited choice. Brand is everything. Yeah. Thoughts on it. 

Josh Hill [00:20:45] Definitely something that's ignored, especially with the availability of metrics and numbers to look at, and everyone panics when they don't see the numbers going up immediately. But this is something that can take years to build, to build that brand and build that like shared experience among a bunch of different people, because it's all like that, 

Ryan Alford [00:21:10] It’s such short term thinking. Yeah, everyone builds this thing and they think, oh, we're going to sell it for seven figures in a year. Yeah. And unless you have an idea, an Uber-esque idea and even Uber took some time like unless you have something that truly is moves, the market solves a problem that no one else has solved immediately. And you have a robust engine behind you short of that. And even that takes time. That's not an eight month initiative. Yeah, but it's kind of like these things are polar opposite of each other. Everything's got faster. Everything's gotten more convenient, everything's more readily available. Everybody wants it. Doesn't have time for anything. Yeah. And they want to build Brand the same way, and 

Josh Hill [00:22:00] It doesn't work that way. 

Ryan Alford [00:22:02] And, it's like they're polar opposites and that's what people expected in business and. We certainly understand the financials owning a business. I understand the financial aspect of that, but I'm also realistic. I'm not trying to cash out in four months. I'm not trying to cash out in eight months. I'm not trying to build a business and a brand and a legacy and to have other means and other reasons for doing this than absolute ROIC in a month. And so what does that mean? Well, that's how much money I had to you then. You need to have two businesses or three things or other income streams. And I'm talking like on a personal level here, but even bigger brands, they've got to invest, create a strategy, stick with it. Yeah. And know that if you are truly. Connecting and providing value to the consumer and finding value to the consumer that will come back around. But everybody wants the yesterday brand, it's more important than ever when availability is everywhere, trend number five, number six finally is. New. Well, we call them channels, we'll call them channels, social channels, tick tock and LinkedIn quickly, what do we think about that, Josh? I like both of them. 

Josh Hill [00:23:25] They're like the complete opposite spectrums, almost. 

Ryan Alford [00:23:29] Oh, yeah. Total opposite one.

Josh Hill [00:23:30] So informative. The other one is doesn't I don't even know what to call it, but sometimes in Florida, sometimes it's just completely ridiculous. 

Ryan Alford [00:23:40] What's our age. We're getting to that point where clients are asking, what do we need to be on? TikTok. The practical answer is no. Unless you're selling a product that's primarily going to 14 to 18 year olds. Yeah. And there are a lot of products to do that. But what are your thoughts? 

Josh Hill [00:23:58] I think I mean, if you just want to show off yourself as a fun, a fun company that's just trying to make people laugh or, 

Ryan Alford [00:24:09] I don't know. And 14 year olds are going to be 24 year olds, eventually 18 year olds are going to be 30 year old. So you get ahead of it. But it's just working with small to medium businesses, with limited budget, limited resources. Yeah. Pepsi can play in this space. Yes, Home Depot can play in the space. If you're a niche business with limited resources, limited time. If you got an intern, throw them on there and do whatever. But it's not that practical unless you're truly selling. Teen toys or teen clothes or teen things, and that doesn't mean it's not coming. It doesn't mean that as an agency we're not exploring it and looking at it and paying very close attention to it and testing it. We absolutely are. But for most, it's not that practical. LinkedIn is way more practical for every business. Yeah, I am high on LinkedIn. If I was smoking something, I'd be smoking LinkedIn. Right now. We're getting we're going on the edge here on Radical is the radical podcast that we aren't smoking anything today. But I am smoking LinkedIn figuratively because I just think it's the organic reach is incredible. Yeah. And if you're really on the platform paying attention, there's just so much opportunity without communication. It's just not. Everyone there's also a consumer. Yeah, and so as the scales gone up, yes, it's B to B and yes, that is primary. I don't want to confuse the issue, but we're encouraging our B2C clients to also be considerate, talking about their products, doing it there, because not only, yeah, you might make a manufacturer Delord. Those are the lowest hanging fruit. Yeah, but these are consumers and it's at scale now with the number of people on every Tom, Dick and Harry that's on there also buys things, also does things, also has influence. And so, I would double down on LinkedIn. 

Josh Hill [00:26:11] Well, the statistics show it's definitely the top three most engaged audiences. Most engage social media platforms. And then the content you put out there, like the organic interactions, are like crazy and everyone likes to read it and stuff, but it also lasts for a lot longer. Like, you'll see you'll see content. That's from two months ago, still on the top page of your feed, whereas Facebook and Instagram, it won't show up even if it was like 30 minutes ago. 

Ryan Alford [00:26:40] Exactly, which is what Facebook was eight years ago. And this is why the one sees your posts anymore on Facebook. For those listening, aren't sure what organic Ritsch means. LinkedIn were really big on ad tools were incredible as well. Those are your practical 2020 marketing trends. We're deploying those for our clients. We really recommend that we're going to have a blog post on this. You're going to see more content, but that is today's Lightning Round on looking back at 20, 19 and looking ahead to 2020. Josh, appreciate you coming on. Of course. Looking forward to do it again. And that's today's radical podcast. We'll see you soon.