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Marketing continues to become more and more personal to consumers. The approaching holidays make it easy to create personal connections with your customers, but keeping the momentum going strong in the New Year takes adaptability. Ads on social media are still massively profitable, but growing tech trends mean it’s time to be innovative with your outreach if you want to stay ahead of the curve.

The New Year is a great time for you to take charge of content creation, implement fresh branding updates, and ensure that everything looks cohesive. It’s time to go beyond images and videos on social media and get inventive with the Google Home and Amazon Alexa smart speakers. According to socialreport.com, more than half of smart speaker owners say they couldn’t live without them. This opens an expanding platform for audio content that reaches new demographics. It also treads into A.I., which makes personalized suggestions based on a person’s interests and previous searches. It’s helpful for delivering the right content to current clients and it can effortlessly attract new ones.

Competition in business will grow immensely in 2019 as smaller companies, who had yet to join the Facebook or Instagram ad worlds, are following suit. Because of this, you should anticipate advertising costs to rise. Facebook may no longer be as profitable for you unless you can reach out to customers in real time. Stay ahead of the game; if you’re not diligent on social media, you don’t exist.  You should consider personalized ads and emails that make your customer feel like everything you do is tailored just for him/her.

This may sound scary, but you’re also a PR leader at your company. You’re responsible for what the public sees, and therefore, the company’s reputation. Think from the perspective of a publicist in regards to the content that your company shares. Don’t forget about how powerful product reviews and ratings are. They not only speak to the product or service you offer but to your customer service and how your company engages with people. Since automation is beginning to take over, authenticity is essential. People are much more likely to buy from someone (or a business) they feel a connection to.

This is also a time to consider what kind of environment you and your team are working in and if it adds value to your work or not. Working remotely is gradually gaining popularity as it saves money on everything from electricity to commuting costs. Time and time again studies find that companies that allow their employees the flexibility to work from home have less employee turnover, lower maintenance costs, and higher profits. The flexibility of location and schedule can be effective for increasing productivity and profit because it makes employees feel valued, trusted, and less stressed. Communication is not a problem either as there are an increasing number of fantastic apps and programs that connect everyone, and their work, in the team (i.e. Slack).

With technology and its applications growing, consumerism is transforming. Much of a company’s value, whether it’s public opinion or profits, is linked to the advertising and marketing of their brand. That makes you and your marketing team vital members of any business. Be tenacious in your pursuit of knowledge - make it your mission to be continually updated on media and trades to help your company understand their financial position and what you can do to stay ahead in the coming year.