Dr. Borislav Miljanović, founder and CEO of Represent System, commented on the analysis of marketing trends and gave an answer to the question of how to grow together with the market, all this in his text for the latest edition of PC Press. We are bringing you the published text in its entirety.

How to develop digital channels, along with content marketing, and advance in the market by offering these services? Demand comes gradually as clients are educated and recognize the need for digitalization. How to grow together with the market?

The problem we most often encounter in business is the identification of digital marketing with social media management. Social networks are almost mandatory, but it is only one of the channels of communication with end users. Significant, but not the only one. A modern and well-optimized website as a content hub, an integrated campaign on all digital channels, linked to the original content, can give the best results.

How to attract users’ attention

Today, it is very difficult to attract the attention of users. They are oversaturated with a large amount of content that is displayed and consumed daily. It is difficult to impress a user with something that he would want to share and in that way start creating a viral. For that reason it is very important to have a good idea and the production of interesting content that is adapted to different formats.

You cannot place a billboard on a banner, nor a TV commercial on a YouTube ad. It will not give results. Each channel requires a special creative solution, a special format, one that attracts attention. If you don’t attract the user in three seconds, he’s gone, you lost him.

On the other hand, it has never been easier to place a message through digital channels, i.e. to find yourself in the role of a content creator. More or less all popular platforms are free to use, and advertising is still not that expensive. That is why this is the last moment when companies and brands can hop on the train of digital marketing, which has been running at full speed for a long time. If you are serious about any kind of business, you must advertise on the Internet.

Content personalization is becoming increasingly important. Users expect you to address them directly, to address them by name via an e-mail campaign or by using a chat bot. Also, banner messages are largely personalized with special offers that are the result of retargeting campaigns. This type of advertising gives great results.

And so we come to GDPR, which has had a decisive influence on the use of personal data in advertising and for marketing purposes. Its use in the coming period will significantly regulate all forms of online advertising and provide additional security for Internet users. Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the protection of personal data will undoubtedly continue to be the prime focus of all regulations.

With a little (artificial) intelligence

In recent years, we have witnessed the use of AI (artificial intelligence) on all platforms that display content to their users based on an algorithm. This way, users will always be served content that best suits their interests or geolocation. AI finds application in all areas of digital marketing in order to provide users with the best and most relevant experience. All social networks invest a lot in platform development and AI implementation for the best possible user experience. The one who provides the best will dominate.

We have also launched a project within Represent System, the center of which is artificial intelligence. In partnership with a group of software developers, we created a joint startup Digital Element, which has now grown into an independent agency and deals with monitoring content on the entire Serbian Internet. Artificial intelligence and experienced analysts monitor and process different types of content and inform clients in real time about how the public reacts to their messages. We are able to withdraw data from a few years ago and give a precise insight into what was said about a topic in the media or on social networks. Now that there are so many channels of communication, it is no longer easy to follow them all, and it is even harder to have precise insights on when to set up a digital campaign. This is the shortest way to obtain accurate and precise information on what is being talked about and in what way, as well as who is talking about topics that are important to certain companies.

The widespread use of voice systems, which was increased via smartphones, will take off more and more. Alexa, Siri and other digital assistants will suggest what to buy, where to have dinner, where to travel… We just need to ask them. This is where we come to the challenge that awaits us, and that is for our business to be proposed, to build such a strong brand that we find ourselves in the proposals.

Video as dominant format

Video remains the dominant format on all platforms. The expansion of TikTok among the Generation Z, which is also the most digitally literate, shows us that it comes naturally to new generations to record and edit video, that this is the format they like best. YouTube, IGTV, Story and Reels are playing an increasingly important role in placing content that has become more numerous than users and everybody is fighting for their attention. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible.

In addition to video, influencers remain a dominant trend as well as their role in user decision making. Social networks have become omnipresent, to the extent that you almost don’t know a person who doesn’t have at least one account, and this gave them the power to dictate trends. Every major brand mentions the engagement of influencers as an essential item when setting up a digital strategy.

Their impact on the spread of the message is significant and will only increase over time. The only challenge is to choose the right ones, those who share the values ​​of the brand and aim at the target group. Everything else is a waste of money.

Results are what we as an agency insist on and we strive to enable our clients to achieve business goals, be it awareness or sales. Inbound campaigns that involve an adequate mix of channels guarantee the expected ROI. But that requires serious research and planning in order for the campaign to hit the target.

In the days of the pandemic

We could say that digital marketing experienced additional expansion during the pandemic. Companies and brands that have been digitized have successfully coped with the challenges that befell them, while others have begun to invest in digitalization. Thus we as an agency have more and more projects for creating websites and platforms that should help businesses reach end consumers.

The budget savings that followed some other communication channels have gone past the digital ones. In fact, I can say that most of our clients have diverted all their budget on online channels. For that reason, I believe that the golden age of digital is coming and that the coronavirus has shown that a lot can be completed and sold over the Internet.

We are all aware of the expansion of delivery applications, as well as the transition of education from classroom to the Internet. Our education sector has achieved great success during the COVID-19 pandemic by creating targeted online education programs in the form of master class and providing quality content that was very necessary and significant for the time being. AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) bring us a new reality that allows us to overcome some of the obstacles, but for many it is the personal experience that will remain invaluable.

We will see what awaits us after the pandemic. All we have to do is follow the events on a global level and keep up the pace. Serbia and the region have shown that they have the expertise and capacity to follow all world trends, and I believe that it will remain so in the future.