So, as you enter the year 2016, we have compiled a list of digital marketing trends that will allow you, as a business owner and marketer, to beat the competition and come up on top. Here, take a look at them.
Digital Marketing Trends
Social media will continue to prevail
While social media has been the core of marketing for a past few years, 2016 will see social media taking digital marketing to new heights. With social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook continually introducing new features which allow for instant shares as well as live streaming, social media will completely transform the digital marketing experience this year and the years to come.
Snapchat stories
Already, Snapchat has been utilized by most of the marketers as the standard marketing platform – those who haven’t are going to embrace it this year.
In 2016, though, marketers are expected to tune their marketing strategies more deeply into Snapchat as they will finally come to realize that Snapchat is not merely a tool to experiment their marketing strategies, instead it is a real time marketing platform where they can run a unique and exclusive campaign, and connect with customers at the same time.
Thus, you need to take advantage of the features Snapchat has to offer. We believe that Snapchat stories will become the new rage this year as it takes only a small amount of the audience’s time. However, you need to be smart with this medium as you’ll have only a few seconds to convey your message.
Instagram ads
Instagram with its highly visual features is already a celebrity in the digital marketing industry. Because visual content is much more appealing and thereby, preferred medium of communication – it comes as no surprise that marketers find Instagram as a highly successful platform when it comes to running digital marketing campaigns. As such, it was only a matter of time that Instagram started offering paid advertising by partnering with Unified, Salesforce Marketing cloud and many more well known digital marketing providers.
While, Instagram ads are not available to everyone as yet, they are set to offer them in 2016 to everyone. Thus, it is only sensible that you start preparing for this new feature offered by Instagram and get the creatives at your firm to start tapping into their thinking box in order to gain maximum advantage out of this.
Pinterest promotional pin
Pinterest, though relatively new, is one of the fastest growing social networking sites. By allowing users to share images or pins (using the Pinterest terminology), it boasts a visual delight. Thus, it connects users and audience via visuals. Many marketers make use of this social platform by carrying out market research, simply by observing their potential customers.
Pinterest has taken things further in terms of the features it provides to advertisers and companies as they are about to introduce Animated Cinematic Pin. With this new promoted pin, brands will be able to target prospective customers based on what interests them. Well known brands like Unilever and GAP have already tested this new feature and have validated its success claim.
Our advice to you is to get started with pinning this year if you haven’t already!
Facebook messenger for business
Even though it is one of the oldest social media networking sites, Facebook still doesn’t seem to get old. Perhaps, this is because just like the digital marketing industry, Facebook is constantly evolving. There is never a boring moment on Facebook – for customers and brands, both.
Facebook messenger for business is just another feature that allows businesses to interact with customers and offer them customer service on a very personal level. This is because you can update customers on their order status or inform them regarding a promotional simply by sending a message via messenger.
To sweeten things more, Facebook has also announced that businesses and companies can install the messenger app on their websites. This will allow you to become more invested when it comes to driving customer engagement and delivering a top level customer service. We recommend you to buckle up and prepare to take advantage of this new tool this year.
Advertising department will undergo major transformation
The intense competition online means that companies need to embrace advertising strategies that increase their visibility and reach without annoying the audience. The year 2016 promises major transformation with regards to the advertising department. Take a look at how advertising will evolve.
Increased advertising investment
Since online marketing has become immensely competitive over the past couple of years, there is no reason to believe that this trend will undergo downward spiral anytime soon. As a result, marketers and strategists will continue to invest more in advertising – perhaps, investment in advertising will even surpass the past year’s spending.
Paid advertising is alive and kicking
Yes, Pay per click (PPC) advertising is dying, but this doesn’t mean that marketers will be rid of other forms of paid advertising this year, or the next. Alternate forms of paid ads have already been launched and are gaining popularity. For instance, there was a time when social media ads used to be free of cost which was what initially attracted marketers to take up the social platform for their digital marketing campaign. However, many social platforms have already adopted paid ads which means that if you haven’t already adapted to the change, you need to do so now!
Our advice? Integrate your marketing campaign with paid advertising. Also, since you are paying to run the ads, make sure that they are effective by measuring results.
Video ads to dominate
Visual content dominated the past year, and will continue its ascendancy this year as well. While images, infographics etc. are not to be underestimated, video ads are perhaps the most preferred and successful way to engage audience using visuals. Since almost all of the social media apps have embedded video content, marketers need to smarten up and make use of them to engage with customers. After all, even Google includes video content in its search engine algorithm.
Native advertising
Customers and audience find in-your-face marketing annoying and frustrating. The use of Ad blockers which prevent ads from popping up on the sites is the most common way customers deal with these annoying as hell ads. But the worst is yet to come. As the tech giant, Apple Inc. announced that their systems (iPhones, iPads, Mac) will support the Ad blockers, it has caused an uproar among the marketers. After all, not only do they lose revenue but possible leads. But, how can they overcome this problem though?
The answer is simple, native advertising!
Native ads has all been the rage lately. But with sophisticated ad blocking tools becoming common and supported by major tech giants, embracing native ads will gain increasing value because of being extremely user-friendly. Because of its non-promotional feel when seeing and reading its content, native ads are your best bet to lure customers in times when ad blocking tools prevail.
Mobile will continue to dominate…again
Forgive the cliché but mobile dominates! Yes, this has been said time and time again, but to be very honest it was the year 2015 when mobile marketing exploded thanks to Google announcing that mobile friendliness will be taken into account in the search engine rankings. As a result, companies and businesses all over embraced the change and optimized their websites for mobile.
Thus, it is safe to say that mobile will continue to dominate over desktops as mobile traffic is predicted to take over a major chunk of overall web traffic. This also means that consumer expectations will rise which would mean that marketers will have to prioritize mobile marketing and treat it as the core to overall customer experience.
However, adopting the concept of less is more, mobile technology poses severe challenges for marketers as they sort out what to display on the limited screen and what to cut off. To give you an idea of what your mobile marketing will entail, take a look at the following pointers that you will need to aim for.
-Capture email leads via mobile
-Integrate mobile with various other marketing platforms
-Create mobile friendly website and content that is easy to read and navigate
-Accessible calls to action
Wearable technology will gain momentum
The advancements in technology has a major impact in digital marketing. Wearable devices is the latest in technology which promises to be widely popular in 2016. In fact, according to a survey, wearables are expected to grow by 35% this year and beyond as more and more.
Smart watches like Apple watch will take the users by storm which means that marketers will need to test wearable technology in order to connect with customers. Here’s how wearable technology will change the digital marketing game;
-You will be able to target people’s every move.
-Your data and research will much more behavior driven.
-Small screen size will mean you’ll have to follow the mantra ‘less is more’.
Our advice is that you consider wearables, or more specifically smartwatches as a separate and standalone computing device for now till they become more mainstream and less unsettling.
Virtual reality is very real
Though it’s a relatively new phenomenon and still in its initial phase, virtual reality is very real and happening this year. With hyper personalisation being the focus of marketers, these virtual reality devices like Oculus Rift is shifting the online marketing ideology and setting the stage for immersive marketing. Oculus Rift is a virtual reality device that was recently launched and has been applauded by fans.
The rapid evolution of virtual reality means that marketers will be able to interact and engage with customers like never before. Thus, it is in the best interests of the marketers that they get used to the idea and jump in the virtual reality bandwagon. Because if you fail to do so, you may as well give up on your customers as they’ll find your competitor who is ready to deliver the virtual experience to them.
Search will not be exclusive to search engines
Up until now, we have associated search to search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing exclusively. However, we have finally arrived at a time where social media search will be the new thing and which is expected to outpace the search engine search. Already, Facebook has been testing its own search engine which is expected to be launched this year. As a result, it promises connectivity with customers and a boost in online visibility for brands and businesses. Since advanced searching capabilities will be integrated with these social platforms, it means that we are well on our way towards consolidated marketing platforms which is much more preferable by audience.
These trends are just to give you an idea on what to expect this new year. Digital marketing will continue to change and grow, but at the same time it promises an absolute mass of opportunities for marketers and business owners to connect and engage with their customers. Whatever your marketing strategy entails for this year, just keep in mind that it is authenticity and personalization that customers/audience are looking for. So make sure that your marketing strategy is legitimate, honest as well as have a personal touch.
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