This year has seen digital come into its own as a core part of marketing activity. Brands are increasingly ploughing their budgets into digital, and we’re likely to see budgets increase further. There are a number of reasons why digital is essential, and we’ve gathered some of the key trends here.
The shape of things to come: Content Marketing took up a big chunk of responses, more than Big Data and Marketing Automation combined.
Content marketing and personalization
According to Hubspot, content marketing generates three times as many leads as traditional marketing methods, but it costs 62 per cent less. Providing you’re efficient, and you have a strong sense of your audience, a shift to video is going to pay dividends.
Video is evolving to incorporate streaming media, and customers are expecting content that is tailored specifically to them. The key concept here is authenticity; you’re going to need to push beyond cookie-cutter content, and prove that yours is a brand to be trusted. While 73% of B2B marketers already use content marketing, we’re going to see an increase in investment in services like YouTube, and an emerging use of game-changing apps like Periscope.
Marketing automation
Digital allows you to put your data to work, and once your processes have been transformed, you’ll see huge efficiency gains.
For a great example of automation in action, check out Marketo Ad Bridge. It serves up ads to people based on their habits, across a range of social media channels, helping you to avoid the scattergun approach that can make digital ads less effective.
Mobile SEO
A decade ago, anyone could make a website that displayed on a desktop computer. Now, we’re using a variety of devices to search and browse the web, from tiny wristwatch wearables to huge tablet devices.
If you want to compete, you must have a mobile-friendly, responsive website, and it has to be optimised for use on a smartphone. A massive 60 per cent of all internet traffic in the US now originates from mobile devices; about half of internet traffic comes from mobile apps. If you still have a separate mobile website that offers a poor user experience, 2016 is the year you’ll ditch it for good.
Social media
Social media is an ever-evolving marketing tool, and if 2015 taught us anything, it’s that we can’t afford to stand still. Google+ has recently redesigned its interface to make the platform more appealing for its users.
Marketers are learning to maintain focus on key social media sites, but to keep others in the frame and maintain an energised approach to their campaigns. You never know when a service like Google+ will reinvent itself with a new, killer feature, and that will be the key moment when the really responsive marketers will gain an advantage.
Look to the future
In digital marketing, constant evolution is the key to staying ahead of the curve. In 2016, we’re going to need to rethink and reimagine our digital marketing strategies to take customers on new, enhanced journeys. Social media is going to continue to gather pace, and the scope of digital is going to increase even further. Stay tuned to the Position2 blog to hear the first news on trends in 2016.
Happy Holidays from Team Position2!
