From technology trends to changing business models to evolving consumer behaviors, there’s a lot to consider in order for today’s marketers to really have a handle on what’s important about what’s next.
Old digital tactics and mastering individual channels are being overcome by the need to create a common brand experience across the digital experience on and offline. Customers expect to access and consume information across platforms, apps and devices and in order for brands to “be the best answer” wherever buyers are looking, they’ll need to figure out what’s next and where to focus.
Digital marketing has no boundaries. It encompasses devices such as smart phones, tablets, laptops, game consoles, televisions, digital billboards, and media such as social media, SEO (search engine optimization), videos, content, email and lots more. Digital marketing can be cost-effective, but to make it really efficient here are some trends that are likely to rule the running era.
If there’s one dominating trend to pinpoint in 2014, it almost surely is location-based marketing. This makes use of GPS technology to deliver multimedia content tailored to the geographical location straight to the potential customer’s mobile device. This helps to cater more specifically to users’ needs, and both marketers and consumers are expecting more of this in 2014. Already there are social apps including Ban.jo, Path, and Foursquare that provide vital consumer data.
Social Media Diversification
It’s no longer only Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Though these are the most popular, networks such as Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram are on the surge too. While 93 percent of marketers have claimed that social media is an integral part of their marketing in 2019, the number of visitors to these social networks will increase further next year. This means more and more marketers are capitalizing on this and will focus more on in 2022. They will seek to establish a significant presence for themselves in the aforementioned networks to build their brand and connect with potential customers. Paid advertising will also increase, particularly on Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Social signals have proved to be important for search rankings and building reputation, so it’s only a matter of time before businesses think of not only Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google+ but also Instagram, Pinterest and smaller networks such as these that are each carving a unique niche for themselves.
Video Marketing
Videos can convey a message ten times more powerfully than text content, though persuasive content is in a much higher league. Video marketing is already popular but it will get more so in this era. You’ve got YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter to capitalize on and Instagram and Snapchat also have video options in their app. Videos are also increasingly being watched on mobile devices and that’s a potent competition, able to instantly alter user behavior.
Optimizing for mobile has been a significant priority for businesses in 2014, but 2015 will be the year that mobile strategies move beyond simply having a responsive site or mobile app, and focus on mobile-optimized content and social media marketing as well.
Search engine marketing
Search engine marketing refers to actions to encourage click-through to a website from search sites, such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. For example, when a user types a specific keyword or phrase in a search engine, for example Google, he will find your home site and click through to your site. At that point, you are successful at attracting a visitor to your site. If you have made some actions to gain that visit, you may have done search engine marketing. In order to improve the website's performance and get noticed in the search engines, marketers have two key techniques, which are paid for placement using pay-per-click or placements in the organic "natural‟ listing using search engine optimization (SEO)
Online PR
Public relations traditionally focus on managing the communication between the organization and the public, in order to create and maintain the public image of the organization. Like the traditional PR, online PR maintain the same functions, but through the Internet. Online PR uses the online platforms, such as social networks and blogs, to maximize the interactions with the public. Therefore, it is considered to be closely related to social media marketing.
Online partnership
To promote the site, marketers can agree on long-term arrangements with other parties. As listed in Figure 5, online partnership includes affiliate marketing, link-building, co-branding, sponsorship, and more.
Interactive advertising
Banners and rich media ads in websites are tools of interactive marketing. These online tools are used to attract click-through to a target site or sell the brand story or awareness.