The digital marketing landscape is changing so quickly this year. It certainly isn’t getting any easier to zone in on marketing trends to capitalize on! Luckily, despite all the noise – all the potential tools to purchase and digital marketing influencers to follow – I’ve graciously compiled a short list of trends you should laser focus on this year and beyond.
Here’s my list of 5 major digital marketing trends to keep your attention focused on as 2017 comes to a close:
1. Live video streaming taking over all things digital
All imaginable forms of digital video content are getting streamed live on social and other various online media channels now. People want their content in real time, they don’t want to watch yesterday’s news and opinions.
If you’ve spent any time on YouTube recently, it should be obvious that live video is what the public wants most, and it’s definitely weighing heavy on the hearts and minds of marketers all over the world. Nearly every influencer out there who uses video as a branding medium is offering live streams of their content including bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, and more.
Advertisers in all industries can expect to see revenues rise with the shift in preferences to live streaming. It’s also another nail in the coffin for old-school content providers (ie., cable and satellite companies), who continue on their downward spiral into the abyss of outdated brands that couldn’t adapt their business model before getting lost in the shuffle.
2. Content marketing applications make targeting easier and easier
It gets a little boring reading various marketing periodicals espousing the virtues of almighty content marketing. After all, we can only read so many periodicals telling us to “make it and they will come” when talking about how to create stellar content, and then deliver it into the hands of the various consumers who’re looking for it.
Times are a changing, and at an accelerated rate in the form of data gleaned from apps all over the web, including mobile. The “4th Wave” of content marketing is now in full swing, and will continue to dominate content marketing conversations throughout the year and in the years to come.
There are a ton of apps out there now making great use of consumer data in order to recommend more and more relevant, personalized content to users including geo-location software, search, referrer and lead score data, as well as those that capture onsite user behavior and information about user’s social profiles.
3. Automation dominating the digital marketing landscape
The majority of businesses are now making at least some use of automation tools for marketing their brand to users with great success. However, many admit they don’t really know how they’ll be able to get their business to the next level beyond where they’re at currently using the various tools and features available now.
Tools being used include fully accessible customer relationship management (CRM) software, personalization apps, and behavioral email marketing tools. Google’s been using behavioral email marketing for years by essentially reading our emails.
Now, most companies worldwide realize that tracking and storing what customers do when interacting with their brands is invaluable information to have when they attempt to later reach out to customers and land a sale or interact – particularly considering how quickly clicking the spam button can hurt your brand!
4. VR and augmented reality on the forefront of marketer’s minds
This trend is more than a little depressing if you’re someone with two feet and a brain firmly footed in reality. However, Pokemon Go really proved just how much people young and old want to transport themselves out of this world, as quickly as possible! Obviously there are tons of ways marketers can use this information to their advantage including marketing products and services within these virtual environments, as well as creating their own “Pokeworlds” for users to escape to.
From a non-gaming perspective, virtual reality allows for limitless possibilities to marketers. For example, residential and commercial real estate agents can bring potential buyers front-and-center into the properties they’re selling, without the buyer having to leave their home or locale.
The possibilities are endless and this trend is one to keep your eyes on in 2017 and beyond, as the technology and demand VR and augmented reality are receiving mean it’s likely to grow in leaps and bounds as the months wear on.
5. Viral content will increasingly dominate the SERPs
The word “viral” used to be relegated to cutesy animal and toddler videos of furry creatures and little kids making silly faces while being mischievous. Now, viral is on the minds of every established and wannabe marketer everywhere. Google also gives more search engine weight than ever to viral content producers and it’s possible one day that this will be the biggest ranking factor of all. High social shares and views are one of, if not the easiest ways to determine content quality.
Content creators who demand high view counts and downloads of their content have limitless power with advertisers. And, advertisers are doing everything they can to develop and procure viral-worthy content that can offer good ROI.
No longer are brands focused on production line-like generic content to get eyes on their brands and brand ads. That method just doesn’t cut it anymore. To go viral and demand big advertising dollars and returns, content needs to be unique, hilarious, catchy, likable, engaging, smart, and out of this world amazing!
Times will always be changing in the digital marketing world
As business owners, we all need to constantly monitor what’s happening in the digital sphere. New technologies and methods are becoming old at a rate that we’ve never experienced before in the history of technology.
If keeping up is challenging for you and you really want to position your company as a trend adopter for gaining first move benefits, you might want to consider using reputable and trusted online digital marketing services. Ask around to seek for recommendations. Start here.
If you agree or disagree with any of the trends mentioned above, or wish to add one or two of your own, leave a comment down below.