Digital marketing is a volatile and an unpredictable industry. One moment you see yourself ahead of your competitors, and all of a sudden, they are on top of you.
Truth be told, staying on top can be a difficult challenge. As a matter of fact, the best and the biggest industries know that. However, with the help of
#1. Influencer Marketing
With social media becoming popular than ever, companies have found a great means to voice out and make their presence known to their target audience. They work with celebrities, bloggers, and other influential personalities, who make a positive impact to the brand they have.
Basically, they work with them by collaborating with them to endorse their brand or simply request for their honest review. This year, it is expected to see more companies, working with influencers to give their brand reputation an instant boost.
#2. Purpose-Driven Marketing
Nowadays, lots of companies are focusing their marketing strategies on what they have been doing without even asking why they are doing it. As a result, they fail, big time. Honestly, people don’t really care much about the details of a product. What’s important to them is how they are driven by the brand’s purpose.
Aside from producing content and marketing strategies, companies should also consider more than branding. That means they have to focus on what their target customers need most. By doing that, they can easily convince their customers to respond and act.
#3. Online Advertising
In 2017, online advertising is expected to improve further. If you are wondering why, it is because of social media. Every year, more and more users are spending so much time on social media. That explains why social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are taking online advertising to a whole new realm.
Through online advertising, companies are able to determine different user types, making it easy for them to pinpoint their target consumers. Then again, the process involves a minimal amount of money. Although it hurts, the truth is, organic searches on social media won’t give you so much, not even sales. Hence, you need to spend money to make money. At the end of the day, you would have the assurance of an increased click-through rate and an improved number of online followers.
#4. Mobile Marketing
Almost all of us in this world owns a smartphone. And unknowingly, we can’t seem to live without it. We want these devices always near us because we use them for communication, getting information, and accessing the web. As more users spend time on their mobile devices, companies are creating mobile-compatible platforms for messaging and advertising. They even design content and format emails to work well for mobiles. That only goes to show how powerful mobile advertising is.
#5. Content Marketing
Content plays a vital role in marketing brands. However, even if it can make or break marketing strategies, many companies still do not know how to make good use of it. Essentially, a detailed content marketing should be set. That way, goals are met and better outcomes are produced.
According to content marketing experts, the most effective content marketing strategies are those that are documented and designed to fit the goals of a company.
#6. Building a Solid Brand
Every company today is looking to increase and boost sales. That is the reason why there is this marketing trend that focuses on building a brand identity. Like purpose-driven marketing, having a solid brand name is of importance to have something that defines your company from the competition.
Without a solid name, all brands would look the same to a target audience. Through branding, a company should be able to better the intangible aspects of their products and services.
#7. ROI Measurement
At the end of the year, every company would ask, “Was our content marketing strategy a success? If so, how do I measure it?”
Sad to say, many marketers still depend on vanity metrics when it comes to measuring ROI. These are the Facebook likes and YouTube views. But these metrics don’t mean a lot. They only bring some sort of organizational flattery. It’s about time to set your focus on other things that matter, such as Return on Investment. Get more recommendations from word-of-mouth and social media following. These recommendations are far more valuable than “likes” and “views”.
#8. Analytics
It’s about time to focus on numbers. Use marketing platforms that offer analytics tools. They should allow you to track the progress of your ongoing strategies.
As a company, it is important that you track and report analytics. Although follows and likes are great aspects to measure, you must also determine the number of leads you have and know how many visitors are returning to your website. Also, the most important of all, you have to pay attention to your sales funnel. If there are any parts that have leaks, patch things up. It’s that simple.
#9. Website Customization
This is something you must not take for granted. Every customer does not want to be treated just like the rest. That is why you have to offer them something that is based on their personal preferences. You can always begin by improving your website. Personalize it so that visitors will have a better grasp of who your target customers are.
#10. Newsletters and Press Releases
The core mission of every company is to make their customers aware of their products and services. Therefore, when you host events or launch products, be sure to have press releases and syndicate them online.
As for newsletters, it’s also a great way to get in touch with your customers. By having these, you are giving your customers something to look forward to.
If you just pay attention to the tiniest aspects of your company, you will see that the digital marketing trends you follow reacts to changes and improvements in technology. But even if digital marketing has transformed greatly in the past few years, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be competitive. So, take courage and join the bandwagon.