Interested in marketing? The rise of the Internet and Social Media channels mark a new period of digital marketing and the bar is absolutely high for modern marketers. It is now essential to generate unique, creative and effective content that holds the attention of the audience, increases the recognition level of the brands and gets the product to be bought.
Remaining at the top of it all cannot be a breeze as new platforms now pop up day after day, so here are the seven Marketing trends in 2017 that should be zeroed in on to catch up with the new age of marketing.
#1. Influencers
Influencer marketing matters. What is more influential than a classical advertisement for a product? A popular person speaks about it to his fans and bingo. An influencer is simply someone who creates influence over others, and of course on potential customers of a product or a brand.
Travel enthusiasts, vloggers, style inspirers, or other online celebrities have been using this effect on their networks and followers in the new era of social sharing. A survey conducted on the teens living in the USA shows that YouTube creators took 8 of the top 10 spots in a survey of influencers, having better of traditional celebrities like musicians and movie stars.
The effect of this strategy on the consumers is beyond dispute; however, it should be used deliberatively in order to get the desired results. A rightly-chosen influencer can correctly analyse his/her follower style and disposition, choose the suitable method to keep their attention and establish credibility through each content or advertisement.
Credibility is everything. Having your audience feel that you are genuinely believing the product quality, showing authenticity and avoiding hollow-hearted content that could backfire, produces covetable effects that are crucial for your digital marketing plan. Better yet, find celebrities who are already interested in your product or brand and improve their sympathy to broaden it to a big campaign that will influence the fans or followers. It is clear that a successful influencer marketing strategy creates far better results than a classical high-cost PR campaign.
#2. Livestreaming
It seems that live content creation will push the boundaries of marketing. Especially, Y and Z generation have been gravitating towards this trend, and that should definitely be one of the rising marketing strategies in 2017.
Tools like the Instagram story, Facebook live, or Vine provides a key for advertisers to capture an audience. Dipping into the world of livestreaming is required not only for producers but also for businesses in order to stay up-to-date in the marketing process. Live content does not need to be a fastidiously edited or polished one to attain the goal. Applications such as Lightt or Flipagram can be helpful to create short and quality videos in a limited time.
Right-now content, even short-lived ones as it is in Snapchat story application, is the new desire of the consumer. The value of disappearing is also an invaluable feature for the new customer generation. Snapchat’s appeal is driven by the fact that the disappearing content uses the “eight-second attention span” of millennials in a successful manner. It is definitely notable for a marketer.
#3. The Power of Social Discourse
The pre and the post-election environment have fueled the need for managing to improve social standing and creating an engagement with this current climate. People want to express their feelings via hashtags, videos, photos or so on. Election days amass billions of interaction on Internet channels. In 2017, this social fire seems to continue to burn.
Opposite to the previous content-creating trend which is avoiding any political stance or ideology, now it is popular to show your idea or stance about the current course of events in the world. Accordingly, choosing your discourse in advertising related to this trend has gained importance. A business or brand should deliberately analyse the beliefs or ideologies of its audience in order to create suitable content that aligns with their feelings.
#4. Accounts of Content
With a new era underway, Social Media platforms have transformed into a way to create and share content in addition to simply creating traffic to any website. It is possible to publish stories, articles, photo or video content that relates to a campaign in an account such as Twitter or Facebook. Moreover, sites providing a social publishing opportunity to the user like Medium or Blogspot can produce higher attraction and networking for advertisers.
It is essential for marketers to analyse the current trends and their resources scrutinizingly in order to figure out a strategy that includes creating specific and suitable content for each platform.
#5. Interactive Approach
To engage your audience and attract their attention, you should use the “Read&Interact” method that involves the reaction of the consumer to the process. It is a way to create a dialogue with the customer. It is a tool to have a conversation and get the audience to have fun while advertising your brand.
Personalization is always appealing.
Internet-based quizzes, polls, surveys, infographics, contests etc. provide an opportunity to generate user-specific results that help the audience to discover their style and needs. This user-focused experience can influence the consumer in a good way that enables them to feel engaged with the process and the product in a genuine manner.
In 2014, a DemandGen report showed that 91% of consumers are looking for visual and interactive content. This reminds of a quote by Jay Baer: “You can sell to someone, or you can help someone and create a customer for life.”
#6. Invigoration of Print Media
In this day and age, in which people are often engaged in activities that involve looking at a digital device, it is rare to remain off-screen for us. Print media resurfaces at this point to specify customer needs and interests in a meaningful way. Recent neurological research has identified differences in ways people process information presented in print and on screen.
Deep reading resulted from the printed media engagement cultivates deep thinking and concentration. If you are targeting a good marketing strategy for 2017, use this opportunity to resonate with your customer and create a new medium that takes them away from the screen. Add print, add power.
#7. User-Generated Content
Need a brand character? A singer? Or a footballer? With the new age of digital marketing, you don’t need to have any brand characters indeed. Existing customers are your actual brand characters. They are your storytellers.
A user-generated content is a feedback given by other consumers of a product that is being planned to buy. It can be a video, or a comment, or a complaint that exists on any platform in which the potential customers find information about the brand or product. Recent research showed that 93% of consumers find UGC to be helpful when making a purchasing decision. It provides a unique, realistic and reliable user experience information for them.
Therefore, this strategy should be of utmost importance for brands who want to be on top of this marketing struggle.
