The digital marketing landscape continues to see changes every year thanks to newer, faster technology. Brands can no longer rely on the methods they might have used even five years ago if they want to reach as many people as possible. Marketers are slowly, but surely, moving over to digital and are expected to spend 33 percent of their budget on digital marketing. If you’re wondering where to spend your marketing budget, below are 5 of the hottest digital marketing trends you should jump on for 2015.
- Mobile First
In 2014, mobile apps surpassed computers as the most common way people access the Internet and it isn’t slowing down in 2015. With broadband connections getting faster and more reliable and smartphones themselves becoming cheaper, it seems only natural that consumers will move away from desktops to mobile. That means it is more important than ever for brands to offer a truly mobile-friendly experience. This entails a couple things:
- A mobile optimised website – when designing your site, you need to take a mobile first approach. As powerful as smartphones are, they still have limitations, most notably smaller screens. When combined with a touch interface many design choices that might work for a desktop will be a disaster on mobile devices. And if your site isn’t mobile friendly, 79 percent of visitors will navigate away almost immediately.
- Local SEO – 50 percent of consumers that conduct local searches on their smartphone visit a store within a day. Considering that 4 out of 5 consumers conduct local searches, focusing on local SEO could boost your revenue
More Original Video Content
You might have already noticed many brands embrace video for their content marketing strategy, and for good reason. Video is quickly becoming the preferred way to consume content. Internet users are constantly on the hunt for information but are limited by time constraints. Videos are an excellent workaround as they are able to provide large amounts of information in a very short amount of time. In fact, some marketers claim that a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. While this might not necessarily hold true for all videos, the fact remains that video is an excellent way to connect with your audience. Even social sites are focusing more on video as evidenced by Vine, Instagram video and Facebook’s video service.
- Hyper-Personalisation
Personalisation has been a buzzword in the digital marketing landscape, especially with the introduction of social media. It is becoming even more important now as consumers expect a personalised experience throughout their interaction with your brand from your emails even to your ads. Make use of tools like retargeting and location targeting to deliver a cohesive experience that anticipates your customers’ needs.
- Quality over Quantity in Content Marketing
In the past couple years, content marketing has become the most prevalent form of digital marketing. It has been so effective that now 55 percent of B2B companies and 59 percent of B2C brands intend to pour more of their budget into it. But it won’t be enough to simply have a lot of content. Today, there is more content than any one person can consume in their life time. What Internet users are looking for is quality content that provides value. Brands that take the time to produce insightful or, at the very least, entertaining content will be rewarded in terms of SEO and social shares.
- Visual Influencer Engagement
When blogs became popular, brands jumped on the bandwagon and began pairing with influential bloggers to promote their product to their audience. Today, brands are instead working with visual influencers like Michelle Phan or PewDiePie not only to push their product but also to learn how to create better visual content themselves. Influencers aren’t just limited to YouTube, though. There is a growing community of mega stars on Instagram, Snapchat and Vine that cover almost every conceivable subject like art, cars, dance and more. Getting exposure from these micro-celebrities can potentially help you reach more people than a spot TV commercial as many of have over 12 million subscribers.
Keep Your Eyes Open for Opportunity
With the way technology changes, there are definitely many other opportunities available for you. Wearables are quickly gaining traction and many businesses still are not using mobile to its full potential. If you have recognized a huge opportunity, the sooner you take advantage of it the better your chances of coming out on top.