This Year’s Online Marketing Trends

If you’re operating as if it’s still 2012, chances are your marketing strategy is outdated. In the past few years, digital marketing has undergone substantial changes, rendering former tactics obsolete. Here’s a list of 10 trends to catch you up to speed in your marketing efforts.

Isabel Wilimas created this list, which appeared on Inbound Now.

Trends for 2015:

1. Content Marketing

The old tactics marketers have used to achieve visibility are dying. The focus now is on improving the customer experience, as companies devote more resources towards producing more valuable written content that genuinely addresses customer needs.

2. Wearable Tech

Mobile technology has taken a giant leap forward with wearable devices that glean more intimate data from users, creating an unprecedented marketing opportunity. Micro location and the Internet of things are also growing quickly and will be changing the landscape.

3. Analytics

The use of data for targeted marketing continues to expand, and marketing automation technology is becoming more prevalent in the form of advanced software tools that collect and interpret data collected from consumers.

4. Video

As the Internet becomes more of a visual medium, users gravitate toward sites that offer content in a video format. Video can demonstrate ideas in a way that text can’t compete with. More and more websites will produce product demo videos in an effort to enhance user experience.

5. Personalization

One of the key advantages of analytics is the ability to tailor messages to specific users. End users will be receiving content that is more relevant to their needs and interests, making for greater interaction and conversions.

6. Marketing “Noise”

The Internet has become abysmally crowded with an overwhelming number of messages screaming for attention. As users increasingly have better options available with the rise of relevant, higher quality content, the engagement rates with low quality content are expected to dwindle.

In SEO, there has been a shift towards longer form content and Google looks at content length for determining the value in its ranking algorithm. “. . .Google already labels content of less than 200 words as Thin Content. . .” Wilimas points out.

7. Visual Storytelling

As a stark contrast to the marketing “noise” that is losing favor, marketers will differentiate their content by providing a visual context to connect with viewers on a deeper level. Visual storytelling is a way to show, not tell— communicating the brand message in a more compelling way.

8. Online Ad Spend

As consumers spend more of their time on their devices, marketers will invest more in speaking to them in this medium. Unlike offline forms of advertising, web and mobile-based ads can track and anticipate user behavior, making them more effective.

Wilimas says, “Internet advertising is predicted to rise by 10% – on a global rate! Furthermore, mobile ads are also expected to grow by a smashing 48% in 2015.”

9. Micro Targeting

Facebook and Twitter are becoming essential tools in targeting niche markets, because their users share so much personal information with these communities.

10. Mobile, Mobile, Mobile

With the proliferation of tablets, phablets, smartphones and now smart watches, people are accessing the web on their mobile devices essentially at all times. Wilimas notes that some expect the mobile web to eclipse traditional web based browsing in the coming year.

To read the original article in its entirety, please visit Inbound Now.