The 10 Best Digital Marketing Trends for 2017
Trends come and go, and few are as transient as those in the marketing industry. However, while technology and marketing techniques may change, the core principles stay the same. To get the best results from your inbound marketing efforts, you need to have great ideas at your disposal. Here are the 10 best digital marketing trends for 2017.
1. Live Video is everywhere right now, and it’s really just getting started. What might look like an entertaining novelty is turning into an extremely viable marketing asset. According to recent research, brand audiences will spend 3x longer watching live video than non-live video. Live video captures the audience’s attention; it lets them live in the moment and if you can find a great angle, you’ll have them hooked and coming back for more. Once you have broadcast your live video, that footage will stay on your timeline permanently for future visitors to view. From live conferences to exclusive product reveals, there are so many ways you can use live video to breathe life into your brand. With Facebook, Twitter (via Periscope), YouTube and Now offering live video capabilities, it’s a great time to jump onto the bandwagon.
2. Big Data is a relatively new trend that is being increasingly used to boost inbound marketing results. By digging down into the big data detail, you’ll be able to use the insights this brings to target your market more effectively. Just a few years ago, marketers often had little more to go on than the names and contact details of their leads, and yet they were still able to build targeted campaigns and make the sale. Imagine the possibilities today when you have access to exercise habits, personal preferences, purchasing history, birthday and anniversary dates, calorific intake and digital clicking behaviour. A new world of opportunity suddenly opens, and it’s easy to see why 90% of top performing companies said that big data was critical to their success.
3. Immersive Content It looks increasingly likely that virtual reality will soon be breaking into the marketing arena in a big way. Until that happens, how do you immerse your target audience in your brand experience? The answer is through immersive marketing. YouTube and Facebook have recently released a 360-degree video option, and more brands are following suit with innovative content.
4. Native Ads aren’t big news, but market forces are expected to increase their popularity in 2017. Banner ads are steadily being forced out of the limelight thanks to ad blockers and organic reach through social media. As a result, native ads will be firmly back on the marketer’s radar.
5. Trusted Testimonials gathered in local directories are no longer adequate for attracting new leads. Trusted testimonials through services such as Yelp and TrustPilot are coded in such a way that search engines can recognise them, further extending your reach and cementing trust with potential prospects. What’s more, it’s where the smart consumers look first.
6. Influencer Marketing Word-of-mouth recommendations are still one of the most powerful ways for businesses to generate revenue, but there’s something that is even more powerful. It’s called influencer marketing, and it’s on the rise. When well-known social media personalities or thought leaders speak highly of your product, they establish credibility for your brand and influence others to believe in you.
7. Short-Lived Content What makes Snapchat so appealing? The fact that the content is gone in a matter of seconds. When you consider the eight-second attention span of the average Generation Z consumer, short-lived content makes a lot of sense. Short, snappy, to-the-point marketing with a strong marketing message could win you lots of appeal with the younger generation.
8. Personalisation means so much more than addressing your leads by their first name, although that’s a good start. For personalisation to be meaningful, it needs to be more relevant, and the only way to achieve this is through segmenting your target audience: habits, preferences, geographical location, business industry, favourite colour — you’ve got a lot of this data already, so put it to good use.
9. Dark Social If you don’t know for sure where your traffic is coming from, it can be difficult to track and analyse. Investing in tools such as GetSocial.io and Google Analytics can help you track down the source of this "dark" traffic.
10. Non-Live Video Okay, so we’ve covered live video. What’s the latest on non-live video? Is it still going to be relevant in 2017? The answer is absolutely, and more so now than ever before. Video continues to dominate online marketing, with 78% of people watching online videos each week. Adding just one video into your marketing strategy could be all it takes to send your product or brand viral, and it will certainly go a long way to extending your business reach.