The Top Seven Trends in Marketing That Will Dominate the Internet
Does anyone still actually believe that the Internet has not drastically altered the way in which information is shared…or the way in which we all communicate with one another? Still unbeknown to many, the Internet has also had a profound impact on the marketing world, especially over the past few years. More of a shift has taken place toward “inbound” techniques while more “outbound” techniques have become somewhat antiquated; put more succinctly, more businesses are finding success publishing original content as compared to embedding advertisements within external content because of the additional benefits these tactics can offer – including branding and audience growth.
And who doesn’t want that as a business owner?
Keeping these trends in mind, here are seven top trends for 2014 in marketing that have all the potential in the world to dominate the online landscape:
- Content Marketing Will be Bigger Than Ever – Consistently creating valuable content through a multitude of channels is one of the main tactics used by companies to establish authority and gain trust with consumers. Typically, this has involved relevant industry information that yields insight or entertainment for an audience, and implementing it has allowed a company to slowly build a rapport with its target demographic…thus, developing a loyal following. According to the Content Marketing Institute, the top business-to-business content marketing strategies encompass social media, articles posted to a business’ website, eNewsletters, case studies, videos and articles on other websites.
- Social Media Marketing Will Call for More Diversity – It was only a few years ago that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were the major avenues businesses could turn to with regard to entering the social media network craze. Today, it seems like these avenues are exposing themselves all the time with new social media sites seemingly popping up everywhere; while some never really grabbed a sure foothold, others like Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr and Instagram have surged in popularity because they provide businesses with a plethora of new options. These, in turn, allow them to churn out engaging content in a variety of media forms while building their audiences across more channels than previously seen.
- Image-Centric Content Will Rule the Roost – This goes back to the studies that have suggested the average consumer today boasts the attention span of a goldfish – which is to say, not too long at all. As consumers are bombarded with an increasing number of advertisements jumping out at them and demanding this already fleeted attention, it has become even more vital to make content easy-to-digest…and in a quick fashion. All of the aforementioned social media sites in trend number two share a common characteristic: They place an emphasis on images. All one needs to know about this phenomenon is the way in which Buzzfeed and Pinterest are testaments to the power and viral potential of image-based content.
- Less Will be More – Another notable trend we’ll likely be seeing is the apparent shift in consumer preference regarding simplistic marketing message tactics versus in-depth messaging; when you think about some of the top brands in the world such as Google and Apple, it’s clear they value simplicity.
- Mobile-Friendly Content Will be Necessary – Courtesy of the widespread – and continuously growing – use of smartphones and tablets, it has become necessary for companies to create content that is accessible to mobile users. In fact, according to and as quoted by Forbes, “87-percent of connected device sales by 2017 will be tablets and smartphones.”
- Ad Retargeting Effectiveness Will Evolve – This describes a marketing strategy that has caught on like wildfire as of late. Put succinctly, it works when browser cookies track the websites that users frequent and once they abandon a certain site, the products or services they viewed will be presented to them yet again in advertisements across different websites. Due to the success many marketing experts have enjoyed with ad retargeting, there’s a good chance that it will become even more mainstream as we go through 2014.
- SEO and Social Signals Will Become Even More Intertwined – “Social signals” don’t typically carry the same weight as “traditional” inbound links, but it is nearly undeniable that they play a role in today’s organic search rankings. How? They’re one of the three pillars of SEO – since the goal of Google and other search engines has been to provide individuals with the highest-quality relevant content possible, it indeed makes sense that the number of social shares that a blog post, article or product page receives would be factored in.
The online marketing trends 2013 saw have been leapfrogged even in the span of a year, and these trends in marketing will only continue to evolve as technology marches forward and consumers look to premium online video marketing services.