We’re about to ring in the new year where people across the world will set their resolutions for 2017. Along with your personal resolution, why not make a resolution to guarantee that 2017 is the best year yet when it comes to your digital marketing?
In order to do that, you need to make sure you understand where digital marketing is headed throughout the year. That’s why I’ve put together a list of the 5 biggest trends you’re likely to see this coming year.
1. Mobile search and advertising
Mobile was huge in 2016, and that’s not changing anytime soon. As of November 2016, Facebook reported that they have 1.055 billion users each month that only access their site on mobile. That’s why 81% of Facebook’s advertising revenue comes from mobile ads.
And now that mobile search has officially surpassed desktop, Google’s algorithm is influenced by the mobile optimization of a site. It’s no longer enough to design your site for desktops, your site needs to be user friendly and functional for smartphones and tablets.
So, if your site isn’t optimized for mobile, it should become a top priority for 2017.
2. High Quality Content
Content marketing has been called the “king” of digital marketing. And, if you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
When people go online either to search for something or to scroll through social media feeds they have one of two goals — to get information or to be entertained. The only way for these goals to be accomplished is through users engaging with high quality content.
This is very important when looking at your company’s content marketing throughout 2017. With huge amounts of content available these days, there is no point in wasting time and energy putting out mass quantities of low quality content. People simply won’t read it when they can click to the next site and find something better.
That’s why you should focus on putting out high quality content, even if it means that you produce less quantity than in years past. Make sure the blog articles, images, and social media posts you’re publishing show that you’re a thought leader in your industry. This will help to get more attention, and convert more prospects than putting out fluff.
3. Video Advertising
With mobile being huge and content being key, video may be the ticket to a solid marketing strategy in 2017. 92% of mobile video users say that they share videos with others and 90% say that product videos are helpful in making the decision to purchase.
Videos are popular for both information consumption and for entertainment. This creates an opportunity for marketers both for video display ads, such as those that come up on a YouTube video, and organic videos that you create to engage your audience. Facebook live stream and other live video opportunities also became more popular in 2016 and are likely to grow in popularity in 2017.
Bottom line, keep video on your radar because it’s likely to become not only important, but highly valuable.
4. More specific measurement
I can’t stress enough how important it is to track your digital marketing. I highly recommend making sure that your Google Analytics is set up properly. Doing this will help you to see where your traffic is coming from and determine what traffic is converting into sales. You’ll want to make sure to focus your marketing budget on what’s working. Our Ultimate Guide to Google Analytics article can help you get started.
Along with Analytics, 2017 is likely to see an increase in the amount of measurement and tracking resources available. Facebook and Twitter have had built-in analytics for some time, and Instagram recently added an Insights option for business accounts. At this point, the data from these sources don’t tell the whole story, but that is likely to change going forward. I predict that in 2017 an increased focus will be placed on more accurate data reporting so that businesses can set clear objectives for each of their marketing platforms.
5. Social Media Influencer Marketing
Social media marketing has become a staple in digital marketing over the last five years. That will definitely continue. However, it is also likely to evolve and open up more opportunities for creative marketing outlets.
As social media popularity increases, the opportunity for “influencer marketing” will grow as well. For example, if there’s a person in your industry that has thousands of followers on social media, this could present an opportunity to have them endorse your business or product and help you to gain more followers and a wider reach.
The popularity of influential YouTubers also create opportunities to leverage video advertising as a way to support your business in a more “organic” way. Connecting with YouTube influencers to create original content or have your business or product mentioned in their original content will offer a creative way to reach more potential customers. You can think of this like Michael Jordan endorsing Nike, but for social media marketing.
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