As we move into the new year, it is time to look at the evolution of digital marketing trends to watch out for. While there are many predicted trends for digital marketing, here are a few that stand out to us.
1. Advocate Marketing- Many businesses focus most of their time and effort into the customer acquisition side of the sales journey. By concentrating beyond the sale, businesses are seeing success in providing value with the aim of turning a client into a promoter. Referrals are one of the most valuable forms marketing for delivering quality leads to develop loyal clients. Advocate marketing is the term to build relationships with clients by increasing social media engagement, generating reviews and capturing referrals.
2. Live Stream Videos and Podcasts- Many consumers tend to prefer audio as opposed to written words. Podcasts have been around for a while but have been steadily growing in popularity over the last couple years. When busy professionals are on-the-go, podcasts offer a convenient experience that can educate them while establishing authority for your business. Live-streaming apps, like Periscope, have quickly gained traction for marketers to easily produce videos for blogging and content marketing. Live-streaming is very effective for events, demonstrations, Q&A sessions and behind the scenes videos. Live-streaming helps connect with your audience in a non-traditional way.
3. Mobile Email Marketing- While email marketing is nothing new, a shift toward mobile email marketing is on the rise. With 67% of email opens occurring on a mobile device, it creates a window of opportunity for businesses to reach a captive audience. To improve the readers experience, it is important to make sure all emails are mobile friendly through content, design and visuals. Email marketing is moving away from blasting out content to a more targeted and personalized approach.
4. Content Amplification- High quality content is critical for getting your business published on sites like Forbes or TechCrunch. Amplification to your target audience is becoming easier through a variety of distribution channels. Social media, marketing newsletters, email signatures and others, offer ways to get the right eyes on your content to amplify your message. Another avenue that will become even more effective to reach your audience is to have employees amplify your message on their own social media accounts. When done correctly, content shared by employees can get eight times more engagement than content shared by brand channels.
Are you interested in using digital marketing to build your brand and connect with more customers? Contact the digital marketing specialists at Off The Wall Media to effectively engage with your target audience. Visit our website or call 503-452-1082 to learn more.