Taking a moment to look back at 2014 and think ahead to 2015, we’ve collected 12 marketing trends to look for and a few ideas on how to embrace them. Having an entrepreneurial streak of our own, we know it’s important to keep things streamlined when planning. And, that’s where the 12 days of marketing comes in – break these into your own 12 days of marketing, assessing the value of each one to your business, one day at a time, as we head into the New Year.
- Listicles – Listicles caught on big in 2014, and we’ll continue to see content presented to readers in this easy-to-read or other short-form formats. Content consumers want their information in smaller, easier to consume blocks of data. Plus, with more people consuming content on mobile devices, shorter articles and lists will be the play of the day.
- Consumer Data – There is a lot we know about consumers. We’ll be using consumer data to develop more personalized marketing strategies (e.g., retargeting).
- Humanizing of Businesses (People Centric Marketing) – Engagement will start taking a new form…who is the person behind the social media postings, who are the people that make up your team and what do they believe in? Instead of just engaging with a company, consumers will engage with the people within the company.
- Audience Development – With paid and organic media getting harder to gain access to (due to rising costs, algorithm updates, etc.), the importance of growing your email and remarketing lists will be more important, in a direct effort to convert more of those who didn’t convert on first contact.
- Mobile, Mobile, and More Mobile – Clearly not a new concept, but with the advent of new mobile wallet technology; more emphasis on mobile, “responsive” websites; and mobile app development, this platform can’t be ignored even a little bit.
- Paid Social – The proliferation of content coupled with decrease in organic reach on social will soon necessitate social marketers to pay for “content amplification” to a desired market and customer base. We already how much harder it is to reach customers organically in places like Facebook and Twitter, and there is no doubt it will only get even more difficult to reach a targeted audience without ad spends.
- Visual Content and Storytelling – Videos and photos will again be a main play for marketers and businesses. Know what the number two search engine is, in terms of number of searches? YouTube. There’s also the numerous photo sharing apps like Instagram, SnapChat, Pinterest, and newcomers like iHeartIt and Swipe that will continue to take market share from “bigger” players like Facebook and Twitter.
- Reviews – While consumer reviews for products and businesses have long been a stalwart of purchasing decisions, largely based on likes and dislikes, local business reviews will begin to have an even bigger impact on local search rankings. In fact, it’s fairly certain that business reviews may be the number one SEO method for any local business to reach page one of Google in what’s called the “local pack.” Good and plentiful reviews in Yelp and Google will do a lot to aid in local SEO efforts, but getting reviews on your website will also help in increasing conversions as you build that trust with potential clients.
- Wearable Tech – Like mobile, it’s not entirely new, but the use of wearable tech will grow as the products get better, sleeker, smaller, and more feature heavy. Even more so now that Apple has thrown itself into the ring with its new iWatch set for release in early 2015, marketers will have to act quickly to effectively reach early adopters.
- Artificial Intelligence – One of our favorite new forces to be reckoned with is Artificial Intelligence (AI), where machines and software work like a human brain. We are seeing this in products like Nest thermostats that learn your behavior and automatically adjust settings. It’s even possible that AI will take on website design, where sites built with AI can update themselves upon detection of patterns that are working, or not.
- Hispanic Marketing – Not only do Hispanics make up a full 17 percent of the U.S. population, but this demographic also makes up 56 percent of all new U.S. population growth (U.S. Census data). Content and marketing would be amiss not to include this group. This will not only affect businesses trying to reach a new market, but lead to the creation of more agencies and other companies focused specifically on the Hispanic market.
- Attribution Modeling – Which click gets credit? The last one? The first one? Attribution modeling will increase as online marketing and multi-channel marketing continues to proliferate. Where to assign credit will become as important, as the “last click” is not always the most important one.
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