Technology is a beautiful thing. Each year it gets better and better. And with it, our digital marketing strategies evolve and improve. The year 2016 has brought many new changes in digital marketing, and has improved on some old practices.
Check ‘em out to stay up to date on the trends:
Upgrades on Social Media
Social media is quickly climbing the social ladder, and on its way to becoming one of the top digital marketing tools of 2016.
While many still disregard its worth, these social networking outlets are proving to be more and more valuable as a way to reach out to more individuals online. And while the possibilities are expanding, the price of using these social media outlets to grow awareness of your business is extremely cheap.
While some smaller companies can get by using simple pages to promote their business for free, most other companies only pay a small fee to help promote their posts and their page through sponsored posts online.
But That’s Not the Only Way Businesses are Stepping Up.
Many companies are hiring content producers and creative thinkers to simply focus on their social media pages. These individuals use marketing technology and come up with creative posts, fun blogs, and sometimes even post photos and interactive content to keep clients and potential leads engaged.
And now what you post has the potential to get even more recognition online. Twitter will become even more robust later this year, as Google will begin to recognize lines from tweets in search engines, giving your posts an extra SEO boost.
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With your social networking pages, you are given a blank slate. It’s up to your business to make something of it. And when you make something great, it will find the attention it deserves.
Video Advertising
If you thought Instagram photos were the newest thing to break through on the internet, you’re in for a world of hurt when you find out you are still way behind the times. I’m not saying photos are irrelevant, but they’re not the newest thing you need to succeed in business.
Videos are the new “it” thing in digital marketing. From six second Vines that play on a loop, to Instagram’s Boomerang App (which is pretty much just a moving image without sound) to minute long motion picture stories, all of the above are proving to be useful to gain attention online.
An eye-grabbing video will draw in clicks, but with vivid content, whether that be a good story, an aesthetic and artsy vibe, or a combination of both, you’ll get real views.
This kind of compelling video will likely also get the likes, retweets and shares. And a share is pretty much the best thing you could hope for out of an online video. It’s the best way to gain respect and attention, which results in leads and sales. Its effortless marketing.
People no longer want to read everything for themselves. They’d rather watch a video, and feel the excitement without the imagination. Show them what they want to see with a video.
Location-Based Targeting
With cell phones and social media, people can “check-in” at any moment. But you don’t need to wait for them to do that to find out where they are and what they’re looking at. As creepy as it may sound, the technology is already out there and ready to use.
It’s called Triangulation. Yes, that’s that neat technology that directs us through our navigating systems in our cars and cellphones. But it is also useful to marketers because it can help us track our leads. It can provide us with information that tells us when we get the most views per post, and what region they are coming from.
With this information, we can work to improve our online presence by targeting people during certain times and in certain areas to make better connections.
Mobile Marketing for the Win
Smart phones own the world in this day and age. So why are so many businesses still slacking when it comes to mobile marketing?
When more than half of your consumers are reaching your site and social media pages through mobile devices, you need to take that into consideration and make sure your campaign is at least mobile-friendly, if not optimized for mobile use.
Start by ensuring that your website’s pages are easily accessible via mobile devices. Sometimes, the major issue is that the loading times are slow, or the page is strangely zoomed-in to the point that it cannot easily be viewed on smartphones.
These seemingly minor issues can actually be major turnoffs for potential customers, and with each click of that exit button, that’s a lost lead, or worse, a lost sale.
Ouch, huh? So do what you can to make your online presence mobile friendly. And even work to incorporate mobile initiatives to target mobile users via email marketing and social media marketing campaigns. With such a large number of individuals checking these outlets on their phones and tablets, you may have better luck targeting them in this manner.
The Bottom Line
Are you serious about winning big in 2016? If so, then you’ll want to take advantage of the new technologies and techniques outlined above. But don’t just read about them — use them. If you do, you’ll have a competitive edge over other businesses, and that’s not a bad thing, right?
About the Author: Mersad Berberovic works at LeadPath, which is a lead management platform based out of Chicago. LeadPath takes the burden of managing leads off your shoulders, so you can focus on more important things….like closing deals.