This article covers some of the top Digital Marketing trends and which areas you should focus on to follow the direction in which Digital Marketing is developing in 2016 and 2017. Heading into the future, advertisers in the marketplace will invest more in their online marketing budget than they will on the combined television markets. Businesses will spend more than $100 billion on the following:
Many of the Digital Marketing trends are a continuation of what we have seen in 2015, with some gaining more momentum (like social media) while others are losing steam (like desktop searching). Following are the strongest Digital Marketing trends you want to stay on top of to ride the wave into 2017 and beyond.
Digital Marketing Trends targeting the Millennials
Data from Pew Research Center shows that adults ages 18-34 (the Millennials) outnumber Generation X and more than 1 out of 3 Americans in the labor force are in that age group. Most of these individuals are also on their mobile device.
The Millennials will account for a lot of the spending in 2016 and 2017. 85% of this group owns a smartphone and 64% listen to streamed music on the same device. Businesses that want to target Millennials will be wise to market their product or service on the free streaming internet radio stations. This is because Millennials would rather get ad-supported free streaming radio than pay for a service. A recent Nielsen report explains that 95% of streamed music is being supported by ads.
Digital Marketing Trends in Radio
One Digital Marketing trend that we are seeing a tremendous rise in is Radio and Podcasting. iHeartRadio alone has over 80 million registered listeners and people will listen to popular speakers in podcasts for hours on end. Not only is internet radio growing, so are the number of ways people access that media. Naturally, Smartphones are in the lead with computers trailing behind. What must be noted is that mobile phone use has grown (15% increase from 2014-2015), while computer use has decreased (from 67% to 61% from 2014-2015).
A report by Nielsen stated that each dollar invested in radio marketing could produce a return of up to $17 from those exposed to the advertising.
Digital Marketing Singapore Trends in Video Marketing and Advertising
If we go back in time, before we had film, we had photos. Then we took photos and moved them really fast to make a moving picture. We have gone from a reel-to-reel style playback to having the film, the video camera, the screen and the playback system, all in our pockets. Video is and always has been on the rise and it is no different in Digital Marketing for 2016 and beyond. What makes a difference is based on what is accessible and what Google, Yahoo and Bing (the top 3 search engines) decide to index.
The consumer is also becoming more accepting of video ads too. Imagine going to the movie theater and watching a slideshow of photos. People want more action and just like movies, they will soon want to see actual videos of the product and services being offered. YouTube is already in the front on video with more than 4 Billion videos that are being viewed every day.
Digital Marketing Trends in APPS
Will apps completely replace Websites? Smart businessmen and Digital Marketing trend experts are always trying to determine what the next medium will be for businesses to showcase their products and services. Imagine the tape deck converting to the CD player or the VCR to the DVD Player. Now it will be the Website to the APP. The market is more mobile than ever and this is an area of concern. A website could soon become an old medium and to stay in the game, you will need some sort of App. We already see this happening with websites that need to be optimized (responsive) for mobile devices. With so many new APPS joining in on the conversation (more than 2 million on both Apple and Google), search engines will need to meet the demand and this will create an Digital Marketing trend you won’t want to miss.
Digital Marketing Trends in Mobile Use
More and more people are using their mobile devices to browse the internet. This is easy to understand when you consider that everyone with a modern phone also has the following:
It is a mobile, “everything” world and the above is the small list. Last year mobile search traffic outranked desktop search traffic globally. While more people are searching and using their mobile devices, fewer are using their desktops.
The way we interact is changing. When was the last time you actually wrote a letter, by hand? It could be shown that more people text, send digital photos and share online. Getting on the desktop could soon be like writing a letter by hand. So mobile marketing and adjusting to the mobile Digital Marketing trends isn’t just a good idea, it is a must.
As Google has shared with us, 94% of the people in the USA using a mobile device searched for local information with that device.
Digital Marketing Trends in Virtual Reality opens a new Rift in Marketing
The Oculus Rift is a forerunner for virtual reality headsets. The Oculus Rift has a history that we are becoming more and more familiar with when it comes to Apple-like success stories. At 18 years of age, Palmer Luckey of Long Beach, California created the first prototype of the Oculus Rift in 2011. And yes, it was in the garage of his parent’s house. Later, it was purchased by Facebook for $2 billion. This created a new market for Virtual Reality and now more than 20 companies have jumped on board. These includes the big names like Microsoft, Sony, and Samsung to name a few.
The verdict is still out as to how VR will play a role in our future, but with big companies like Google backing the industry, we can be sure it will have an impact. Any new device creates a new form of marketing or a new opportunity to market. VR is no different and with the creative ways that social media and messaging will be incorporated make for another way to market.
Digital Marketing Trends Pushing Price Points
This is more of a pain point for the small business. As more and more people jump into online marketing and digital advertising, the demand will increase the cost of being in this market. Consider a new niche that might have been only 10 cents a click for a Pay Per Click (PPC) Ad for a specific keyword that quickly becomes $1. Per Click when other companies join the fray. So one Digital Marketing trend we will see as we head into 2017 is an increase in marketing costs as competition continues to increase. The cost of online marketing is due to increase to 35% of your total business budget.
Digital Marketing Trends in Digital Bling
We already have the world in the palm of our hands with our mobile devices and smartphones. Now, we not only carry around the internet with our phones but also on our wrists. Smartwatches entered the market in 2015 and will continue to push the limits in 2016 and into 2017.
Who knows where we will end up with internet ready glasses, but with Virtual Reality headsets becoming more popular, we could see another shift. Regardless, we do know there is an Digital Marketing trend growing for wearable markets. These will expand beyond the watch into other ways that people can access the digital world, but for now, this is the leading area to focus on. Almost every mobile phone manufacturer also has a smartwatch. We should see more involvement with these in 2017 as it is a relatively new market.
Digital Marketing Trends in Mobile Assistance
The reason you spend hours adjusting the SEO on your websites is so that you can help search engines index your pages and this in-turn helps the consumer search and find your product. The future of marketing will require that you not only adjust for search engines but that you consider other ways that people will be searching and then you will need to update your site to meet this needs.
We already know that we must make our websites mobile friendly and responsive. This is what most businesses with an old website are focused on. Google provides a free way to test your site as seen in the image below.
This isn’t so Google can index you (though you might get a bonus for meeting the mobile requirements), we do this so that the user experience is enjoyable when they visit your site. Otherwise, they will look away if they are forced to pinch their screens to see your menus.
But what other ways are mobile users searching for your product or service? Have you ever used Siri or Cortana? These are digital assistants that provide a unique way for mobile users to search. So again, just as you will want your site to adjust for Google, Yahoo, and Bing, you also will want to adjust for Siri and Cortana. As we move into the future, we can see an Digital Marketing trend in the direction of digital assistants rising.
Digital Marketing Trends in Social Media Searching
We already know that the Social Networks like Facebook are trending up. But what we need to pay attention to are the trending behaviors of consumers on these social networks. More and more people are turning to their peers for advice when it comes to purchasing a product or service. And where do they search? Not on Google, Bing or Yahoo. They turn to a place that they are already at home with, their social network. Social media will be the big player when it comes to doing research. Facebook is also working on improving its search engine to meet and support this demand.
These Digital Marketing trends are not the only ones that will continue to grow. They are also not the only trends that will be present in both 2016 and 2017. More will reveal themselves, some will fizzle out and some will skyrocket. These are just of few of the prominent trends in Digital Marketing. We can only go off the past to dictate what we believe the future will have to offer. However, it will be the user that determines the direction of future Digital Marketing trends.
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