Digital Marketing Trends 2017 For Businesses

Introduction

Bidding adieu to the previous year, 2016, we all have welcomed a New Year, 2017 with open arms and great expectations. With hopes of tapping the excellent potentiality of the expanding market, every enterprise has pulled up its socks and is ready to dive into the ocean of marketing with digital waves.

2016 was definitely a year that held high a new milestone in the digital world. With more and more number of people vowing for a strong digital presence and possessing more than one social profile, the market in the online world has expanded tremendously for businesses of every sector and industry.

Soaring high in the market, digitalization is the key trend that has put every enterprise on their foot and has given them a chain of platforms to market their business and to spread a word about their products and services.

With new trends evolving in the market every now and then, there might be some confusion among the enterprises about the kind of marketing strategies that they need to develop and craft for growing special kind of attention and great value in the market. Although other techniques or strategies might be in conflict or might be thought about twice or thrice when it come to take the marketing decision for an enterprise, but digital marketing has admirably secured its position for the same.

The shift and focus of the marketers have turned on the digital platform as it promises high reach and excellent prospects for them to meet their new and prospective customers and enhance their visibility in the market. While securing a strong presence in the market, the companies secure a good availability of game-changing opportunities and exciting developments which definitely affect their marketing plans for its betterment and improvement.

A large number of ups, downs and unexpected trends have been experienced by 2016, and with all those in the bygone days, the new beginning of the New Year is all set to experience some revolutionary and ground-breaking changes and modern trends which will re-define digital marketing in the best possible way and will compliment every business’s growth and development brilliantly.

The best and most highlighted aspect of digital marketing is that it can work for any business in any industry. Regardless of what the company sells, involving digital marketing in its marketing strategy ensures them to build upon a strong and ideal persona for the company which helps their target audience to identify with the brand easily.

What Is Digital Marketing?

Before we start discussing the latest trends of the digital marketing industry, let us explore what digital marketing is and how it plays a key role in enhancing the business prospects of an enterprise.

"Digital Marketing is a term used for defining the various ways of promoting and advertising for a product, brand or service through the various online and social media channels. The ever-growing platforms of digital media are utilized for a strong and ideal marketing strategy which can be tailored according to the needs and preferences of the target audiences.”

Digital Marketing is an umbrella term which is used for describing all efforts and techniques used for online marketing efforts. The businesses leverage several digital channels such as Google, Yahoo, and other search engines, social platforms, email marketing and website promotions, in one way or the other. This promotion through single or various online platform/s of products and brands is what is termed as Digital Marketing.

On the contrary to traditional marketing, the digital marketing is not accessible to every individual. There is a need or compulsion of having an internet connection for accessing the promotions which are available online.

Digital Marketing For B2B Companies

The digital marketing efforts of a B2B company centers around the online lead generation which play a major role in fulfilling their business objectives. The B2B companies generally aim to use the digital marketing strategies in order to attract and convert the highest level of quality leads for the sales people through the website and it’s supporting digital channels and mediums. The business-focused platforms like LinkedIn are emphasized upon by the digital marketers for the B2B companies, as it is here that the demographics the company wants to target to spend most of their time.

Businesses opt for the digital landscape in order to remain relevant in the industry and to gain constant attention from their target demographics. As the market is evolving continuously there is great need to understand and gain an in-depth knowledge of what strategies are trending today, which of them would be long-lasting and how many of them can attract the right kind of ROI which the companies always look for. Optimizing the social and the digital podiums are the best way through which the businesses can reach out to the professional and business-oriented targets who can be great prospects for the respective companies.

Digital Marketing For B2C Companies

The goal of B2C companies is to attract their target audience to their website and have them turned into customers. The digital market is being well-explored by the B2C companies as they have touched upon and have checked out various ways through which they can enhance their business prospects to a great level. They have made wonderful use of several avenues of digital marketing and especially have utilized the social media platforms as their marketing techniques.

Unlike their B2B counterparts, B2C companies don’t long for focusing on generating leads, rather they want to attract huge traffic in order to accelerate their business growth. They use strong calls-to-action or CTAs in order to entice their target audience to website the website and to accelerate their shopping journey from the time they enter the website till the moment they make the purchase. Utilizing the various platforms efficiently, the B2C companies excellently take help of the brand and marketing communications in order to increase their market visibility and to improve their digital status excellently.

Evolution Of Digital Marketing

The term ‘Digital Marketing’ was first used in 1990. Since then a large number of people have been associated with it and are getting aware about it. But it is only in the last 10 years that the popularity and usage of online marketing have increased tremendously. A large number of developments have happened since then and the digital world is on a constant verge of expanding and developing.Going hand-in-hand with the evolution of the internet, the digital world experience around 16 million internet users worldwide by 1995. The number rose to 558 million by 2002. This speaks a lot about the bonding or the strong connection between the internet and digital marketing. The growth and development of online marketing further got boosted with the advent of smart phones. The number of internet and smart phone users is increasing at a rapid pace.

Till a few years back, the desktop was the only or the major source of using the internet, but the scenario altered with the invention of smart phones and laptops.

There are around 3.26 billion internet users around the world, out of which around 52.7% of them access the internet via mobile devices. The digital penetration level has also increased in the recent years, and the effect of digital marketing is also expanding as it has been observed that around 70% of mobile searches results in an instant online action within an hour of the search being conducted.

This has proved the power of digital marketing and its ability to penetrate brilliantly in the mind of the visitors and the target audience. On an average, the teenagers spent around 27 hours a week, whereas other people spent around 2.5 hours every week. This increases the prospect of a large number of people coming across the online marketing of a product or a brand and thus getting aware about the same and sometimes even taking actions desired by the marketers.

Different Arenas Of Digital Marketing

The term digital marketing is in use in the modern day more frequently than before. But not everyone is aware of the several ways or areas through which digital marketing is actually performed. People generally link digital marketing with SEO, but there is more to that.  There are several tactics through which a digital marketer guarantees excellent online opportunities for the business.

• Search Engine Optimization or SEO
  This is the process of optimizing the website to rank high in the search engine and increase the organic traffic rate of the website.
• Content Marketing
  It is a process of optimizing the rank of the website in the search engine results page through the help of excellent content.
• Social Media Marketing Or SMM
  It is the practice of promoting the brand and the content on social media channels to increase the awareness and generate effective business leads.
• Inbound Marketing
  It is a method to attract, convert and delight customers using online content.
• Affiliate Marketing
  It is a kind of advertising where one receives the commission for promoting someone else’s products or services on the website.
• Pay-Per-Click or PPC
  This is a method of driving traffic to a website by paying the publisher every time the advertisement is clicked upon.
• Email Marketing
  This method of marketing is often used in order to promote content and discount among the targeted audience and also helps in directing people towards the website.
• Native Advertising
  It is referred to the advertisements which are led by content and are featured on platforms with other non-paid contents.
• Online PR
  It is the practice of securing online coverage with digital publications, blogs, and other content.
• Marketing Automation
  Marketing automation is referred to the software which helps in developing the goal of automating marketing actions.

With so many various avenues available in digital marketing, the professionals related with it need to be equipped with the latest updates which can help them to adapt the change and make a mark in the industry or perish. There is no way in between. Similar to their condition, the companies also face the situation where either they emerge as a victorious digital name or they fail to make a mark in the industry by failing to make the most of the digital platforms.

Depending on the field the business is associated with, the digital marketers choose the several ways that they are going to use for marketing the business and helping it to turn into a major brand which stands second to none in the industry. Creating compelling contents throughout the platforms and crafting a unique style of the business ensures establishing a perfect social presence of the company which helps the consumers or the prospects to identify with them.

In today’s globalized business world, it has become imperative for the companies to accelerate their social and digital presence and leverage it for ensuring their upright business growth. It is one of the various parameters that help in developing strong trust among the consumers.

Reasons Why Businesses Should Opt For Digital Marketing

Digital marketing, unlike other marketing efforts and techniques, come up with reliable and accurate results in real time. It also enables the businesses to gauge the ROI of marketing efforts. It is so pervasive in nature which allows the consumers to have access to information at any time and any place that they want. Gone are the days where the manufacturers used to deliver only a little information which they thought to be enough for their consumers. Today, the consumer needs in-depth information about the products or services which they are interested in and the digital media serves as the comprehensive platform which enables the consumers and the manufacturers to connect with each other.

There are several reasons which are responsible for the businesses to adopt the digital marketing techniques and strategies and anticipate new growth in the business:

• Branding Is Valuable
  Like Rome, a brand is not built in a single day. Gone are the days, when posters, brochures, and billboards were the only media of building a brand. In today’s age, digital world plays a magnificent role in developing and building a brand. The website and the social media platforms play a major role in cementing the messages that the organization wants to deliver to their target audiences. The social networks, blogs, and videos give the organizations a proper mean and way to develop and hone their voice and messages and to be able to reach out to a large number of people.
• Content Is King
  With the increase in a large number of educated individuals getting on the social media platforms, the need to satisfy their thirst for engaging and essential information becomes a necessity. There is always a need to develop an engaging story to tell to the audience. It captivates the attention of their audiences and develops remarkable content that the Google always looks for. Authority and credibility plays a very efficient role in deciding upon the prosperity of a business. If a company publishes a piece of content which is reliable, relevant and recent, then the Google will definitely take notice of the business and will help it to get listed on the top of the search engine results.
• Visibility Matters
  If an organization is not present on the internet even in the recent years; there are high chances that the business is missing out on a lot of prospects and customers. It is believed that an organization without an online presence is an organization that 99.9% people have never heard of. On the other hand, an organization with a strong web presence can dream and plan of expanding its audience and taking proper measure to expand and get the right kind of visibility and traffic which they had always looked for.
• Video Marketing Helps
  When it comes to marketing and promoting a business nothing can play as essential a role as is played by the visuals. The graphics, images, and statistics have always been a major source of promotion for a business, adding to its authenticity and effectiveness are the videos. It plays an essential role in helping the companies to stand out from their competitors and to help them to reach people who cannot understand the language of the text. It is also advisable to see that the videos can reach out to a large number of people in a way the texts cannot. Possessing the ability to attract a large number of people quickly, it creates strong visual appeal and helps to represent the ideals, aims, and objectives of the business.
• Easy Access
  Being easily accessible to the target audience and prospective customers is the need of the hour. With every business becoming more and more active socially, the chances of reaching out to a large number of people become high. It helps in opening up several entrances for the organization to gain right kind of exposure. Through digital marketing, every business gets the right kind of opportunity to become easily accessible to their clients and to enable the company to come up with quick response to every query that comes to their way.
• Digital Devices
  We live in a world where one screen is just not apt for a business to be accessible to. There is a great need to be available on various screens and devices, in order to gain the attention of the targeted audiences who are using various platforms to surf the internet and to make a payment. The digital device like mobile and tablets have shifted the paradigm of the market and is crucial for every business as it accounts for the large chunk of the potential customers.
• The Power Of Search
  The majority of people are using the online research findings as the best source of information for deciding on the platform for shopping or the best company that provides a reliable service in the market. Every 6 out of 10 consumers rely upon the social media or the review based sites before deciding on the website or company that wonderfully caters to meet their research requirements and fulfill it excellently.

Digital Marketing Trends

The online marketing platform has evolved as one of the most alluring and efficient media for marketing one’s business and tapping the potential of the market. Ever since its birth, the digital marketing has continuously evolved and has come up with some marvelous and exclusive strategies and techniques which make sure that the promotion of the business is done beautifully and seamlessly.

Every year, a new trend is introduced in the market which becomes an integral part of the industry and is used by the digital marketers around the globe in order to make the business visible to the prospective targeted audiences. Being a cost-effective and efficient service, these strategies has been used in promoting the large, medium as well as small businesses and has established its worth in the industry through its quality and brilliance.

With no doubt, the year 2016 was an amazing year and a big milestone in the online marketing industry. But the industry is reluctant to slow down its pace and is continuously evolving in the market which is making its landscape change every second day. Although the online marketing industry has reached a great height in the market, the horizon of the industry is yet to be seen anywhere on the surface. With the evolvement of new social platforms and latest technologies, the scope of the online industry to grow and expand is too high which definitely keeps the marketers always on their toes.

Known to all, marketing is a field which is dominated by the people who have the farsightedness to plan ahead and anticipate the changes that might occur in the future. It is always advisable for every digital marketer to be aware of the latest trends that can revolutionize the entire scenario of the industry. Knowing and understanding the trends before the competitors, helps the marketers to be aware of their existence and use them in order to be a step ahead of the competition.

Some of the latest trends of the digital marketing industry which are booming up rapidly and need to get adopted by the marketers in order to augment new strategies and design various ways to step ahead on the ladder in order to reach the top of the market, ahead of the competitors.

Video Marketing- For In-Depth Market Penetration

Online marketing strategies have various wings and different aspects that need to be focused upon in the recent years. One such important element that has floated on the surface and has proved its worth over and over again is the power of video in marketing.

Video has the strength to attract the attention of the consumers and increase the brand awareness and customer loyalty apart from playing a major role in enhancing the ROI of the business. Incorporating video in marketing strategies make it more reachable and ensure that the message will penetrate to a deeper level than it is done through text or another type of marketing.

Keeping the consumers engaged for a longer period of time, video plays a key role as a top piece of marketing consumed highly by the customers and prospects. It can be posted on several video sharing or posting websites and even social platforms. Through the help of the video advertisements, one can easily be a part of the changed spectrum and can realize and expect high visibility in the market. YouTube and Facebook have already established themselves as the leading giants of video marketing and there is news that even Google is entering this market with its in-SERP video marketing features. With such developments exploding in the market, we may soon expect different types of videos popping up on our screens as we surf the internet or check our social profiles.

Live And Immersive Video Streaming- To Connect With Consumers On Real-Time Basis

Till the recent years, the videos were recorded and used in a way that it delivered the message. But, with the advancement of technologies and ideas, one can now easily shot real-time videos and go live with it. Immersive viewing experience can really break its ground in 2017. Videos today are not just one-dimensional; they are 360 degree which breaks the four wall concepts and helps the marketers to control the shoot of the video and to share their videos at any time or moment that they want.

In the modern era, there is more demand for in-the-moment content and live broadcasting which helps them to connect with the marketers or the company. Thanks to the speed of the internet people are now being able to share videos quickly with their target audiences and enhance the overall repute and image of the brand in the market.

Visuals are always considered to be a much efficient and ideal way to disseminate the information about an organization and a company. With the introduction of the moving pictures, the videos have becomes very popular and it has established its own surreal space that gravitates the consumers towards the company.

Content Is Ruling The Market- Attracting Relevant Traffic

Content is often referred to as the king of the digital marketing and is an integral part of the same. The place of content is secured enough and there is no way one can ever imagine to leave it behind and move ahead in the competition. It is the content of the website, the social media pages, the blogs and the search engines that helps a business rank high or low in the search engine ranking as per their quality. The influx of professional content writers and the expanding scope of the content are boosting the competitiveness of the market and are presenting an ideal platform for the businesses to understand their target audience and to connect with them easily.

Another important fact related to content is that the patients of individuals are decreasing at a rapid pace and their demand from the technological updates is increasing at a significant speed. This has carved out the need for creating short, crisp and quality content for the social media platforms. Any people checking their social media profiles will not like to get greeted by never-ending content or blogs and thus the short contents are necessary.

The content crafters are now writing contents of different lengths for various platforms as well as for fulfilling different expectations of its clients.

The most effective role that the contents play is to help a company get identified in the market through its name. It introduces the business in the market, establishes a good hold of it and helps the customers to be informed about the products or services which it renders at a brilliant level. Going by the statistics it can be said that around 80 percent of all companies maintain a blog or a news and events section and updates it on a regular basis in order to drive relevant traffic to the website.

Mobile Will Be The Dominating Ones-Boosting On-The-Go-Consumerism

This is the era of mobile phones and one just cannot ignore its significance and prevalence in every individual’s life. The mobiles have gradually taken over alarm clocks, music players, books, video games and for some even the cameras. It has all-in-all turned into one single device that houses all source of entertainment- starting from music, games, social media searches or the search engine. It is active and is always accessible, thanks to its brilliant size and wonderful technology that helps its users to stay updated about every single incident which are occurring around the globe.

Holding such a valuable position in every individual’s life, it is mandatory for the digital marketers to focus on a large number of target audiences who use the mobile phones. The mobile dependency and its usage have emerged to be one of the significant changes that are contributing in the process of fading away of desktop traffic to a great level. Every website has to be optimized for phone or even the search engines like Google will phase-out the business.

Understanding the clear logic and the changed landscape, the entrepreneurs are investing their money smartly in the mobile-focused internet marketing. The increasing number of mobile phone users and the decreasing desktop traffic clearly indicates towards growing importance of mobile-based online marketing. The emergence of electronic evolution is rightly coupled with innovative technologies and modern features which are also significantly giving rise to On-The-Go-Consumerism feature by possessing dramatic influence on their minds, encouraging them to shop while they are on their way to home, office or on a vacation.

Dedicated Apps with Augmented Reality Are Finding Their Way

With the increase in a large number of smart phone users in the modern days, there is a great need for entrepreneurs to pull up their socks and get on the market with a unique range of solutions that would attract them in the best possible way. This has also paved the way for the brilliant range of applications which brings the target audience, the prospective customers as well as the existing customers close to the business.

These applications have also helped in crafting a unique shopping experience for every individual to help them get a customized solution for each of their needs. Being a part of digital marketing, the new trend in this sphere is the development of dedicated apps with augmented reality feature embedded in it.

“Augmented Reality is a term used first in 1990. Its meaning and references have changed from time to time and today it stands for describing the experience which is developed due to the interaction of superimposed graphics, audio, and other sense enhancement features over a real-world atmosphere which is displayed in real-time.”

This augmented reality has established its own unique status and position in the market by proving its worth in the industry. People are ready to experience this augmented reality in their everyday life and the marketers are equipped with a new and reliable source of earning potential income. It is thus that the people with digital marketing in their marketing strategy are planning to come up with AR games, AR ads, and of course the AR apps. This is the future of the online world and large and large numbers of marketers are planning to adopt this feature for gaining excellent benefits for the business.

Data Visualization Tool Will Stand Out In The Market – Making Data Interpretation Easy

Being in the industry of marketing, the life and blood of each and every marketer are the wide range of data which is available in the market. The marketers have to stay updated about who is buying the product or service, from where, when, how and for what marketing messages have created a major impact on them. This quantitative information helps the marketers to learn about the performance of the business and the role that the various ads and platforms have played in the development of the value in the market.

Although each and every marketer is in the habit of dealing with a large number of data at one time, but there is a limit to the human mind. It cannot work as a machine and collate all information and interpret them simultaneously. They find it extremely difficult in maintaining these and thus have developed the modern range of tools which promises to store and interpret the data in the best possible way making it extremely easy and comfortable for all to get the best of the services and information.

At times it becomes a challenging task for the marketer to go through, understand and interpret the real meaning or findings of the data. The data visualization tool has proved to be a great and efficient instrument to know and understand what the real meaning of the information is by just taking a look at them.

With its great features and alluring characteristics, all small, medium and large businesses are hopping to use this tool in order to simplify the complex issues and get an easy interpretation as a result of the data analysis.

In 2017, every business is planning to use these tools in order to stay ahead in the market, and the ones who won’t adapt them are likely to lag behind in the race. With new and advanced technologies evolving in the market every now and then, there is a great scope that with time these tools will become more sophisticated with time and the data analysis results will be sharper and smoother in future.

Search Engine Algorithms Will Change Frequently- Helping The Best Sites To Rank High

Whether you like it or not, 2017 will be a year of frequent updates and changes in the search engines. With a bulk of data and content being added to the digital platform every second, it becomes a tough decision for the search engine moguls like Google to decide upon which content is relevant and should rank high in the search results.

In order to manage this issue, the search engines are all set to introduce frequent changes and updates with new search engine algorithms. It helps them to enhance their relevance and to get the best of the content at the top of the results whereas the ones which are not up to the mark should be removed from the list.

The most popular search engine of the world, Google, changes its search algorithm for about 500 to 600 times every year as per their requirement. Most of these changes are minor in nature and thus goes unnoticed by most of the marketers, as it does not affect their business or their way of work. However, the problem emerges when major updates are introduced and implemented. In 2016, Google introduced around 10 major updates that affected the search results in the most significant ways. It also had negative impacts on several businesses for those were not falling under the new rules and regulations introduced by the search engine.

In 2017, more such updates are going to be implemented which will completely keep the marketers on their toes. However, the best way to deal with them is to make sure that the business listed on Google or other search engines are valid, relevant and original. The marketers also need to pay attention to the fact that the content used by the business on the various online platforms is unique, original and informative in nature. The search engine optimization services rendered by the professionals of the industry keeps the latest algorithms in mind and crafts the strategy in a way that it suits the nature of the business.

If it is helpful for the audience, then there is no reason for a business to be scared of the latest search engine algorithm updates. However, there is a great need to shift your focus even on the algorithms introduced by the various social media platforms, as even they are emerging as a great source of content marketing for different businesses.

Targeting Niche Marketing- Bringing Companies Closer To Niche Markets

True to the fact that a large number of people are increasing the use of smart phones and are opting for shopping on-the-go option, but the number of companies selling their products and services is also increasing significantly. This scenario clearly gives the idea that the number of online consumers is more or less the same, but the increasing number of online service providers is giving the consumers a tough time to decide.

Each and every business now being online is now fighting for the same piece of pie. All they want is to turn their business into a global name and attract the attention of a global audience. Realizing this landscape, many businesses are planning to go narrow in their appeal.

This is one of the best solutions for many businesses. They are targeting the niche market and have narrowed down their approach in a way that they the niche consumers can easily relate to them and can feel the connections between them.

The way of online marketing will change with a more specific topic that will connect with the interests, values, and the lifestyle of the particular demographic residing in a particular geographic location which is the target of the business. With the adoption of this trend, the marketing specialists are showing their niche expertise and are aiming high to filter their target audience and reach them with a customized and personalized way especially tailored for them.

Influencer Marketing- Efficient Way Of Earning Customer’s Trust

2017 will be the year of influencer online marketing. The one thing that a business or an enterprise, market their product for is TRUST of their target audiences and existing and potential customers. It is through the influencer marketing strategy that they are being able to reach to a large number of customers and develop a strong trust among them.

Over the years the influencer marketing has shown its advantages and benefits, however, with the New Year beginning, the paradigm of online marketing is shifting to the influencer marketing. This marketing strategy will also have a large chunk of advertising budget of a brand for the key role that it plays.

Influencers are the people with a great number of followers and admirers in the society, who completely trust them. Trust is the major thing which a brand always pays for. When a brand advertises for a product, it just exposes it to a large number of people, but when influencer marketing is used, exposure comes along with trust. It is the single most efficient and significant way to earn the trust of the potential and particular market. Industries like fashion, tech, and athletics have already adopted this trend and in the on-going year, it is securely finding its way through the local, small, medium and niche industries as well.

The previous year, experienced a boom in platforms for connecting with influencers and thus have paved a strong and ideal way for businesses to reach out to their right audiences easily and more efficiently. Considering influencer marketing is strongly recommended for online marketing this year.

Internet of Things (IoT) – Promising To Make Life Easier

Internet Of Things is a pretty new concept in the market. It can be described as the concept of connecting anything and everything any device with the internet. Starting from cell phones, refrigerators, coffee makers and everything else that you can think of can be connected to the internet, through the on and off button which is attached to it.

The IoT is basically a giant network of various things. It establishes a great and unique relationship between people to people, people and things and things and things. These connected networks allow the devices to send and receive data and to get a clear insight into the human behavior outside the digital space.

You might be wondering what really the function of IoT is and how it can benefit you in leading your life. Imagine everything that you use is connected with each other- when your alarm clock wakes you up at 6 A.M it sends a message to the coffee maker to brew the coffee for you, as you get ready for the coffee, a message is sent to the toaster to prepare the toast and functions similar to this. It surely makes you more productive at work and saves a lot of time.

But, as it is in its evolving stage, there are certain loopholes related with it which are yet to be covered efficiently. One of this is it’s related to the security of your private life. Although it is all set to bring new opportunities in its way and open the gateway to new success and pathway, IoT is still a hot-button topic and will soon swipe the market with its presence.

Wearable Technologies-Devices Of The Modern Era

In the few years in the past, several wearable technologies have been unveiled. Apple iWatch, Google Glass, Moto 360 and other similar devices were introduced, which allow the users to be on the go and stay connected with the digital world.

The year 2017 will see more of such wearable technologies that are anticipated to change the entire landscape of the local and digital marketing field. These technologies will diminish the line between the digital and real-time world and will have the entire focus of the digital marketers in order to retain the attention of their target audiences.

New apps for these wearable technologies are set to come up on the surfaces, focusing on the lifestyle of the individual as well as on their health. The apps will also keep the wearer updated about the topics which interest them. The spread of these wearable technologies and its prevalent use in the market, promises to shape and re-shape the digital marketing trends from time to time as per its evolvement and the introduction of a new technology. The digital marketing accuracy serves to be the perfect way through which one can grab the attention of the tech-savvy individuals to the respective business and can make them long-term customers by enticing their needs with the help of proper promotions.

Chatbots- Chat interface To Transform Messaging

Chatting or messaging is something that every mobile phone user indulges in. More than half of the time that an individual uses a phone for is spent on email and messaging. This does also bring the desired result or outcome which people always look forward to.

A chatbot is a service which is powered by rules and sometimes even supported by artificial intelligence, with which you interact via a chat interface.

There are many companies who already have started this service, whereas others including Facebook is looking forward to avail this service for their social platform. There are certain ways through which the user can use the chatbots- they can get the weather report, the information about the product which they are looking for, get the assistance of managing their money better and everything else which makes the flow of their life easier and more convenient.

This year will see a major transformation in the usage and implementation of the chatbots and will fill the vacant place of the messaging sector explicitly. It is the future of the messaging apps and reflecting the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning, it is soon to grab the attention from every sphere of the market.

The speed with which the chatbots are growing in number is unprecedented. Although, the market is already flooded with many of them, yet a plethora of new ideas, business models and of course advanced technologies is boosting the growth of modern chatbots which are scheduled to hit the market very soon. It is spectacular to see how the digital marketers keep up their pace with the continuously evolving chatbots platforms and are using it to identify and create bonding with their respective target audiences.

Paving the way for the emergence of best practices in 2017, the marketers are waiting and some are fore-sighting the kind of era they are going to reach and the type of market segmentation that will emerge after the introduction and adoption of a large number of new chatbots.

Increased Personalization- Bringing Tangible Benefits From Customers

Personalization and customization according to customers have always proved to lure a large number of people towards a business. The benefits of personalization are clear and ideal and the marketers are still exploring this sector in order to make the best use out of it.

Marketers have seen laying their extraordinary focus on the personalized communications with the customers. With the help of the huge bulk of data that the business gathers, the marketers get the opportunity to zero in on the target audiences who are supposed to be perfect and ideal for the businesses.

It has been observed that the marketers who use the data in order to create a highly specific and personalized campaign for their customers are able to drive out better results for the respective businesses. In order to improve the customer experiences, many businesses have paved their path towards excellence by offering their customers a highly personalized experience. The benefit of personalization includes higher response and increased conversion rates along with developing brand loyalty among the customers. A good, customized and relevant experience for the customers also pays back to the organization by helping it to retain them as repeated customers.

When customers share their personal details they expect some tangible benefits out from the same and want to experience tailored promotions that match with their interest and tastes.

This year will see more and more number of organizations being associated with tailored and personalization communication in order to grab the attention of their relevant and existing customers and build a long-term relationship with them.

End Of Pop-Up Ad Era- Improving Consumer-Advertiser Relationship

For many years, the pop-up ads appeared on the screen of the website user or the internet surfer as they continue their search. The number of such ads continued to develop in the long run, making it really annoying and frustrating for the users to continue looking for what they want to. Although it was considered to be a great platform for the advertisers to reach out to their target audience and get their attention, but these pop-up ads have now been banned by Google.

The digital marketing scenario has evolved a lot in the recent years providing a reliable and ideal platform for the customers to get the experience that they had always desired for. With an eye for repairing the consumer-advertiser relationship, every enterprise is now looking forward to canceling the pop-up ads and produces more relevant and helpful advertisements for the customers.

In case, you were planning to use the pop-up ads as your main strategy for marketing in the New Year, it is time for you to change your plan and think of more creative and ideal way to reach out to your target audience excellently.

Social Media Is Becoming Mainstream Marketing Channels

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat, the leading social media platforms are wooing every individual with its significant reach and amazing interactive ability. These social media channels have turned into major players in the advertising industry.

The number of people actively involved in these social platforms is significantly increasing, which ensures that the marketers can get great prospect to reach their targeted audience easily. With every single social platform being extremely popular among millions of individuals around the world, it serves as a great opportunity for the marketers to attract customers. Leveraging the widespread popularity of these platforms the targeting content differs for each one of them and is customized according to the need and requirement of the specific demographics and target audiences.

The carousel ads of Instagram and Facebook have been an extremely popular tool for the marketers to attract consumers and build a brand for them. Twitter has also emerged as a powerful channel for conversion metrics and real-time consumer engagement. Snapchat is evolving with several marketing abilities that are highly-coveted and is based on the Gen Z user base. Meanwhile, the platform of LinkedIn is used for targeting the B2B customers and the professional audiences towards the business. Social Media Marketing is trending high and is a major area of focus which contributes excellently in the digital promotion of a company.

The marketers need to take a note, that since the last year the notion of social media marketing has changed a lot. These platforms allow the marketers to find their highly-targeted audiences and track their campaigns with detailed and granular metrics.

Every single social media platform has its own characteristics and features which make it unique from others. With a deep understanding of this, the marketers choose the platform wisely and make it a point gauge its reach in order to entail it in their marketing strategy and to develop new business prospects excellently. They keep in mind the requirement of the business, its target audience and of course the sector that it deals with- depending on these factors, the marketers plan and develop their business plan through social media platforms and surge in the race to stay atop their competitors.

Email Marketing- Fueling Conversational Tone In Marketing

Email marketing provides the companies with the right platform to broadcast their company and content to the relevant target audience. This is the key to achieve brilliant success for many brands and also help them to remain always in the minds of their target audience. The phrase “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” stands true in the marketing industry. If your business is out of sight of your customers for a long time, they tend to forget it and you lose a potential customer out there.

Through the use of email marketing, the brands generally establish a great relationship with their clients through the platform of email. It is considered as the mainstay in the marketing toolbox where the change is static. The static change is only on the platform not of the kind of emails that should be sent. People check their inbox for at least twice a day which raises the probability of the brand meeting their business objectives.

In the coming year, the brands will keep the tone of the email more conversational and will try to make it more personalized as it would help them to relate to their customers more easily. It has been predicted that the interactive emails will be the latest feature of the email marketing in 2017. The use of cross-channel data is also going to make it to the top of the market.

Email marketing is an effective strategy to reach out to the target customers while keeping in mind their preferences and benefits. Adopting this strategy to the business can guarantee great reach and also helps you to put your message across a large number of people. It allows you to target your business and segment your messages on individual level and helps you to explore the potential success waiting for your brand.

SMS Marketing- Power To Boost Brand

With the penetration of mobile devices in the modern world, a large range of business opportunities and prospects have been built in the recent years. One such excellently powerful opportunity is the use of SMS as a strong marketing strategy. The SMS marketing is one of the best ways through which the marketers promote a certain product or service to a consumer through subsequent communication through messages. This has been a leading marketing strategy for a long period of time which is being used by marketers thoroughly. However, in the recent, technologically advanced year, where there is a great scope of company’s enhancement through various processes, SMS marketing is still considered as a major platform for all. The few characteristics involved with SMS marketing include:

• The use of an SMS-enabled the mobile device in communication.
• The company writing short and crisp messages to the clients.
• The message sustains by the use of keyword and short code.
• This kind of marketing involves both opt-in and opt-out features.

Although, initially not every company or brand was ready to make use of this marketing platform, but as it proved its worth, the number of companies with SMS marketing in their marketing strategy has outreached the numbers of any other marketing platforms. In the digital market of today, the brands have adopted the use of SMS for powerful engagement with their consumers and for ensuring a strong relationship build with them. Establishing engagement and relationship through SMS can be done through various ways which promises great number of benefits for the brands.

An essential advantage is their deliverability and readability, following with the benefits of pop-in and pop-out options. The wide market potential which it possesses enhances the visibility of the brands and increases the rate of conversion at a tremendous rate. It is for this reason that this viable and sustainable marketing strategy has reserved its special place in this world of digitalization.

Keeping The Gen Z In Mind- Speeding Up Response Time

The age of Gen Y is gone. Today, whatever new technologies and modern steps are taken, it is done keeping in mind the Gen Z. Although one might think that there is no major discrimination between Gen Y and Gen Z, but the reality is that there is a stark difference. Gen Y got into the world of technology when they grew big whereas Gen Z is acquainted with all latest technologies since their birth. What happens when you are exposed to new gadgets and technologies since your childhood? Your expectations become high and the level of patience goes down.

Constant communication and instant access to entertainment become inevitable for them. This has in the recent year become a major issue for the digital marketers, whereas it is now the latest trend of the industry. The marketers are continuously catering to meet the demand of the Gen Z. These are the group of consumers who gravitate towards the businesses that promise them instant result and quick response.

Every marketing strategy that the marketers will apply has to be instant; if it fails to do so then things will fall apart. Today’s generation is growing up with Snapchat, Whatsapp, Instagram and everything else around them which are too quick and constant in its nature. Failing to meet the expectations of this generation does mean losing out on the majority of the prospective customers. This market segment is lured not through the discounts and offers, but through the speed of the service.

Major Challenges Businesses Will Face in Implementing The Latest Digital Marketing Trends

The latest trends of the digital marketing industry promise the marketers to get the best of the result or outcome that they were looking forward to their company. But with the new trends come new challenges which they have to face while completing their functions efficiently.

Every marketer faces a unique challenge while moving in the direction of high promotions of their businesses. With great and revolutionary changes being introduced in the world of online marketing, the difficulties and trouble of the marketers are increasing tremendously.

Below is the list of some of the major challenges which are disturbing and posing as a major threat to the marketers in completing their day-to-day marketing work efficiently. Some of the challenges are new while some challenges are carryovers from changes that have gradually taken place in the market in the recent years.

Digital Transformation

There is no surprise to say that the major issues faced by many marketers in the industry are the ever-evolving digital world and the impact these changes are having on businesses. The gradual changes and transformation of the digital world is leading to the continuous revision of the marketing strategies and is taking a new and modern approach which promises to help the businesses to spread their popularity in the market. This transformation forms the biggest challenge for the marketers and it causes a major issue for them as most of the businesses tend to lag behind in adopting the latest digital developments which cause them to fall back from the tremendous competition of the market.

Need Of Cyber Security

As the digital world is evolving at a rapid pace there is a great need for the marketers to lay their focus upon the factor of cyber security. Any kind of casual attitude or carelessness related with the same may bring upon disastrous results and might prove cost the confidential data or valuable information related with their businesses. The need of protecting the world has come up with the growth of the online platforms. In this high–tech and advanced world, the rate of cybercrime has emerged tremendously. It has the potential to be a huge risk for businesses of all size and can also breach the high-profile data associated with the same. This can also mar the reputation of the company, maintaining which is a responsibility of the marketers.

Talent Hunt Continues

With new era, new technologies and new evolvement in the society, the marketers are getting on their toes in order to find the right people with the right kind of talent who can take the business to the right direction. This is becoming increasingly important as there is a major shift in the paradigms of skills possessed by the individuals. Plaguing the online marketing field is the lack of the right talent which can guide the business towards the path of success. Attracting top talents of the industry and retaining them is a legitimate problem. The talents need to be skilled with all necessary skills along with being able to adapt easily to the new and enhanced environment which is introduced to the market efficiently. Adaptability is a key and prized skill which is not found in easily among every individual.

Meeting Client’s Expectations

Every client wants to have a great and amazing online experience. They want to arrange their whole lives online and thus have very high expectations from the marketers today than they had a few years ago. Nobody wants to wait in line for services. People are eager to get real-time solutions of their problems and are more than happy to get the right kind of services. Today’s clients and their behavior are far different from that of the earlier ones. Today the young generations are always-online and they want everything to be fast and quick. Meeting their demands and expectations explicitly prevents the chances of losing them.

Managing The Omni-Channel Reality

The fragmentation of the channels and the fragmentation of the target audience is the major problem for the marketers. They need to manage the website through various platforms and channels which in more than just desktop and mobile. The new gadgets or devices include Apple Watch, in-car entertainment feature, and other such fragmentations which mean that the business has to be on every fragmented channel which ensures that the consumers using that channel are also targeted easily. The good news for the marketers is that nothing is going to change in this scenario; instead, there are high chances that the condition will worsen further, with new channels and fragmentations being created every now and then in the market.

Big Data

The prevalence of big data in the market has introduced the companies and businesses with new opportunities to learn more details about their customers. The location of the customers, their choices and preferences, their age group and other necessary details are offered by the big data. It proves to be essential information for marketers to adopt a more personalized approach for reaching out to their customers and keeping them attracted towards the business. It also helps the marketers to change the product development process which contributes in changing the business strategy to perfectly match it with what the people really want. This builds consumer confidence in the business. However, hyper-personalization should be avoided as it makes the people feel that their privacy and personal space is being invaded.

Identifying The Right Technologies For Your Needs

This is one of the most problematic and confusing challenges faced by a business. It has garnered such a position as most of the people find it extremely confusing to choose and to decide which technology is ideal for them. Most of the businesses seem to be adopting every new technology coming in their way in the hope of using it to the fullest and making the best way out for carving their own space in the market. But, their strategy falls apart most of the time as it becomes extremely difficult for them to manage all technologies together. It is thus wise for the marketers to be able to sort out the objectives of their businesses and select the right kind of technologies which might prove to be an ideal solution for them. However, for selecting the right kind of technology it is extremely important to get proper reviews from the market and figure out the major purposes fulfilled by these technologies. It’s imperative to look forward to the tool or technology which can contribute to solving specific marketing problem faced by the business.

Changing Purchasing Behavior

There is a remarkable change in the purchasing behavior of the consumers. They are focusing more on companies which ensure high-class experience and promise a more customer-centric approach. The customers are always happy to find that their queries are resolved timely and they are getting real-time assistance from the service provider. In most of the cases, it has been found that the purchasing behavior and pattern of the customers mainly depends on three factors which include:

•    Experiences- The kind of experience they have gained from their previous purchase is a major reason which shapes their future behavior and also contributes to their decision-making power.
•    Digital Products And Software Subscriptions- The ability to get the right kind of digital products and being able to subscribe for what they like is the major thing that people always look forward to.
•    Supporting Cause For Social Good- If people can do something good with their online purchase they will definitely make it a point to do so. When they find that buying from an online platform can make them contribute to a social cause is something that can instigate them to buy from the particular business.

Dealing With Increased Competition For Attention Online

With all these challenges that the marketers go through, the one which they had to keep in mind all throughout is the competition that is available in the market. It has to be understood that the competitors in the market are not sitting idle and paving way for you to take away their customers. In this modern era, many companies are attracted towards the idea of boosting the business from the use of online marketing which is a powerful lure for all. Thus, you should never consider your competitors to be weak in their strategy. Smart marketers always think about what can be the best way that their competitors can leverage in order to stay ahead of others and make their business more visible online. The increased rate of competition is making every marketer be in the rat-race of getting attention from their customers and to nurture effective leads by making the most from the use of customized multichannel communications.

Gone are the years where billboards and hoardings were the major platform of advertising. It was considered to be the sole way through which one can get to the market and enter the minds of consumers. Today, according to the ebb and flow of the digital marketing industry, the pace of the market has increased significantly and it has introduced some of the finest platforms which have shaped the future of the marketing industry excellently. Today, we are exposed to the digital world which is filled with exciting trends and new opportunities all throughout. With the latest trends introduced in the digital marketing industry, the marketers are looking forward to leave a mark in the industry which would help them to take their business at a different level altogether and will help it to achieve high-class success.

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