It’s great when you know what online marketing trends will be important in this brand new year and which areas to focus your efforts on to improve digital experiences in desktop, mobile, or in-store.
According to Hostingfacts, this year, there will be more internet traffic than all prior internet years combined.
Take a look at these key digital marketing tactics that will give you the edge in 2017 and the future and how you can utilize virtual personal assistant services to help promote your brand and generate more revenue.
1. Content Marketing Trends Are Still Going to Rule
A study from Smart Insights revealed that content marketing has been in the top 3 trends for the last 3 years. A team-up with HubSpot also shows that more businesses (40%) are now using a strategic approach when it comes to content in 2017.
As Joe Pulizzi, Founder of Content Marketing Institute puts it, “Determine the kind of content that interests the members of your community in a way that is useful to them.”
According to experts, the only way to get attention is through personalized content. Relevant content triggers the customer and pushes them to…
- Subscribe to your email list
- Build brand loyalty
- And encourages them to visit your website again
Top Content Marketing Trends for 2017
- More focus will be placed on live video, interactive content, visual content, virtual reality (VR), personalized and niche content, content promotion and distribution.
- More businesses will seek out content writers and marketers
- World-renowned marketer Guy Kawasaki strongly suggests Live video
- John Jantsch, marketing consultant of Duct Tape Marketing believes that “Lead capture is personal – Driving traffic to your content is essential, but the ultimate payoff is capturing a lead for future content.”
- Shift towards writing longer, more in-depth quality content – 1500-2000 words with lots of value
- Most businesses will need a promotion and distribution strategy.
- “Virtual reality will be mainstream in a few years. This will change how we tell our stories and connect to customers in profound ways.” ~Mark Schaefer, author of The Content Code
- “2017 needs to be the year of doing what I call… Looking People in the Eye Digitally, which means Listening, Connecting, Relationships.” ~Ted Rubin, social marketing strategist, acting CMO of Brand Innovators
2. Videos will Dominate in Smartphones
The trend of video marketing has shot up in the past few years and will continue to increase in 2017.
Tubularinsights reported that 73% consumers would likely make a purchase after watching a video. Click To TweetDon’t know how to create compelling videos for your business? This is one of the tasks you can outsource to a virtual assistant (VA). Video making tools like VideoBurst makes simple but professional videos to engage your viewers.
“Smartphone madness” is another thing. Just look around you—people are glued on their smartphones—be it in the office, streets, parking lots, bus, or just about everywhere. When combined, videos in smartphones are one of the most powerful ways of connecting with your customers.
“Business decision makers love online video because it gives them the most amount of information in the shortest amount of time.” ~Robert Weiss Click To TweetWhat does it mean for you and your business? Take advantage of it and start building brand awareness! Customers are always on the go and mobile phones have become part of their everyday life resources for online shopping, banking, entertainment, etc.
3. Marketing Automation and Mobile SEO
Like content marketing, marketing automation has been in the top 3 trends for the last 5 years. This includes CRM, behavioral email marketing and web personalization.
Virtual assistant companies are also starting to implement mobile SEO or Mobile marketing SEO techniques, which will be particularly important in 2017 with Google’s recent announcements about the mobile index and AMP.
Smart Insights have been covering these announcements and improvements in these posts:
- How Google’s mobile-only index will change search in 2017
- Google to start penalizing sites that use pop-ups
- Stop everything and implement AMP pages
4. Targeted Email for Sales and Marketing
Don’t ever think that email marketing is dead. Email is age-old digital technology that is here to stay. It is considered the most organic way of driving traffic. Remember, it is your job to keep interested customers happy and engaged to have a strong and solid email list.
Email is also the most effective medium for getting conversions even today. Here’s why:
70% of email readers open emails from a brand in search of a deal, discount, or coupon. ~The Social Habit Click To Tweet Email is 40x more successful at getting new clients than either Facebook or Twitter. ~McKinsey & Company Click To Tweet You are 6x more likely to get a click-through from an email than you are from a tweet. ~Campaign Monitor Click To Tweet 81% of online shoppers who receive emails based on previous shopping routine are likely to make a purchase as a result of targeted email. ~eMarketer Click To Tweet
5. Social Media Marketing Amplificatio
Right here right now there are new profiles being created on various social networking platforms every 2 seconds. Click To TweetSocial media including Social CRM and Social Customer Care is still a big hit. The good thing about it is that it is a great source to build good relationships with industry influencers and connect with them.
There are social media marketing packages that can help you set up a campaign in sites like Facebook and Twitter. Keep on bringing best user engagement practices to gain more attention!
Social Media Research Statistics Summary
- Overall continued growth in social media usage.
- Reduced popularity of some social channels in some countries.
For example: Twitter and Facebook are in lapse in many western markets while Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest are still expanding in usage.
- Trends are often controlled by the efforts of the social networks to monetize.
For example: Facebook and Instagram, in particular make changes such that businesses now need to ‘pay to play’ to get the reach they need to have an impact.
Social media giants have continued to innovate in their targeting and remarketing options among other marketing platforms that many of us are currently using.
Thus, it is imperative that you choose one marketing activity and sync it with virtual assistant services that you think will give your business the biggest incremental upgrade in leads and sales for this year and beyond.
So let the #NewYear sink in and start implementing each of these techniques that will be smoking hot in 2017! If you need help, a Virtual Assistant can be a low-cost and effective solution to get you on the fast track to implementing these emerging digital marketing trends. Give us a call at 1-866-596-9041 or fill out our online no-obligation Phone Consultation Request Form to learn more.
References:
www.smartinsights.com
www.writtent.com
www.entrepreneur.com
