Business owners learned a lot in 2016 regarding marketing. The importance of content marketing, customer personalization, social media marketing, mobile app marketing, and automation was ubiquitous. Let us look at how those trends may shape the future of your marketing.
1. Content marketing
Content and inbound marketing were extremely useful trends in 2016. Most customers have over the years emphasized content in marketing. The customer wants to know what you know before they can trust you with information. The quality of the content and the delivery method are imperative.
According to recent research, customers insist on quality content. Sometimes they prefer short and on-point content. It is your responsibility to leverage on the benefits and strategies of delivering on this promise. Short content can be expensive because it captures a smaller section of the market. Longer content can target a broader customer base. The choice is always yours on what suits you best.
2. Customer personalization using analytics and big data
The customer is king! Most people regret ignoring this old cliché every time they misunderstand the customer. The role of big data and analytics remain incontestable. Unless you know what your customer wants, you cannot confidently sell to the person. Issues of ethical usage of customer data and privacy will always be there, but you cannot pass the opportunity to use the data ethically. Businesses are harnessing the power of intelligence to get to the client.
3. Mobile app marketing
The global adoption of smartphones is phenomenal. This craze will see app marketing gain a new lease of life. The upward trajectory in the smartphone market will probably continue beyond the 4 billion mark. You can now use app marketing, target market, and even more artificial intelligence. In the 2015-16 period, the marketing world saw app marketing help brands strengthen customer loyalty. Uber and Alibaba are notable examples. Even small businesses can harness app marketing using personalized marketing. Using mobile apps, you can do targeted ads or do app-based product deliveries.
4. Marketing automation
Marketing technology relies on customer intelligence, predictive analytics, relevant automation, and programming. The anchored technologies, notably internet usage, smartphone penetration, online payments, among others are expanding. Why then would you want to be left behind by this cost-effective marketing bonus? Email marketing, mobile search marketing, and clouds marketing will be an important investment for your business.
5. Social media
As with mobile apps, the social media explosion has been phenomenal. A particular area that you may want to target in 2016 is the mobile social messaging apps. About 50% of the current global search engine queries go through mobile devices. Think of Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Telegram, among others. For example, Facebook has a 90% mobile usage, which translates to a valuable resource for Facebook marketers. Think of how to integrate your marketing strategy with social media. Do not forget that your availability and responsiveness on social media are critical.
Conclusion
A carefully crafted and executed marketing campaign will surely look to factor in most, if not all, of these defining trends. Most marketers will look to integrate customer intelligence with mobile apps and automation. Finally, content marketing will continue to be the defining trend that most will hope to incorporate along with other strategies. Visit a company like Meredith Broadcast Digital Solutions for more information about marketing. A few changes could make a big difference in your company.
Dixie Somers
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