Recently, Say Daily published an article on the Top 5 Trends in Digital Media for 2015. infinitee breaks these trends down to tell you exactly what those implications mean for your marketing and communications strategy this year. Let’s go.
(1) Mobile Takeover: 3 Implications
According to Ovum, 1 billion people will use mobile as their only form of Internet access in 2015 – no more tablets, desktop, etc. Makes sense given the larger phone screens from Apple, Android and the like lately, right? This means, all that money you recently spent on your fancy website that was so content and image heavy with keyword overflow and endless inbound links has lost significant value.
What You Can Do:
- Simple is Better. Websites no longer need to be mobile responsive, but mobile designed. This means simple layouts, images that download quickly and minimal copy. Figure how a website can bring the greatest value to your company and design pages around that.
- Drive Calls. If people are accessing information about your form their mobile device, your phone number should be the biggest CTA you have. All they have to do is literally click the phone number for it to dial you. Be prepared to answer the influx of calls with a designated sales team, person, etc. For more data, implement different variations of phone numbers to track where the leads are coming from.
- Push Notifications. Whether in b2b or b2c, allow people to sign up for updates either about products, your blogs, website updates, social media networks, etc. to stay top of mind. If more people are using mobile only devices to access the Internet, take advantage of being connected with your audiences through the technology that sits in the palm of their hand and never leaves them.
(2) Read Consumers’ Minds: Pre-Targeting and Eliminating the Guessing Game
It started with retargeting, which everyone hates. We Google something, go to the link one time, and boom – we see it everywhere when we go on the Internet from then on out. Does it stick with us? Yes. Do we remember it? Yes. Are we utterly annoyed by our own behavioral decision? Yes. Instead of retargeting, the new trend is Pre-Targeting. As Say Daily explains, pre-targeting and pre-purchase ads use big data to predict buyers’ preferences with relevant and smart messages while they’re in the buying phase, not after it.
What You Can Do:
- Take Advantage of Google’s Knowledge. Google knows your customers better than you do because your customers literally tell Google what they’re interested in searches. Partner with them to figure out what your consumers are searching for the most and start predicting how your products or services meet that.
- Use Social Media Data. Facebook provides some of the greatest social media insights surrounding your customers. Take advantage of platform tools like Core and Custom Audiences to deliver ads. Learn their lifestyles, see their interests and tell them what they want before they know it.
(3) Video and Visual Content: Get Creative
This really isn’t a big shocker. Video and visual content are the most preferred and digested content through the web, especially on social media. However, it’s pretty difficult to create, takes a lot of resources and a creative marketing firm to help. Or does it?
(See our blog: Tips on Producing Successful Corporate Videos)
What You Can Do:
- Figure Out Your Industry. Determine what visual content even means for your business. Is it construction – building an apartment? Is it digital design – designing a website? Remember, visual and video content will be watched, so make sure it relates back to you and pushes your products or services. Just because you don’t think it’s video worthy, doesn’t mean it’s not. You have a job for a reason and it’s because you are better at it than someone else. A high-speed time lapse of your creative director designing something great or your construction team building a great apartment is way more interesting to other people, especially your clients or future residents, than you think.
- Use the Right Tools. Here are some great tools to create cool video content: Screenr (record your screen while you work), Powtoon (DIY animated videos for product demos), Wideo (custom logos and messages), Stupeflix (really cool slideshow creation), GoPro (attachable video camera to last in the most extreme conditions), TimeLapse (combines a series of pictures into video) and Raw Shorts (drag and drop video builder)
(4) Wearables: Improving Operations
Wearable technology is here. Before you know it, we’ll have chips in our arms and computers in our contacts. (Too soon?) Smart watches and fitness devices are already worn by half of consumers and smart appliances are next. Imagine walking down the grocery aisle and you receive an alert from your fridge letting you know you need milk as you pass it, pre-heating the oven from the office before you get home or turning off the stove after you forgot on your way out. All this and more is coming.
(See our blog: 10 Shopping Technology Trends To Watch)
What You Can Do:
- Monitor and Incorporate. These are just starting to come out, and they’re not relevant to every industry. But they are relevant to every consumer. Monitor these wearables as they come out and see how you can incorporate them to better market to your consumers, improve your business operations or utilize their popularity to further your brand identity and business.
(5) Applied Analytics: Jackpot
Anything digital is traceable. As consumers continuously adopt new technologies and digital media, insight into their lifestyle, behavior, interests and patterns becomes available at your fingertips. The trick is applying these insights to make better marketing and advertising decisions.What You Can Do:
- Target the Right People. Stop guessing who your consumers are and narrow down your prospects. The more specific you can get, the better. Divide your audiences into several targets and sub-segment the larger generational pools. Instead of deciding your target audience is millennials, segment that further into their age, gender, lifestyle, search patterns, complementing interests, etc.
- Deliver the Right Products. Stop mass marketing your products and services. Now that you know exactly who your audiences are and you have them further segmented into smaller gaps, figure out which product or service is best for them and tell them about it. Depending on your industry, this may change your target segments from consumer characteristics to business verticals, job titles, experience, etc.
- Get the Right Timing. Digital media insights will tell you exactly when the best time to reach your audiences is. Timing should be innate and it does not have to be a guess. Facebook Insights alone will tell you at what time on what day the majority of your followers are logged in and actively using Facebook. Being able to know exactly who your customers are, their interests and at what time to deliver the message is truly hitting the jackpot.
To discuss your marketing and advertising needs further and how your specific business can benefit from the implications behind these digital media trends, contact infinitee today. (404) 231-3481
