There were a chock-full of unforgettable events that occurred in the digital marketing industry this year.
If I were to put my finger on what I think are some of the highlights, I’d say that the Penguin algorithm now running in real-time and Google devaluing spam instead of demoting websites would be it for me.
Considering how huge of an impact both of these updates have to the World Wide Web, it’d be hard not to include them in anyone’s “you-are-not-going-to-believe-this” list of digital marketing milestones.
In as much as I’d like to reminisce about everything that happened in the digital marketing industry this year, I’d prefer not going deep down that rabbit hole. Instead, I’d like us to focus on the things that we need to look out for this coming 2017.
Let me guess: You have your own predictions too, don’t you?
If you’d like to share them, then the comments section is all yours.
Digital Marketing – 2017
1. The sensationalist headings won’t be as effective.
Have you ever felt sucker-punched for having clicked a headline that you found so intriguing, only to be disappointed at how the content doesn’t live up to the hype?
#YouAreNotAlone
While websites like ViralNova and Upworthy did such a great job at delivering quality content in the past, there are now bajillions of low-quality sites that are using the same sensationalist headlines that are publishing crappy content.
The netizens are starting to grow wary of these sensationalist headings since in most cases, the content just ends up disappointing them.
While some publishers will still use sensationalist headings this 2017, the strategy won’t be nearly as effective as it was before.
2. Augmented Reality (AR)
The Pokemon Go madness shook everyone in the digital marketing industry. Expanded Ramblings’ data shows how the mobile app garnered a whopping 500 million downloads according to their last update on 9/15/2016.
The figure is a tell tale sign of how huge the potential is for businesses who plan to use augmented reality.
While using AR certainly has its challenges (the users often don’t make any purchases), it’s only a matter of time before digital marketers will figure out a way to convert the AR users into paying customers.
3. Live video streaming.
Facebook Live is fast becoming a hot item in the digital marketing industry.
Huge brands are using it, micro influencers are using it, and your Grampa Ned who’s in his 70s is probably using it too.
Facebook’s Vibhi Kant (Product Manager) and Jie Xu (Software Engineer) also announced in one of their posts how they were going to make an update on FB’s newsfeed so live videos are prioritized than those that aren’t.
“As a first step, we are making a small update to News Feed so that Facebook Live videos are more likely to appear higher in News Feed when those videos are actually live, compared to after they are no longer live.” – Newsroom.fb.com
Another thing worth mentioning is how YouTube also garnered a mind-blowing 8 million views within the first 12 hours of its E3 live stream at one point.
What am I trying to say here, you might ask?
Simple.
These figures are a clear indication of how strong of a traction live video streaming is getting in the digital world. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of this slowing down anytime soon so you can bet your family jewels that the live video streaming marketing strategy will continue to explode this 2017.
4. Personalized or one-to-one marketing
One-to-one marketing is a form of marketing where you are targeting an audience of one. It goes without saying that this method of marketing is as targeted as it gets.
With the use of cookies and other internet software, the companies can gather data about their customers that will enable them to gain insights about the things that their customers like, dislike, and even the things that they need.
This enables the companies to offer their customers products that they know their customers already love.
Now that reputable brands like Linkedin, Amazon, and Spotify (among others) are using personalized marketing, other brands are bound to follow suit.
5. Chatbots
When Mark Zuckerberg announced on April 2016 that third parties can now use the messenger platform to develop their very own personal chatbot, the popularity of the chatbot technology immediately skyrocketed.
When you consider the chatbot’s ability to help the companies with their audience interaction and improving their customer support, it isn’t hard to imagine businesses trying to leverage the power of this technology this 2017.
Having chatbots are amazing because it’s pretty much like having human helpers in your business that will work for you 24/7, and you don’t have to pay them regularly making it affordable for you to have them.
6. Search Engine Algorithm change
There isn’t much to be said here except that for digital marketers, the search engine algorithm updates will continue to be a bitter-sweet experience.
Some digital marketers aren’t bothered when there are algorithm updates since they know for sure that they didn’t do anything to merit any penalties. However, the fact that Google can easily deem something that’s acceptable today, to be unacceptable tomorrow, is a disturbing thought in itself.
7. Mobile marketing will continue to dominate.
The gap between mobile searches and desktop searches will continue to widen.
Way back in 2015, Google released a statement saying there are more Google searches made on mobile devices rather than in computers.
Here’s their statement…
“…more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries including the US and Japan…” – Adwords.googleblog.com
If the mobile searches managed to outgrow the desktop searches way back in 2015 where Facebook live and Augmented Reality wasn’t that prevalent (among other mobile-focused programs), we can only imagine how much the gap will widen this coming 2017.
8. Immersive Content
Think about how virtual reality and 360 videos are slowly gaining popularity among the internet users.
It isn’t hard to predict that the production of these content types is bound to skyrocket. This becomes especially true when you consider how YouTube and Facebook are now supporting these types of content.
9. Companies will seek to hire recent journalism graduates
Bring out the pom-poms for the journalism graduates.
Considering how content marketing continues to dominate the industry, more and more businesses are bound to figure out how remarkable of a strategy hiring recent journalism graduates will be in their endeavor to double down on their content marketing efforts.
What’s next?
The digital marketing landscape this 2017 is changing yet. If your company is struggling with catching up with the industry’s fast-paced transition from one set of marketing strategies to another, then allow us to help you.
We can help you with lead generation, improving your brand awareness, getting an increase in online sales, and social media management as well.
You can tell us more about your business so we can help you create and run a marketing campaign that would take your business to the next level. (Click this link to tell us more about your business)
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