As we approach 2015, it’s time for marketers to prepare for the upcoming trends. The state of digital marketing is constantly evolving, so it’s important to keep up with these never-ending changes in order to continue thriving in this industry. Take a look at some of the marketing trends for 2015:
High Quality Content Continues to Evolve and Become a Prominent Ranking Factor
Google continues to release algorithm updates to rank high quality websites higher in the search results. High quality, detailed content is in and Google continues to favor high quality content because it provides a better user-experience. Educating potential customers with quality content will become the primary mission for most brands this upcoming year.
Personalization Will Thrive
The old marketing techniques where sending email blasts to random emails is out. It’s ineffective and will only result in a banned email list. Personalization is in. Personalizing your email marketing strategies by tailoring email blasts to specific lists is highly effective.
This can also be done with social media. Connecting with those who are going to benefit from the content will increase engagement and leads. Utilizing social media as a means to build up reputation and reach out to customers helps build that relationship. Who cares about the amount of followers when nobody’s engaging? Having the right followers is key and connecting with them on a personal level with educational content that’s going to benefit them will help increase brand awareness.
Focus on Internal Communication with the Use of Technology
We believe that communication is one of the most important pieces to building a relationship as well as executing any marketing strategy effectively. With the right team and systems in place, this allows communication to be seamless and clear. The usage of CRMs, SEO tools, and marketing automation platforms allows everyone to access data and understand where the marketing campaign stands. Making it clear when there’s an issue with the campaign or when certain people aren’t fulfilling their duties.
Video Becomes a Primary Content Advocate for Conversion Rates
Videos are becoming more important for users because nobody really wants to sit around and read a landing page on a website that has 1,000 words. Not saying that’s bad, it’s still great for search engines, but we need to supplement that content with a video option as well. Having short length videos will entice users to watch and become educated, staying on the landing page longer. Having users on a landing page longer helps build trust for that landing page since the content seems highly relevant to the user and triggers the search engine to assume the same thing. When a user finds the content they’re looking for, they’re more likely to convert into a lead, increasing the conversion rate for that page. An example might be a “How To” video on a product page showing how the product can be installed correctly.
The Connection of Content, Social Media, and SEO Emerges More Than Ever
This was a marketing prediction for 2014 as well, and it has come a long way in this one year alone. Business owners are beginning to understand that SEO alone isn’t going to be as effective as blogging, social media, and SEO combined. This trifecta of marketing channels is emerging more than ever before and people are noticing larger increases in organic traffic because of it. Really, what’s the point of having a blog with nowhere to share it? What’s the point of having content when no one can find it? Google is ever-changing and continues to include fresh content and social signals in their algorithms as a means to rank websites higher. This is becoming a trend that’s no longer an option, but a necessity to receive the results anticipated.
Mobile Search Surpasses Desktop Search
It’s been predicted that mobile search is on track to surpass desktop search by 2015. This seems to be on track by the end of 2015. Users are becoming more and more comfortable completing transactions on their mobile device as well as searching for local businesses on their mobile device. According to Marketing Land, mobile will be the primary channel for paid search by the end of next year. The average conversion rate for tablets is already higher than desktops for paid search.
Smart marketers are focusing on building a presence online, not just for desktop users, but mobile users. Think about email templates being responsive as well as websites being responsive. Would an app be beneficial for potential customers? If so, create one. It’s another chance to capture information and generate leads while providing an incentive to users. The point is, keep mobile user-experience in mind when developing next year’s marketing plan. Mobile experience will be a key ranking factor for mobile searches, and if the user-experience is lacking, so will the rankings.
Marketing Automation Becomes a Normal Way to Generate Leads
It’s no secret that the usage of marketing automation platforms such as HubSpot are vastly expanding. 2015 isn’t going to be any different. In fact, it’s going to become a primary focus for lead generation for businesses of all shapes and sizes. The benefit of these platforms? Higher quality leads. With capabilities to see exactly who’s prospecting a website, who’s engaged with a social post, who’s clicked on an email, who’s downloaded a case study, etc. is a huge benefit for those looking nurture the leads that come to their website. There’s no way to do that type of lead generation/nurturing without a system that’s able to track those primary metrics. By having those metrics available in one centralized location along with the overall campaign analytics, there’s less room for error, and more room to focus on gaining qualified leads. The best part – the ability to show real ROI.
Closing Thoughts
High quality content and data driven results are going to continue to thrive. Mobile is going to dominate search like never before, and marketing automation platforms will be primary reporting tools for lead generation. Digital marketing is more than just writing a blog post and sharing it on social media. It’s technology, communication, experience, content, and data all working together to reach goals. Don’t fall behind the digital marketing trends of today or tomorrow. At a loss of how to build digital marketing campaigns for 2015? Learn more about our services here or give us a call: 800-871-4130
Brillant list. Glad to see that some of your predictions confirm some of ours. Wish you the best!
Currently it looks like WordPress is the top blogging platform out there right now.
(from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Yes, it is, but highly customized to fit our web needs. Thanks for reading and for inquiring!