We’re already in the last quarter of 2016 and professionals all around the globe are just starting to propose their course of action in the digital marketing front, for the new year that’s about to ring in. Staying updated about latest happenings in any field is critical for business success and staying relevant and going by that, we’re here to help you keep up with what’s new and what’s not in the digital marketing arena. The following write-up provides you with a brief insight into what new trends to expect as a digital marketing expert in the year 2017.
The whole world is trying to figure out areas where they should focus their energies in the next year in order to garner maximum profits to their business. As always, your digital marketing budgets need to be spent in “tried and tested” areas and also experiment new areas to stay ahead of your competition. This blog covers the new areas and we will have a follow up blog to describe which of those essential established areas that you should also not miss out in your digital marketing plan.
While some want to believe that 2017 is the year for Mobile Marketing, there are others who speculate that Augmented and Virtual Reality will prove to be the biggest winner in the coming months. Here is our prediction of the new trends that will create waves in the online marketing space in 2017.
#1 Cross-device Marketing Optimisation:
Today, most of the websites are responsive and have a mobile-friendly version of their site. However, 2017 will see a rise in adaptive designs that are specifically intended to offer a better user experience on various devices including desktops, tablets, smartphones. etc. and also between websites and mobile apps.
Few metrics that will help you understand the need for mobile adaptive design are:
USA: (eMarketer)
- 195 minutes – Average daily time spent on Apps
- 51 minutes – Average daily time spent on Mobile Browser
India: (Nielsen Study)
- Smartphone user base increasing at a CAGR of 26%
- 169 minutes – Average daily usage of Smartphone
- New Customer Persona evolving based on Smartphone usage – app junkies, social stars, conversationalists, entertainment Buffs, utilitarians and dabblers
Personally as well, we have seen a great transformation in our daily usage of mobile phones and different apps that make our lives much easier. Studies have found that 50% of smartphone users pick up their smartphone as the first activity when they wake-up!
It is quite evident that the next year will see a tremendous rise in the mobile marketing field and along with it the need for cross device optimisation as marketers are looking for more efficient ways to consistently reach their target audience and get their messages delivered.
#2 Increasing Mobile Messaging Apps:
Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, SnapChat and many more mobile applications that are fundamentally built for messaging and social networking are gaining extreme popularity among the masses of the world.
- Whatsapp alone has an average of 60 billion messages sent every day and has over 1 billion Groups! (the world population is 7.4 billion)
Did you know that FlipKart has started accepting orders and payments via Facebook Messenger? So in case you really like a product on your Facebook wall, all you need to do is place an order for the same on your Messenger and make a payment through your preferred choice. This simple integration has made your life so much easier by enabling you to purchase whatever you want, on the go, and without having to browse the entire website. Behind the scene, this is made possible with the help of retailers’ chat bots to process the purchase, complete with making a payment while the user is still inside the chat platform.
Can you imagine the potential of such messaging applications in the next year? Yes, that’s exactly what we are talking about!
Influencing consumers using messaging apps, through innovative ideas will be a great challenge for various companies – It is easier said than done! However it will be a great trend setter in 2017 and will most certainly generate good revenue for the businesses who are willing to go the extra mile to find innovative ways to engage with their customers within the messaging apps.
#3 Rise of Marketing Clouds including Automation:
According to DMA,
email marketing remains the king of the marketing kingdom with a 3800% ROI and $38 for every $1 spent. No wonder marketers continue to flock to email marketing for reaching out to prospects. The challenge however is the keeping track and sorting out email id based on behaviour or customer persona. This is where Automation comes in handy.
On an average 49% of companies are currently using Marketing automation today. If you look at B2B companies alone, the number stacks up at 55%
One of the best examples to understand this feature is MailChimp. Initially, email-marketing was manual, wherein each email address had to be entered physically and then go on with the further processes. However, over the past years, this tool has seen a major transformation. This tool, that is available for a very low price, today offers automation features to ensure that you launch a successful email campaign to grow your business. Hubspot, Marketo and a few more companies offer basic to premium versions of automation to satisfy different needs of your business.
The three main benefits of marketing automation are:
- Better Prospect and Lead Management
- More Relevant messaging and content, delivered at the appropriate time based on previous actions (open, click etc.,
- – This process also helps in segregating and forming similar user groups
- Increased engagement and connect driving higher revenues
The new year to come will definitely see a rising demand for automated services and most companies are getting ready to offer their best to meet the soaring demands.
#4 Advent of Augmented and Virtual Reality:
Almost half of the world spent a good chunk of 2016 catching Pikachu and its counterparts.
- $500 million – Estimated revenue generated by Pokemon Go
- 26 minutes – Average amount of time spent by a user on Pokemon Go daily (source: http://expandedramblings.com/)
So it would be really unfair to not include Augmented and Virtual Reality among the top predicted trends of 2017. While this feature may not be applicable to every industry, there is a certain niche that will benefit tremendously through these technologically advanced concepts. Interior designing, fashion designing, travel and tourism, gaming and many more such fields are prying on these techniques to attract their target audience.
VR offers an immersive experience that helps in experiencing a beach vacation right in your living room. AR on the other hand offers an ability for shoppers to try out dresses or shoes with ease. As the technology gets better, it is going to open up a whole new set of ability for marketers to help customers experience brands in a fresh, innovative way.
These are some of our top picks to focus on, in the year 2017 for digital marketers. Most of these trends are concentrated towards emerging technology and customer behaviour. What do you think would be the top-most trend for next year and why do you think so?
You may feel free to add a trend of your own that we may have missed in the article and take the discussion further. Let us know your views and opinions through the comments below.
