It seems that as soon as you master one new marketing technique,along comes another one that demands your attention. You can only focus on so many priorities. Where should you put your attention this coming year? Here are our thoughts on the subject.
Mobile Surges
Look at your web analytics for last month vs. the same period last year. You’ll be floored by the increase in traffic from mobile devices. The longer you wait to make your site mobile-friendly, the more opportunities you’ll miss.
Video Edges Up
Smartphones have made video cameras ubiquitous. YouTube has made video hosting simple. US Internet users watch a staggering 200 online videos per month. Smart marketers will step up their video use on their websites, Facebook pages and in emails.
Magazines Reinvent
Rising costs coupled with dwindling advertisers have hit magazines hard. Tablets stand to transform all that. Digital distribution will lower costs, increase subscribers, and enable advertisers to track responses.
Social Media SEO
Social media “likes,”“followers” and “shares” have a surprising impact on your organic search ranking. A well planned social media strategy is now a vital part of SEO.
Catalogs Continue
If catalogs are currently an important part of your marketing, don’t stop! Many companies mistakenly assume that because so much of their business comes online, that they can reduce or eliminate catalog mailings with little effect. Study after study shows this just isn’t so. Catalogs will continue to drive significant online traffic for a long time to come.
Email Strong But Shifting
Forecasters once predicted that social media would spell the demise of email. That’s not likely to happen any time soon, but mobile is changing when and how we use email.
According to a study by MailChimp, most mobile users read email in bed, first thing and last thing every day. Email access 24/7 means commercial emails get deleted almost in real time. A tiny percent are read on the spot, and about 20% are saved for later reading. The pressure is on to make your emails save-worthy.
PPC Grows Tougher
Paid search fueled most of Google’s reported 33% revenue growth for the first three quarters of 2012. Bing is on a similar upswing.
The resulting competition is putting more and more pressure on marketers to outsmart instead of outbid the competition. There’s still plenty of room to make money in paid search for those who master best practices, test constantly, and keep abreast of new PPC product offerings.
Blogs Bring Business
Recently Internet Retailer magazine reported that the number of blogs has increased by five times in five years. In addition, according to a study by Hubspot, 33% more retailers found blogs a valuable customer acquisition tool in 2012 versus 2011. Expect that trend to continue.
Trade Shows Decline
On average, it costs $17,000 to exhibit at a trade show, an expensive way to acquire customers. According to Hubspot, trade show costs per lead run 77% higher than direct mail.
Marketers are gradually learning that there are more efficient ways to grow their businesses. Look for trade show marketing to decline as a result.
Payment Options Evolve
New mobile payment options allow customers to make purchases from their mobile device – no credit card needed. Standardized practices and technologies are still evolving, but will become far clearer by year’s end.
What’s Next For You?
Marketing changes are coming faster and faster. You can’t tackle them all – nor or all worth tackling – but continual change is vital for continual growth.
What new marketing methods are you going to test this year? Not sure? We can help you sort things out. Call Val at 203-226-7338.
