With 2017 going forward at a steady pace, the online marketing environment is developing at a rapid pace. Whatever business you are into and whatever marketing materials you are receiving yourself, you might have noticed changes in patterns, approaches, and executions.
Some of them might be slight, while others make old materials of 2016 look very dated at best. So, what’s going on? We’re here to take a look at some of the essential marketing ingredients that no business should ignore in 2017, so you can apply them to your needs.
Content marketing
You might have noticed a lack of stock photos and materials that paint a picture that’s just too perfect to be true. That’s because content marketing is becoming the predominant trend in pushing products and services to clients in 2017. People are bored and done with perfectly framed pictures of happy families using a certain product in their home. That picture is quite possible but looks fake and unrealistic. Instead, companies and businesses are opting for customer testimonials that offer a more sincere look at the products in the offer.
This can be done in a variety of ways – free samples, test groups, discounted products in exchange for a testimonial, etc. It all depends on the type of product or service you are offering, but it’s quite doable with any sort of marketing material. Make sure to consider content marketing next time you are promoting your services since it’s more truthful and leads to increased conversions and word of mouth.
Native advertisement
Annoying ads in the form of online banners, popups, and email prompts are becoming a thing of the past. In order to integrate your product more organically and make it approachable to a wide variety of people, you need to opt for native advertisement. What makes native ads so different that previously mentioned forms of marketing are its subtleness and friendliness that former types of marketing lack.
Native ads integrate seamlessly with any form of media you choose to integrate them with and as such, they are more welcoming and lead to increased conversions and sales boosts. The psychological elements of native ads are due to them being unobtrusive to the reader, making them welcoming to click on. People are far more likely to try a product if you use a pull strategy rather than push, so make sure to give native ads a second look when you plan your online strategy in 2017.
Customer experience
With people seemingly becoming more distant physically, their online personas are becoming more and more dominant. This means that customer experience and the way we treat our clients is the essential part of successful marketing in 2017. While you may not have a dedicated customer experience team, it’s a good idea to put someone in charge of this aspect of customer relations and see how you can improve.
Your customer’s experience while using your products, services, online platform and customer support will shape the way people see you. This means that you should pay utmost attention to this part of your business because a bad reputation won’t help your marketing efforts in the slightest.
Focus on your customer’s needs and set up dedicated ways for them to express their thoughts and ideas. Add a little bonus in there for marketing’s sake and create small contests or quizzes that involve knowledge about your business and company history. Another great example of a healthy customer relation is creating a loyalty program that rewards continuing use of your products. You can then convert these loyal customers into brand ambassadors or promoters, hitting multiple marketing goals and creating a very strong buzz around your brand. If your customers feel like a part of your family, they will invite other people to join you as well, making the customer experience one of the most important elements of marketing your business in 2017.
Personalized content
Sending personalized content to your mailing lists has become a thing of the norm in 2017. This means that you can forget about overly complex and authoritative emails that treat your clients like robots. Your clients have feelings and they love it when you treat them as such. Creating content that revolves around personalized information such as name, place of living or even food preferences will set you in good graces with your buyers.
If you need help in creating such content, you should consider checking out some of the more professional writing platforms to get you started. By looking at some of the writing service reviews you can see which platform will suit your needs best in creating approachable content that your clients will love. That being said, being personal over the web has become a trend and continues to do so, so don’t overlook that when you create your content next time.
Live streaming
While it may not seem like the first association with online marketing, more and more companies are opting for lifestreaming their services. This type of marketing works best because there is no room for failure – your viewers see the results of your products or services firsthand, online, with a live feed. While it’s successful and spreads quickly over the internet, it can also be catastrophic if you don’t plan it correctly. If your product fails or doesn’t perform the way you promised in your other marketing content, your viewers won’t take you seriously anymore, spreading bad publicity and losing trust in your abilities.
If you decide to use live streaming as a form of online marketing, make sure to plan every step of the promotion, down to the minute. This way you will keep everything under control and create a positive buzz due to a successful demonstration. Don’t be afraid of being different than your competitors and use live streaming to the best of its abilities to promote your products.
Mobile first
With less and fewer people using their computers for everyday online activities, it’s important to consider developing your marketing plans with mobile in mind. Android and iOS allow for just as much creative freedom as a desktop computer does, but the difference is that anyone today has access to a smartphone of some sort. This means that you can reach more people and attract more customers by developing content for mobile first.
The desktop should remain a priority for you as well, but the second one after mobile – both of these platforms will bring you revenue and results. Although, you will be surprised with a number of hits you receive from mobile compared to a computer, which makes it an obvious choice for developing a successful marketing push.
Multimedia marketing
Regardless of what platform you use for your marketing, creating articles or posts about your new and special products sometimes won’t cut it. When we consider how many people have access to smartphones, tablets, and portable gadgets, it’s easy to understand that people are losing patience for reading long articles. This is why it’s important to integrate multimedia marketing in your business strategy. Think about filming short videos, making animations about your products, using short and catchy sound effects for your marketing, etc.
Using such interactive and approachable content will not only make your conversion rates higher, but it will also spread the good word about how considerate you are and get straight to the point. While articles and informative reading are necessary to prove a point sometimes, make sure that you stay away from it whenever possible in 2017 and use new and innovative ways to market your products.
Social media integration
Very few people don’t use social media these days. In times such as these, it’s important to consider implementing social media into your marketing strategies. You can easily set up dedicated pages on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and post updates, promotions and general announcements for your followers. Sometimes we have to go to where our customers spend most of their time in order to get their attention, and it’s very true when it comes to social media.
There is no easier way to create a buzz than by having your readers share and post content you create and in that, create a huge reach. This reach is free of charge for you and can only do well for your business since you paid nothing for having trusting customers at your side. However, these customers like to be rewarded as well, so you can use social media to set up contests and games in order to generate more positive word around your brand. The implementation of social media in your marketing strategy is very rich and allows for numerous creative campaigns to be used.
Conclusion
It’s easy to notice patterns forming in the marketing world of 2017. Not only are we moving away from corporate and computer-focused marketing but we are focusing on short and accessible content. With that in mind, it’s important to understand that any type of business or product can be made available to the masses with proper planning and implementation of said trends.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with small test groups and take a leap of faith once in a while – without risk, you won’t develop fast enough to stay relevant on the market. Try to avoid this and you will be on the way to becoming the leading provider in your field.
Malia Keirsey is a passionate blogger and writer from Chicago. She has finished The University of Chicago with master’s degree in sociology. Malia is fond of blogging and web design. Follow @MaliaKeirsey on Twitter.
