9 Intriguing Digital Marketing Stats From This Week
The past few days saw the digital marketing world awaken from its post-holiday slumber and really put out some eye-opening stats.
Tag Archive for: Social Media Marketing
5 Digital Marketing Predictions for 2017
This past year has been an intense one, to say the least. But we’re finally nearing the end, and we’re ready to set our sights on 2017! Of course, in order to make appropriate assumptions about what will occur next year, we have to look back at some of the notable digital marketing predictions that came true this year.
Throughout 2016, we saw a rise in voice search queries, Google’s Penguin algorithm began updating in real-time, mobile-friendly sites continued to be rewarded, and so much more. Social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram expanded their arsenals, and AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology was such a favorite this year that Amazon was sold out of its Echo and Echo Dot devices at one point.
Since many of these popular trends are still pretty new, we can only expect them to continue to grow in the new year.
Below are some of our digital marketing predictions for the upcoming year
1. The shift from desktop-first to mobile-first will continue
Mobile search has always been an important component of SEO — and of digital marketing in general — so it’s no surprise that its role continues to grow as years pass. In 2015, Google released a mobile-friendly update to their search algorithm. Since this update, mobile-friendly websites have had the advantage over others when it comes to mobile rankings.
Today, many businesses are receiving more traffic from mobile search over desktop. In fact, Moz performed a study that showed 20 out of 24 industry niches note mobile as their primary source of web traffic. As technology progresses and Google continues to reward those with mobile-friendly sites over others, we have no doubt that the mobile-first trend will continue to rise and most likely overcome our desktop-first mentality.
2. Say hello to Progressive Web Apps
If the mobile-first shift comes to pass, it’s possible that the move towards PWAs will as well. Just as AMP (a code that optimizes mobile websites) took precedence in 2015 and 2016, PWAs, or Progressive Web Apps, may take center stage in 2017. Users are becoming less and less patient with page load speeds, and even a highly optimized site has trouble loading within 3 seconds. Enter: Progressive Web Apps.
They’re defined as user experiences that have the same capabilities as a web page, and are reliable, fast, and engaging. In other words, they allow a website/website page to work as if it were an app, without actually being an app. Although PWAs may not be suitable for every type of business, there are plenty that could benefit from them, such as content-heavy or real-time data sites, chat-related platforms, news outlets, and blogs.
As consumers yearn for safer, faster, and easier-to-use mobile-friendly websites, we can expect to see a greater prominence of Progressive Web Apps in 2017. They may even replace the use of separate mobile sites or apps entirely — but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
3. Live video will take over (at least with social media and content marketing)
Consumers have become accustomed to carrying around mobile devices and having practically anything they need right at their fingertips. Now, both brands and individuals have begun using livestreaming as a way to be more in-the-moment with their followers (capitalizing on that whole #FOMO trend of the last couple years).
In the past, brands chalked up their entire video marketing strategy to the hope that one of their videos would go viral. However, as video (live video, in particular) becomes a larger part of users’ everyday lives, brands are going to have to work on continuously creating quality video content.
Joe Pulizzi remarks on how video will become an important part of content marketing strategies in 2017 in an article for the Content Marketing Institute:
“It doesn’t take “Chewbacca Mom” to show us how big and important using video and having a visual storytelling strategy are…most brands [should begin] building a process and organization around the ongoing delivery of valuable information through video.”
As top platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat are incorporating live video, we can be sure we’ll see it grow in 2017.
4. Native advertising will flourish
Back in the good ol’ days, online advertising was defined by intrusive pop-up ads and annoying flashing sidebar ads. And it’s important to remember that most of those ads were irrelevant and spammy.
While there are still plenty of ads like this, native advertising has helped online ads become more user-friendly. And to ensure that users don’t click on unwanted ads, brands are required to clearly label these ads as such. Websites like BuzzFeed, Mashable, and even The New York Times offer sponsored content that relate the ads to content users are already interested in viewing.
Brands are also taking advantage of the native advertising potential on social media sites like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. With Facebook pushing their Promoted posts and ads and Instagram releasing it’s “Shop Now” button, we’re sure to see more online native advertising in the coming year.
5. People are going to want to SEE the data
Data is key to knowing the who’s, what’s, when’s, why’s, and how’s of your marketing strategy. However, that doesn’t mean analyzing data is easy. In all honesty, it can be boring and immensely time-consuming when done properly. Even if you analyze data every day, digesting all those numbers can be tricky.
Thankfully, there are plenty of data visualization tools that can help. As technology evolves, so are visuals; and as more data visualization tools become available, the more businesses are going to start using them. In addition, as narrative content grows in popularity, the need for visual storytelling grows.
Keeping these technological and content marketing trends in mind, 2017 is probably just the beginning of the data visualization revolution.
Recap
While we don’t have a crystal ball to know exactly what 2017 will hold, we feel it’s safe to say there is a lot to look forward to. What are your digital marketing predictions for the upcoming year? Leave your thoughts in the comments — we’d love to hear ‘em!
H/T: Business2Community
8 Fun & Noteworthy Digital Marketing Stats From This Week
The last several days provided an array of digital marketing data points, with figures aplenty about consumers’ search habits, mobile habits, social platforms, bad ads, chat bots and more.
The following eight stats particularly got our attention.
1. Santa Claus = “totally a dog person”
SLI Systems studied more than 5.5 million consumer searches on ecommerce sites during the four weeks leading into the holiday seasons, and it found dogs are more than twice as likely to receive gifts from their owners than cats. Purr-ty surprising, huh?
2. Insta-success
On Thursday, Instagram revealed it now has 600 million users. The photo- and video-sharing app has been on a rapid growth trajectory, adding 100 million accounts in just the past six months. Check out this six-year timeline to see its quick ascent in the digital realm.
3. Publishing anarchy in the U.K.
KPMG’s recent survey of 2,000 Britons found that 49 percent of them expect to download ad blockers in the next six months. Forty. Nine. Percent.
4. Irrelevance sucks, AGAIN
Speaking of bad ads, Fiksu DSP released a study on Thursday, most notably reporting that 77 percent of consumers are likely to delete an app if they repeatedly receive an irrelevant ad. It’s the second week in a row we’ve highlighted such a stat about brands’ lack of relevance.
5. Yikes, Yahoo!
With its Verizon merger at risk, this had to be a painful admission: Yahoo said Wednesday that more than 1 billion user accounts were breached in August 2013. The hack appears to be separate from the 500 million account breach that Yahoo reported this September, and it follows a history of security problems for the digital company.
So, Yahoo has 1.5 billion accounts? While there are obviously individuals with multiple accounts, just for fun, let’s imagine every user only has one: That calculates to 20 percent of the world’s population.
6. The potential marriage, by the numbers
This year, according to new eMarketer numbers, Yahoo will get $2.98 billion in total digital ad revenue worldwide, or 1.5 percent of the global digital ad market. In 2017, Yahoo’s net worldwide digital ad revenue is expected to grow to $3 billion, per eMarketer, but its market share will drop to 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, the researcher estimated Verizon garnered $1.41 billion in digital ad revenue worldwide this year, or 0.7 percent of the global ad market.
7. Ever-expanding web of influence
Meanwhile, new research from Conductor concluded that 80 percent of marketers plan to ratchet up their investments in 2017 when it comes to online marketing, SEO and content. The study’s results suggest that digital’s years of growth will continue for at least one more.
8. Chatty folks
According to a [24]7 study, roughly 29 percent of consumers stated that chat is their preferred method to contact a retailer when shopping online, making it the most popular channel of customer service over phone and email.
Bonus stat: the smartphone era
Hey, we’re not done! A Forrester Research study commissioned by SteelHouse revealed that 3 out of 5 marketers said they would prefer a single platform for media buying.
Double-bonus stat: Hey Phelps, you rule
OK, we have one more. Adweek creative editor Tim Nudd has selected Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” spot, starring Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps, as the Ad of the Year. It has been viewed on YouTube 11.6 million times. Check it out below.
8 Companies Doing Social Media Right and What Marketers Can Learn From Them
Are you reaching your audience on social media the right way? Marketing Land Columnist Jordan Kasteler takes a look at 8 brands you can take a page from. Read more
The Power of Social Media Marketing
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites. Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks.
Social media itself is a catch-all term for sites that may provide radically different social actions. For instance, Twitter is a social site designed to let people share short messages or “updates” with others. Facebook, in contrast is a full-blown social networking site that allows for sharing updates, photos, joining events and a variety of other activities.
How Are Search & Social Media Marketing Related?
Why would a search marketer — or a site about search engines — care about social media? The two are very closely related.
Social media often feeds into the discovery of new content such as news stories, and “discovery” is a search activity. Social media can also help build links that in turn support into SEO efforts. Many people also perform searches at social media sites to find social media content. Social connections may also impact the relevancy of some search results, either within a social media network or at a ‘mainstream’ search engine.
As long as you think of search and social media as separate projects and place them in silos, you won’t see the maximum impact for your business. Create a cross-functional process between the search and social so that you can integrate the search learning into social media, and the social media learning into search. The search keywords, social conversations, and the target audience behaviors are some of the key information that you should be sharing between the two.
The Bottom Line
It’s vital that you understand social media marketing fundamentals. Besides increasing brand awareness and establishing the legitimacy of the brand, social media marketing can affect the bottom line of a business by increasing sales. Learning about the importance of social media for marketing should also underscore why these efforts need to be continuous and the harm it does when social media marketing isn’t up to consumer expectations. Long story short, social media marketing is something that every business needs to do and needs to do well.
An integrated social media platform can enhance marketing campaign effectiveness, help improve brand building across the enterprise, and make a real impact on sales and the bottom line. Integrated social capability brings another great benefit by keeping the enterprise updated with the latest innovations in social media. Sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are constantly innovating and updating their collaboration tools, content-sharing formats, etc. With integrating social capability, customers don’t need to change business functions in sales or marketing to catch up with these changes.
In today’s much-hyped world of social media marketing, integrated social capability can make a direct and positive impact on the business. Leveraging the power of content and social media marketing can help elevate your audience and customer base in a dramatic way. But getting started without any previous experience or insight could be challenging. Speak to an expert today at Onimod Global to learn how YOU can leverage your company’s social media marketing.
Social Media Marketing Tips for the Fall and Holiday Season
October begins the holiday season for businesses and marketers. You should embrace the new seasons and holidays as part of your social media marketing strategy. The seasons are a perfect time to produce relevant content that revolves around current situations all your customers and prospects are currently in. Holiday shopping begins before Halloween for 20 to 40% of all consumers. The fall season is a very busy time for people to be searching the internet and browsing social media for Halloween costume ideas, fall recipes, fall decorating ideas and crafts, the list is almost endless. It’s important your business has a strong online presence during this pivotal time to take advantage of a large audience. Below are some marketing tips for your business to implement this holiday season:
1. Profile background to match the season
Consider customizing your social media profiles for the holidays. Your online presence should reflect the current season your business is experiencing. Showing an updated and current online presence will build up the credibility for your business in the eyes of the consumers. An idea could be to promote a specific product or service your business offers that would interest viewers the most during the specific holiday or season your currently in. Include an image of this on your social media background along with a theme to match the holiday or season. For instance, a jewelry store could highlight a couple seasonal jewelry pieces they sell on their social media background along with any seasonal specials.
2. Search for relevant hashtags to use during the season and implement them into your content strategy and editorial calendar
See what holiday or seasonal hashtags are being commonly used and see if your business can relate to it or if it caters to your customer’s lifestyle. Craft social media posts with the relevant hashtags a couple times a week to increase the reach of your messages. You could also make a special hashtag for your business that’s relevant each year the holiday season approaches. It will help keep the conversation going. For instance you could use your brand name followed by gift idea, like this #BrandnameHolidayGiftIdeas to showcase your products and services. Some other relevant hashtags could be #HolidaySavings and #HolidayDeals.
3. Write a blog posts that relevant to the season and your business
Look for opportunities to use seasonal topics and traditions to engage your audience in a timely and relevant way. This can humanize your business and help customers connect with you in a whole new way. For example, Napoleon Perdis, a popular makeup brand, created a series of “How To” tutorials demonstrating how a customer could apply Napoleon Perdis makeup to create classic Halloween looks.
4. Share social media posts relevant to the season
Showcasing what you have in common with your audience is a great way for your brand to humanize it’s image and strengthened your relationship with your current and future clients. Share tips relevant to the season like Gibson Air did with this tweet “Fall Energy Saving Tip: turn fans clockwise in the fall to force warm air down, improving the energy efficiency of your home” During the fall season HVAC companies should provide tips that relate to heating and preparing for the winter season. A jewelry store could highlight seasonal jewelry fashion trends in their social posts. Always keeping up with the trends will allow customers to see you as a credible information provider that’s always up-to-date and cares about delivering the freshest content to viewers. This will encourage customers to engage and search out information from your business.
5. Create a Pinterest board revolving around the holiday
Pinterest is a great source of traffic and a great way to increase the reach of your messages. During the holiday season people are searching Pinterest for specific holiday or seasonal ideas, tips and gifts. This is a great opportunity for you to develop a special holiday Pinterest board to increase your reach and visibility online. If you are an HVAC company you could create a Pinterest board titled “Fall Décor Ideas” where you would share fall décor ideas for homes. You would be providing content that’s relevant to your customer’s lifestyle, your business and the current season which is always a win-win situation.
6. Create a social contest revolving around the holiday or season
Giveaways are a great way to create exposure and a buzz around your product, service or brand. A contest that matched the season would be a strategic way to capitalize on a trending topic. For example, TomTom launched a holiday-themed sweepstakes giveaway and called it “TomTom’s 12 Days of Giveaways”. Create a special Facebook tab for your contest to further capture data to further analyze to develop social media strategy. Make a contest that requires users to enter an email, to help build up your email list so you can update subscribers on future contests, promotions and announcements. In fact 55% of brands use email as their number one holiday marketing channel (Accenture)
7. Create a special YouTube playlist revolving around a seasonal or holiday topic
You can create your specific playlists on your YouTube channel to feature videos that has information your customers may be searching online during a particular season or holiday. For example Travel Channel is featuring a “Fall in Finger Lakes” playlist on their YouTube channel during October and features the best attractions to experience during the fall in New York’s Finger Lakes region.
8. Implement event marketing and host a holiday themed event, that’s promoted on social media
Events are a great way to interact with your customers and to increase your exposure. Social media can further the experience of your events in many ways. You could create a special hashtag to create a conversation around your event and promote it on your social profiles. You should also develop photo albums on your social networks to share photos of the event. A holiday or seasonal themed event shows your customers and your community your fun and creative side.
9. Create seasonal specials and coupons
If you’re looking to boost engagement, offering coupons and discounts are one of your best options. Try developing a seasonal special that you can offer each year to keep customers coming back. Share these specials in social media posts to increase your reach.
Use these marketing tips and ideas to make the most of the spike in holiday traffic and spending, and create a positive impression of your small business that will last long into next year.
H/T: Toni Corsini
Google Partner
