This time of year, business owners and website developers put the finishing touches on their holiday preparations and start to look toward the year ahead. The past year brought shifts in how successful companies marketed their brands online. Forward-thinking entrepreneurs analyze where the industry is headed to plan for successful marketing into the new year.
Augmented Reality (AR)
Pokémon Go surprised the world with its quick rise to fame. While users have moved away from the game, at its most popular it earned $10 million in revenue a day. Brands would do well to learn from Pokémon Go’s success and develop their own AR games and market AR apps they currently have in their arsenals.
Powerful AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become more capable and accessible in the past few years, completing tasks marketers and business owners previously had to do by hand. AI can automate tasks such as up-selling and emailing, gather and respond to data insights, and offer voice-activated experiences.
Because AI only responds to data, it can more accurately create buyer personas and generate strategies for engaging them. Marketers can create and adjust even more effective campaigns for each group using AI insight.
Livestreaming Is Taking Over
Social media users want to know what’s going on the minute it happens. Live video allows them to do so. Consider these statistics regarding the live video revolution:
- 80 percent of brand audiences would rather view live video than read a blog.
- 82 percent go for live video over posts on social media.
- Users are already looking for it, with 78 percent of online audiences watching video on Facebook.
- 87 percent of viewers prefer behind-the-scenes live content to traditional television.
Businesses Struggle Finding Digital Marketing Talent
Darwin pointed out that species that adapt survive and those that do not become extinct. This is true for marketing professionals, but some employers haven’t realized it yet. Some marketers are still creating campaigns based on old techniques, failing to prioritize data, and wasting marketing dollars on advertising that no longer works.
In the near future, expect companies to focus on acquiring talent strong in content marketing, analytics, SEO, and other related skills. Businesses can also offer digital marketing training so current staff can apply their knowledge in new ways.
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