Break out of the funk and refresh your efforts with a review of popular digital marketing trends for 2015. As more businesses, brands and individuals commit their resources to the web, competition for the fleeting attention of the internet has become downright difficult. Staying ahead of the competition, let alone breaking away from it, is the chief challenge facing digital marketers in the coming years. If you feel as though your digital marketing efforts hit a plateau in 2014 you’re not alone. Here are five digital marketing trends for 2015 that will help you rediscover relevancy and success.
In 2015, Content Remains King for Digital Marketers
Examine your content in 2015! It’s an undeniably tired cliché but one that is, quite honestly, more valid than ever. Insightful content marketing has always been a point of emphasis and it will remain a strategic theme heading into 2015.
As search engines (who are we kidding?—Google) and social networks further refine their processes, it will become increasingly necessary to provide content that is informative, visually stimulating, easily consumable and free from both costs and gateways.
With that in mind, step back and look at the content you’ve been producing. Does it comply with the aforementioned prerequisites? If not, think of ways to revitalize, refresh and improve access to your material.
Ask some reflective questions:
- Will the content engage the audience visually or are we still reliant upon text-based whitepapers?
- Does this content translate well to an iPhone or Galaxy?
- Are we adequately pushing video as a medium?
It’s not good enough to have material that’s responsive to trending topics any more—By the time something is trending the market is already saturated with content.
Get ahead of the curve and pitch content that appeals to under the radar topics or caters to a niche market. It’s the best way to get people to access your material and spread it organically.
Examine your content! The most important of Digital Marketing Trends for 2015 Photo by 10ch
Jump into the Social Media Conversation
The most effective way to spread your marketing message is to have the masses do it for you. No digital marketing strategy can find serious success without good old-fashioned, person-to-person, word-of-mouth messaging.
Don’t get hung-up on the imagery of word-of-mouth; we’re not talking about casual conversation at a local pub or café.
Facebook status updates, Retweets, LinkedIn likes, Instagram posts, Reddit upvotes and Pinterest Pins – these have rapidly become the means by which people interact in the modern world. This is how people not only communicate to their immediate peers but broadcast their message to broad social and professional networks.
So how does a digital marketing message break through to the social space?
As it’s not a clearly defined science (yet…), start by identifying what people are talking about in your general market and slowly move down-funnel until finding the sweet spot.
When in doubt, take a lesson from Taylor Swift.
In 2015, the successful digital marketers will not only get out in front of the next trending topic, they’ll identify niche social audiences to target with messaging that’s both educational and entertaining. Doing so will facilitate measurable social distribution and maximize clicks for clients.
Original Video Content is one of the Hottest Digital Marketing Trends for 2015
We already hit on this topic when talking about content but it really deserves a section all on its own. Video, particularly short-form (3 minutes or less), has become the trending medium for readily digestible digital communication.
It’s no secret that companies are going to invest an ungodly amount of money in making video a major part of their digital marketing strategy in 2015. But just increasing budgets and video content libraries won’t be enough.
What’s true for traditional print is true for video; an influx of information means paradigm-breaking is a key.
Video is no longer a new idea, but the way in which it’s used to market can be. Remember, originality isn’t just a cute idea, it’s an absolute necessity.
Think about the kind of digital success GoPro enjoys by creatively employing user-generated content (on a minimal budget). It’s no surprise Adweek named it one of the “one of the ‘Top 10 Best Brand Channels on YouTube.’”
Natural human proclivity for video aside, the increasing transition to mobile devices means digital marketers have to find new ways of connecting with their audience. More often than not, video is the only medium that translates well to the confinement of a 5-inch screen without losing communicative appeal.
Tap Long-Overlooked Resources – Recruit Brand Ambassadors
It’s a well-known fact that the acquisition and retention of brand ambassadors is one of the most effective ways an organization can cultivate success.
Yet many companies (or the marketing agencies representing them) surprisingly fail to heed to this simple truth, particularly when it comes to operating within the confines of the digital space.
Digital marketing strategists need to help businesses – particularly SMEs – take full advantage of their resources and that means tapping the untapped.
Whether on personal or professional devices, the odds are good that the employees of any given company spend a portion of their workday on social networks. Rather than chastise employees for wasting time, consider bringing them into the strategic-fold by encouraging them to broadcast interesting, industry-relevant happenings to their peers.
If employees are going to wander across Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, why not take advantage of their communicative potential?
Your most powerful brand ambassadors don’t need to be consumers; they can be your employees.
Recruit Brand Ambassadors to help assist with your 2015 Digital Marketing Strategy Photo by Sean MacEntee
Paint your Sistine Chapel
It’s been an underlying theme throughout these tips so we might as well just come out and say it bluntly: Get creative.
Traditional digital channels are only going to get more crowded and they’re already over-crowded. Facebook, Google, Twitter and other internet juggernauts are burdened by so much data that, try as they might, they can struggle to separate the relevant from the irrelevant. To break-free from the pack and pull away from the trailing chaos, inject some imagination into your digital marketing efforts.
Find a way to get creative with client budgets and help them refocus their digital marketing strategy. This may even mean redirecting a portion of their resources away from the web.
Not every idea will work: some are going to fail but that’s OK—Take the risk. Failing is the only way to find the new strategy, tool or resource that will take your digital marketing efforts to the next level in the long run.
What Digital Marketing Trends will your Brand use in 2015?
We hope you have found our 5 Digital Marketing Trends for 2015 helpful. We want to hear from you as to which of these trends, or others you end up using in 2015. Leave a comment, contact us via our website or stay in touch via social media.
