Your Guide to the Biggest Digital Marketing Trends of 2017

  • Marketing

Written by: Garen Meserlian

As we prepare to wave goodbye to 2016 and look ahead at the New Year, keeping up with all the new digital trends is by no means easy. The online world is complex and in constant state of change, but there’s no time like the start of a fresh New Year to re-evaluate your company’s digital approach and think about how to up your game for the year ahead. And if you want to be one step ahead of the competition, it’s a good idea to embrace trends before everyone else does. Action Digital takes a look at the trends that are set to pave the way for digital marketers in 2017, highlighting points for serious consideration when formulating an effective online campaign that will strike just the right chord with internet users most important to you!

 

Augmented reality (AR) & chatbot technology are set to be bigger than ever

This past year, we all witnessed the explosion of Pokemon Go, and AR will most certainly be back in 2017, with more brands and companies releasing games and ads providing a totally immersive user experience.  And with exciting advances and investment in artificial intelligence also dramatically increasing as various brands tap into it’s potential – from chatbots to virtual assistants –  robots are about to become a serious part of every internet user’s daily interaction with brands. Use chatbots to enhance your customer’s experience, offer support, and a personal service.

 

A personalised user experience is a big deal

As things become more personal than ever in the world of online marketing, a trend has already begun for targeted content and campaigns appealing to a specific demographic. The more relevant information you deliver your customer, the better chances you have of increasing overall conversion rates, sign ups and more, as you build customer trust and directly cater to their precise needs. This means individualised content recommendations and segmentation targeting specific customers and buyer behaviours. So be sure to collect data from your customers and use it to your best advantage, creating more personal meaningful connections.

 

Live video streaming and real time engagement leave a lasting impression

We all love watching a good video, right? We’ve already mentioned AR increasing the user’s immersive experience, but experiences such as live webinars and 360 videos are also important to connect with users and make them feel like they are part of a bigger experience. With emphasis now placed on real time engagement and live streaming, videos and video ads are a great way to drive traffic to your website and amp search results.

 

Remember, mobile comes first

These days, we barely let go of our phones no matter where we are, and it’s hardly surprising that 2017 will continue to be a big year for mobile as traditional desktops fade into the background. It goes without saying that mobile search and mobile optimisation should be a top priority, and that responsive wed design (RWD) is key, customising content and layout for an optimum user experience across an array of devises.

 

Native advertising leads the way

Native advertising isn’t a new trend, but as users begin to ignore many forms of conventional advertising, native advertising has become a great way to grab their attention. From sponsored content and articles, to online video tutorials, these days, the ad experience is about ‘natural’ content published in such a way that it forms a streamlined part of the user experience.

 

Super smart content reigns supreme

Speaking of content, as users scroll through countless posts in their social media feeds, they barely read much more than the headline or opening paragraph of any article. These days, everyone skips and skims, and digital marketers are learning that smart content (that’s seriously to the point) is absolutely key. In a gist, content on your website or shared on your social media needs to be unique and interactive in order to really stand out from the crowd as content marketing becomes more competitive than ever before.

 

More talking, less typing with voice search!

We all know that a big part of digital marketing involves thinking about keywords and getting into the mindset of the user to figure out what they’ll type into a google search. But with voice search becoming increasingly popular as personal digital assistant technology improves, it’s now becoming more important to think about the way people ask questions from their search engine, as opposed to typing them.

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