In a world that consistently and progressively uses the internet to sell, buy and communicate, it is important for any business to have an online presence, particularly when it comes to marketing. But there are so many marketing areas on which we are told to focus – how do we know which ones to use? Here we explore the digital marketing trends of 2017 so that you can gain perspective on what is currently working better to bring your maximum results.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is the formation of advertising material that does not directly sell; it provides information or interest to audiences and engages them with the brand and its mission. Website pages, video, blogs, email subscriptions and social media posts are considered content marketing – they provide useful content to their readers.
Content marketing has been very popular for a few years, and experts believe it will continue to stay that way for quite some time. This is because it is organic and natural – it eliminates the ‘hard sell’ of pushing products and services onto potential customers. It is beneficial to the reader more than it is to the company who created it because it gives value. It is always important for the company behind the content to be visible, but the conversation should not be about them; it works best as a marketing tool when people remember the content and then associate it with the brand that published it. This will drive sales back to the business.
Marketing Automation
Automation is a key element to any marketing campaign because it eliminates time-consuming tasks and allows business owners to focus their time on other aspects of their business. Marketing automation is any form of marketing that can be scheduled ahead of time, including having triggers that automatically send marketing material based on the actions of the subscriber/follower.
The best example of automation is email marketing, whereby you create a series of emails in an automation system (like MailChimp, for example) and decide when and how often a new subscriber will receive the emails. For example, when someone subscribes to your list they will get a welcome email, and then one each week after that. By automating this, you do not have to keep track of who needs which email and when, and then spend the time sending it. The same can be done for your social media and blog posting – you can pre-determine when content goes up so that it is consistent across your platforms and saves you time posting on each one. There are plenty of automation software programs available online to help you with this.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is a big player in the marketing industry online. Being able to promote your business on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and those alike means reaching a wide audience that you may not otherwise obtain. It allows you to advertise to people who fit the demographics for your business and reach an audience that is far beyond the capabilities of print and television advertising.
People who use social media are aware of advertising now and have become accustomed to ignoring many ads that come across their news feeds. The key to successful social media marketing, then, is to minimise the ‘hard sell’ and go for the more content marketing approach – so that you are still social while drawing attention to your brand. The downfall to social media marketing can be the cost; sometimes campaigns do not bring in the return that you hope for. Content Marketing and Automation are free (to a point) and do not affect your bottom line as significantly.
Which Digital Marketing Trends Should I Use?
All of them! See how you can incorporate all three of these trends into your marketing strategy because they all have immense value to your profits and your company reputation. At YellowFin Digital, a digital marketing agency in South Texas, we have experience in helping businesses utilize these strategies for maximum success and can help you get started today.
