2016 was a year of many changes and challenges for digital marketing and advertising. The speed with which our industry changes makes people like me chase the optimum way to provoke sales opportunities for the SMEs., which are the engine of Puerto Rico’s economy.
At Infopaginas Media, our job is to anticipate changes, plan ahead and predict trends. Here we present our Top 10 Digital Marketing Trends for 2017.
Attribution
If it is true that 2016 experienced a high increase in the use of call-to-actions in Digital Marketing campaigns, then we must bear in mind that 2017 will undoubtedly be the year of attribution. We already know that 70% of Google searches are done through mobile devices and that the Facebook Mobile Application dominates the Puerto Rico market. The challenge before us resides in creating models of attribution so that we are able to present clear reports that say "X" campaign generated "this many" phone calls that in turn generated "this many" sales opportunities.
Local Marketing
One of the most effective ways for Small and Medium Enterprises to become known in the digital environment is to advertise by adopting the Local Marketing model. Platforms like Facebook allow us to create targeted and focused ads for users who live and work close to our business. This way we focus our digital advertising budget on the people who are more likely to visit our business on a daily basis. Local Marketing combined with demographic and interest segmentation makes Facebook an ideal platform for the SMEs that generate most of their income in their near communities.
Content Marketing
Content relevant to our respective industries has become a key tool for potential customers to find us. Platforms like Google and Facebook reward those businesses that generate content relevant to their industry with better positioning and opportunities of organic reach.
Social Media Marketing
In Puerto Rico Facebook is certainly king within the Social Media segment, and this trend does not seem to stop. It is a must that every business in Puerto Rico:
A) Has a Facebook Page
B) Creates relevant content on a regular basis
C) Interacts with their followers to maintain a healthy and effective communication.
D) Uses strategically Facebook ads aimed at generating Local Awareness and Generating Leads.
Immersive Marketing
Both Facebook and YouTube have added 360-degree video on their platforms and already several brands have begun to experiment with this format to develop innovative immersive experiences. Also, Google with its "Business View" allows us to generate photos and 360 degree views, creating a virtual tour of your business. At Infopaginas we are offering this new service to our customers, tied to the rapid creation of "Google My Business" accounts to improve the experience of Google Search and Google Maps.
More Live Video
Every day Facebook users consume more and more live content. Facebook users themselves produce and report the news we see on a daily basis. Thanks to faster connection speeds and the penetration of mobile devices with high-resolution video cameras, live video has become a tool that has the television industry shaking. For the SME’s, this represents an "equalizer" so that they can take their business proposal live to their customers. Imagine that you find yourself without plans to have dinner on a Friday night, you go to Facebook and you see a "Live Video" of a chef preparing a spectacular dish. Where do you take your partner that night?
Big Data
Businesses in general are being bombarded with structured data and unstructured data at all times. The challenge of digital marketing professionals is to turn this consumer behavioral data into structured information and reports that are easy to understand, analyze and project into the future.
Marketing Automation
With so many means available to market a business digitally, it is practical to have a centralized management panel where we can create, visualize, analyze the campaigns and efforts we make online.
Data Visualization
Likewise, being able to view in graphs and simple reports the data obtained in marketing campaigns and digital advertising is essential when measuring or demonstrating the result of conversions and campaign attribution.
Native Advertising
Native advertising is defined as "pay to play." Brands or businesses pay for positioning content on platforms additional to those they have already developed. The content should be useful, interesting and highly specific to the audience. www.infopaginas.com is an ideal digital media for developing and running a robust Native Advertising strategy.
Live Chat / Live Messaging Apps
A Live Chat / Live Messaging App is a program that allows our customers and prospects to send us written messages in real time. This way we can attend our customers at the exact moment they need us. We can also generate greater sales opportunities by replying to our prospects customers when they are looking for our services and offers.
BONUS
Wearables
Finally we give you a bonus trend to think about. 2016 saw a considerable increase in the use of Wearables like watches and fitness bands. It is important to have this trend in our minds when thinking about innovation and designing digital marketing campaigns. This year we will undoubtedly see a continuous increase in the users of digital watches / bands and soon enough we will see the marketing trend that pops-up in this new segment.