Top Five 2016 Online Marketing Trends You Need To Know Now!

Staying ahead of the curve is of the utmost importance in the digital marketing world. Here are 5 significant trends to make sure you’re ready for the challenges of 2016.

1. Mobile Marketing is the Future for 2016

The mobile landscape is altering the future of our marketing campaigns. A recent study from Nielsen stated that more time on the internet is spent on mobile devices (i.e. tablets and smartphones) than on PCs (desktops and laptops) and a new report from Forrester indicates that one billion people will own smartphones by 2016. 74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase as a result of using their smartphones to help with shopping, and 88% of those who look for local information on their smartphones take action within a day according to a recent Google study. It’s critical for brands to meet their audience where their audience already resides.

As the focus is shifting to smaller screens—smartphones, tablets and wearable gadgets—brands will be able to strike up a more personalized relationship with their customers by focusing on providing a great mobile experience. Strategies for mobile optimized content, responsive design, mobile ads and brand apps will become an even more pressing issue for businesses in 2016. Marketers also need to develop mobile social media strategies that will concentrate on making the most from the ways in which mobile users consume and interact with social media.

We should be thinking about every part of the mobile customer experience and what they need when they come to your site. Maximizing opportunities are all about maximizing user experience and when it comes to devices, user experience is even more critical.

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2. Video content is going to outpace other mediums in 2016

According to a Cisco Report, Online video traffic is predicted to make up 55 percent of all consumer internet traffic by the end of 2016. A recent eMarketers study found that 58% of consumers consider companies that produce video content to be more trustworthy and 71% of consumers say that videos leave a positive impression of a company. A report from Demand Metric states that over 70% of business marketers claim that video performs better than other content for producing conversions.

It drives marketing effectiveness in four main areas:

• Higher engagement and retention rates – Video content beats out its text-based counterparts in both attention and engagement ratings.
• Support of other content mediums – According to Forrester, adding video to an email drives two to three times more click-throughs, and comScore says that adding a video to your site can increase the chance of a front-page Google result by as much as 53 times.
• Driving greater overall conversions – A recent comScore study found that those who view product videos are 64 to 85 percent more likely to buy.
• Better visibility into consumption stats – Video offers a built-in feedback loop that lets you see what viewers watched, watched more than once, and skipped.

With 1 in 2 people looking at an average of two online videos per day and the fact that a 60-second video is equivalent to 1.4 million words, video wins as a results-driven content medium, hands down.

3. User Generated Content will become a powerful marketing tool for 2016

A recent study by Reevoo found that 70% of consumers place peer recommendations and reviews above professionally written content. Marketers should create opportunities for conversation—live communities of digitally-savvy warriors, engaging with your brand.

Consumer-created content includes product reviews on blogs, articles, e-newsletters, and message board and forum comments. Short product review videos on YouTube, podcasts, photo sharing, and photo tagging are popular multi-media formats. Consumers pass this content along through social networking, emailing, and posting it to different sites. Companies help direct the flow by participating in online conversations about the products and by joining sites where customers share their reviews and actively contribute to the conversations. In addition, businesses listen to and acknowledge customer feedback, building trustworthiness and transparency.

Consumer led dialogue is the most effective platform for nurturing stronger, more profitable relationships – simply because it is trusted and has the power to show businesses not only what their customer think but how they feel at any given point in their journey to purchase. Businesses can also benefit by turning user-generated content into user-led marketing content such as website copy, emails and online advertising. Finding unique ways to leverage these consumer conversations into marketing strategies is essential.

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4. Search will branch out past search engines in 2016

With Facebook already working on tests for its own search engine and rumors that Apple is building its own search platform, it seems inevitable that search capabilities will go far beyond Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

As search behavior is moving to other media in 2016, marketers need to refocus their search marketing strategies on “getting found” by users through all mediums. Marketers’ search budgets should include mobile and social networks as users rely more on non-PC devices and nontraditional search engines like Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Amazon. Consumers also use local business directories, blogs, photo sharing websites, etc. Purchasers are looking to social media for more information & inspiration regarding which companies or products to choose. By the end of 2016, most major social media brands will feature some kind of buy button naturally as an element of their advertising campaigns.

With advanced search capabilities, integrated payment methods, and the social impetus that empowers sites like Facebook and Twitter, consumers will be able to make purchases, chat with their friends about what they bought, and post the social proof of their new purchase. And they can do all of this without having to Google the e-commerce site they want to buy from. With advanced search will come a more integrated social experience that expands to commerce. Publishing content across all these platforms as part of the company’s web presence is vital in order to attract new customers and expand your brand. If you cater your search marketing efforts to include this all-in-one, buy-and-share social media search, it’s clear that your brand will realize returns. Make the buying process easier, but also make it an experience.

5. Micro Targeting will have a fundamental role in the development and implementation of marketing plans in 2016

Micro-targeting or micro-niche targeting uses consumer data, analytics and demographics to better understand a target audience or buyer—and respond with targeted messaging and content that is personalized to their specific needs at that time to influence their thoughts or actions. Ultimately, it’s about improving the client journey through more targeted and relevant 1-to-1 interactions. An important goal of a micro-targeting initiative is to know the target audience so well that the most relevant message to their specific needs get delivered through the target’s preferred communication channel. Through micro-targeting, you can boost satisfaction and drive more qualified leads, ultimately leading to more loyal, long-term customers.

When it comes to consumer data, the internet is overflowing with it. Targeting niche audience sizes and making use of targeted advertising tools bringing in more effective results from campaigns. Targeted campaigns are two times more effective than non-targeted all-in-one campaigns. Retargeted display ads inspire a lot more people to search for the product.

Janrain shared that 74% of online customers get frustrated with brands that deliver content that appears to have nothing to do with their interests. Every interaction a brand has with a potential customer, whether it be email or the customer visiting the brand’s website, should be personalized. By collecting information from past customer purchases, newsletter signups, discount offers, social media, etc., a company is able to build a customer profile in order to offer them targeted content or incentives to purchase. Micro-targeting is shown to better engage customers, build brand awareness, and increase sales as much as 5 percent, compared with the less-than-1 percent industry average. Focusing on targets with the highest propensity to click, open, or buy will dramatically improve your campaign results.

Download our new 2016 OEM eCommerce Online Marketing Trends eBook  Now!

The last quarter of 2015 is upon us, so it is time for marketers to understand, embrace and utilize the marketing trends of the future and strategize for 2016. Businesses that do so will be extremely successful as they will position themselves far above the competition, develop and grow a loyal consumer base and dramatically increase their revenue.

Get answers to your questions on 2016 trends for OEM eCommerce Marketing here.