2017 is set to bring with it plenty of new trends in the digital sphere for us marketers to engage with and adapt to. Now more than ever it’s a big, wide web out there, full of opportunities, and when it comes to positioning your brand and executing its marketing, it’s either digital or it’s dead. So, it’s time to flex those creative muscles and prepare for a digital playground in the year to come. Check out our top five digital marketing predictions for 2017…
Cohesive Strategies
Living in a multi-screen world means the ability to create content across multiple devices is mandatory these days. It’s a non-negotiable to ensure that you keep your content consistent across all channels and all devices. Consider what works for mobile and what works for desktop. Coordination of these marketing strategies takes careful planning; take into consideration various resolutions and screen sizes. What does all this mean? Tracking metrics are key. Check your ROI for each device and medium. 2017 will be all about knowing your success rate and where your audience is most responsive.
Micro Influencers
We’ve seen the rise of influencers in the last 5 years, now, we predict that in 2017 we’ll see a shift towards micro influencers. These personalities, experts and known-names, on a smaller scale, have the ability to interact with their audiences in a more intimate, genuine way. The result? Products and services will be shared on more of a peer-to-peer level – resulting in lower costs, higher conversion and a greater success rate.
Mobile First
Adaptation and flexibility is vital in the digital world and in 2017 we’ll see a true shift to ‘mobile first’ design. Digital design can no longer ignore the prevalence of smartphones with recent statistics showing that mobile browsers have surpassed desktop browsers. EDMs and webpages will shift to a primarily mobile-first template, whilst desktop will be considered second. But we be warned, while smartphone consumers continue to increase, do not neglect desktop entirely; ensuring consistency across multiple platforms is imperative.
Live Content
The future of streaming live video is set to top the trends. These days consumers want real content; being human and flexible is embraced. It’s all about relatability in 2017. With social media channels such as Facebook adapting to these social changes, we’re seeing a drastic increase in live content sharing. Instagram also recently released live video streaming in America, guaranteeing that other social media platforms will shortly follow.
Viral Video
You no longer require a large budget to create engaging video content, particularly as we see personalisation becoming a key digital marketing technique in 2017. Get set to watch the influence of video initiatives unfold as technology continues to advance, allowing the ability to integrate questionnaires, surveys and data collection forms into video form. Marketers will then be able to turn static video into active results, measuring success and engagement. With statistics showing 100 million hours of video content is being watched on Facebook everyday, it’s clear to see that video will continue to sit at the heart of marketing initiatives in 2017.