Internet
has changed the very fabric of marketing, and as new ways of communication and
associations are blossoming between individuals, communities, societies and
countries, business builders need to embrace the traits and trends of marketing
for this new-age online platform. Here we present the top 10 online marketing
trends for the year ahead.
Email
marketing
With
so many sales emails bombarded every single day and add to it the spam mail
menace, the key is to get the recipient open your email. So the trend shall
switch from sales mail to informative sales mail. This calls for friendlier and
credible email ids, subjects, useful content, better targeting and
personalization. Secondly, your email contents, including images and HTML
design, must be ready for all kinds of desktop and mobile browsers. According
to Adology's survey, the top place where small businesses will put their
marketing dollars in 2011 is e-mail marketing (72.7% in 2011 vs. 56.6%
in 2010).
Social
media marketing
You
are getting closer and closer to your prospects with social media networks.
It's so crowded and informative that you have to devise more effective and
actionable plans to get your ideas working.
In
a survey conducted: the number-one advantage of social media marketing (by a
long shot) is generating exposure for the business, indicated by 85% of all
marketers, followed by increasing traffic (63%) and building new business
partnerships (56%).
The
key here is to put aside conventional marketing techniques and try to get along
with your prospects, and understanding their very specific like and dislikes.
Smart
online advertising
Blindly
consuming all online ad space is foolishness. The trend is to be seen where you
ought to be seen and not to be seen everywhere. This requires you to study your
prospects online browsing habits and then follow him wherever he frequents.
This kind of intelligent ad space hunting should be the new thing to look for.
Globalization
of ads and campaigns
Through
the internet you are talking to a global audience, so do you think that one ad
fits all needs? The crux here is to design ads based on local tastes and
culture so that you improve the effectiveness of these ads. Studying the local
search trends and optimizing your marketing for those keywords is important.
Informative
marketing
Sales
ads are passé the need of the hour is to deliver quality and relevant
information to your prospects and draw them to you. You can opt for articles,
blogs, forums, videos and so on. The key is to get identified, as someone who
provides quality information rather than projecting a salesman kind of image.
According to Adology's survey 45% of businesses plan to use online video in
their marketing in 2011 vs. 28.4% in 2010.
Web
and mobile analytics
This
will always be a trend that keeps on renewing. All the marketing, campaigns,
optimizations will become semi-productive if new innovative ways aren't adopted
for analyzing visitors. And with smart phones engaging customers most times of
a day, mobile analysis is getting the much needed importance. Marketers would
need to invest in digital analytics to great optimization of their marketing
initiatives.
Mobile
marketing
Among
the 300,000 odd mobile phones sold in the first quarter of 2010, 50,000 were
smart phones, and its sales alone are set to overtake PC sales by 2012 or maybe
earlier (Gartner report). This clearly hints at the impact smart phones can
have on marketing. According to Adology's survey 35.9% of small businesses
surveyed plan to use mobile advertising in 2011, vs. 21.3% in 2010.
Free
online services
With
information becoming easily available over the internet, most web users are
happy to get stuff they want, free of cost. This is can work either ways for an
online business, they could lose customers if someone else is offering similar
services free of cost or they could gain by first offering basic services free
of cost and make the customers stick to them for later up-selling.
Local
search engines
Businesses
are of course focused more on popular search engines but it's time to shift the
focus equally on local search engines. Local search engines can get you faster
and some real good business, which most businesses seldom anticipate, as they
are more worried about the global online markets.
Instant
support and sale
Competition
is all around; you are now a global producer vying for global consumers.
Customers are showered with choices, and the trend will be to make the best of
it when the customer visits us. So the focus will be on instant support,
information and sale, in a single conversation.
MyBusinessAssistant:
A full service virtual assistant company offers a unique Right Shore Virtual
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business while reducing overhead expenses.
By
Gourab Nanda
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