Blog

Ladies and gentleman, the way business is marketed is changing. If you haven’t gotten the news flash, the digital world is increasingly becoming the space where people live. This is means significant changes for small businesses and the way they get the word out to those in the marketplace. Granted, business fundamentals don’t vary that much, but the culture and business methodology has. In order to continue to stay afloat in this maze of marketing, advertising and branding, we have to stay up on trends and make the shift necessary to keep momentum going. Here are a few insights we see going into 2016 that small businesses need to be aware of when it comes to marketing:

1. Big Data
   Gone are the days of wondering if your marketing strategy was effective or not. Or perhaps doing what most of us do…guess. With digital marketing, we are now able to measure clicks, views and conversions all via a complete marketing dashboard. As a business we can capitalize on this data to strategically target our market even closer and 86 campaigns that didn’t work. The release of user data allows us to take the question out of ROI for marketing.
2. Mobile Websites and App Development
   According to Google, mobile searches are now overtaking desktop searches. (SearchEngineLand) This obviously means that users are spending more time on their smart phones when searching for products and services. I know this to be true from personal experience, although I am still quite tied to my laptop for work purposes. I doubt that machine computer use will go away, especially when it comes to usage that requires bigger monitors or keyboards, but searching the web for information doesn’t require these things and people are using smart phones and apps for more and more consumption. This means your business should look at investing in making sure your website is mobile friendly and providing content to be distributed via mobile.
3. Video Marketing
   I’ve camped out on Twitters live broadcasting app Periscope for the past 6 months. Periscope is a app for Twitter that allows you to broadcast live to an audience, primarily via Twitter. Though its in its rough stage, Periscope and other video broadcasting applications are creating a new digital environment for marketers. With more and more users on Youtube watching hours of programming, its key for businesses to understand how to capitalize on this visual version of search. “How to” videos, documentaries and engaging video will increase relationships with your clients and tell your brand story.
   
4. Relationship MarketingDigital marketing will take the place of selling in the years to come. With customers becoming more and more info savvy when it comes to buying, the face to face sales person is transformed more into a customer service rep to make the transaction. No one wants to be sold, but people do want and, in some cases, need to buy. Creating customer engagement that will help spread word of mouth advertisement and create brand loyalty is the way to go. Doing this as a business will set the bar high with competitors who aren’t making meaningful connections.
5. Social Media as a Channel, Not A Strategy
   Marketers need to understand that as important as it is to be present on social media, it’s not marketing. Social media is a channel, just tv is a channel and print is a channel. What you DO on social media is what makes the difference. By now I think it’s proven that social media by itself flounders when its the sole source of marketing.