It seems like we say this every year, but every year, web presence marketing trends evolve. 30 years ago, the World Wide Web didn’t even exist. Once the technology was in place, the rise of the Internet was inevitable. As technology advances, so do all the opportunities a user can do while surfing the web and a business can use to market themselves online.
2016 was no different in continuing the effort to advance internet technologies. There were some huge advancements in web presence marketing in 2016, which will help businesses determine the important trends to keep following for their 2017 internet marketing strategies. These are the digital marketing trends of 2016 that made the biggest impact on businesses and will continue the evolution of web presence marketing in 2017.
Top Web Presence Marketing Trends in 2016
Mobile dominance
The fact that people use mobile devices to browse online is not new. 2015 clearly showed a huge surge in mobile users when Google announced that mobile traffic surpassed desktop traffic in 10 different countries. But mobile has only become more popular and even more important since 2015. These days, 80% of internet users own a smartphone, and 34% of mobile users only use their mobile device to check emails.
If you do not have a mobile optimized website, not only is Google punishing your website and dropping you in their ranking, but users are steering clear, too. Google reports that 61% of its users will not return to a site they had trouble accessing on a mobile device, and 40% will visit a competitor’s website instead. So if your website is not mobile-friendly, making it mobile friendly should be your priority numero uno.
Video marketing
The dominance of video and video marketing came forth in 2016. Although online video is nothing new (YouTube has been around since 2005), the advancement of video on social media and search engine platforms in 2016 took off. Not only are more companies using video advertising options (which, by the way, can increase purchase intent by 97%), but consumers are watching more video online than ever before. In fact, one-third of all online activity is spent watching videos.
It is common knowledge by now that including a video on your website landing page can increase conversion by 80%, which is why almost 90% of online marketers are using video content. If you have not tried to add video content into your online marketing strategy, consider making it a priority in 2017 because video will likely become more popular in the years to come.
Live streaming is here to stay
Live streaming is the wave of the future of internet users, and it’s pretty much already here. Advancements like Facebook Live and YouTube Live are here to stay, and users are eating them up. Of course, these advancements only came about after the creation of Snapchat and Periscope, two social media platforms that use video streaming functions users love. It is only a matter of time before the advancement of even more video streaming options will make it easier for you to promote your products, create brand awareness and more.
Start experimenting with video streaming today, and add it to your new video marketing campaign in your marketing strategies for 2017.
Content marketing with a story
There is a lot of content online. Like a lot. As of writing this blog at around 11:30 a.m. there have already been over 2.2 million blogs posted today.
Using storytelling as your content marketing strategy is a proven way to stand out in all those blogs being posted every day. Users are tired of the salesy lingo, the spammy messages, the constant nagging to buy your stuff. Users are tired of the idea of content for content’s sake. They want more. They want to be engaged, to read something that provides them value, to learn something new about a topic they are interested in.
Blogging for the sake blogging won’t cut it anymore. Now is the time to start telling your stories, connecting with your audience, and creating content that they will want to read—not content that simply highlights your business.
Email newsletters
Email represents the basics of online marketing. Before the rise of social media, blogs, and online ad buys, businesses used email for their primary internet marketing strategies. As other marketing opportunities came about, someone said somewhere that email was out. It was old, and it was dying. They couldn’t be more wrong.
To this day, email continues to generate huge ROI and is even more effective than social media marketing (if you aren’t sending spam). If you haven’t already, in 2017, you can expect to see a rise in email newsletters. This is a good time to hop on the email marketing train because Forbes reports that email open rates are actually increasing. So, like we keep saying here at Post Launch, email marketing is far from dead—it’s indeed very much alive.
Virtual reality
Each year that passes gets us closer to the reality of virtual realities and artificial intelligence. 2017 might be the year that it finally takes off. Big companies began looking at VR technology to further promote their products and services in 2016. This technology is expensive right now but can be a powerful new marketing tool to use in the future.
Small to midsize businesses probably won’t be able to experiment with VR in 2017, but they will have their time to shine once the technology becomes a little cheaper. In the meantime, advancements in artificial intelligence are creating automation tools that can be perfect for small to midsize businesses. From email marketing automation to website visitor tracking to lead generation, there are new marketing automation tools popping up everyday.
What do all these web presence marketing trends mean anyway?
The best way to be on the cusp of new web marketing strategies is to keep up with the latest digital marketing trends and monitor where they are headed. Mobile use has been a trend for years and will only get bigger as more users turn to mobile phones instead of desktops for browsing. Virtual reality and artificial intelligence are providing the technology necessary to make some pretty advanced marketing automation platforms. The amount of users watching video online is on the rise. We could go on and on. The point it, take the time to watch the current marketing trends, and you will have a good idea of what the future has in store for web presence marketing.
Contact Post Launch to learn more about this year’s marketing trends, and what to expect in 2017. We will take the time to do a free in-depth analysis of your current web presence across multiple online platforms, and then discuss opportunities your business can take advantage of today and in the future.
Let our team guide your business to the future of web presence marketing.
