If you’re using a digital marketing agency to help with your efforts – like millions of businesses around the world – you have probably heard your account team mention a handful of digital marketing trends and tactics in your meetings.
Sometimes, even if you are familiar with a tactic, it is difficult to keep up with all the latest trends and how each tactic is evolving based on the newest technology and consumer preferences.
You should at least have a baseline understanding of these concepts, with aid in your communications with your agency, and in making educated decisions about what is best for your company. Here’s the digital marketing trend 411; your look into new and improved tactics:
Social
Social marketing is not new; it’s been around for about a decade and has been ever-evolving that entire time. Social is not just a “must” for digital marketing, it is a “must” for businesses.
The issue that businesses are facing now is that there are too many choices for social media marketing. This is where marketing strategy comes in; businesses must be selective and choose only the social sites that will help them connect with their audience.
With advances in marketing features on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, companies can engage in ABM tactics that deliver targeted results. The other big trend in social is how mobile it is; some platforms are only available through mobile.
Content
Content is the oldest player in marketing and has always been the “king” of digital marketing.
The difference is that digital marketing is moving more toward experiences and away from traditional advertising styles. But that doesn’t mean that digital content can’t still be strategic.
With some creative ideas from your digital marketing account team, you can find ways to maximize the appeal of your articles, webinars, white papers and social posts.
As audiences value their time more and more, companies are finding ways to make their digital content “snackable,” such as with infographics. Though not a new tactic, infographics are still popular today and are adapting to the newest mediums, such as smaller mobile screens.
Video
Video has long seemed like the elusive unicorn of digital marketing, with three strikes against it: it’s expensive to produce, it’s time-consuming, and it’s hard to get company representatives to commit.
That is changing – rapidly – with mobile devices, free online “channels,” and the live video movement. YouTube has been the reigning video marketing team for many years, but now companies are getting in on the live video features offered by social sites like Facebook and Instagram.
One thing all of these tactics have in common is a shift in priority from performance metrics to engagement metrics. Brands have had to adjust over the last few years from talking about themselves to having conversations with their audiences.
This is a difficult adjustment marketers have had to sell to their stakeholders, and the ROI may take longer to achieve, but it builds a loyal audience that is more likely to convert into a long-term customer.