Explore Some Interesting Marketing Trends for Your Business in 2018

01 August 2018

How effective is your business marketing strategy? Have you been successful in staying abreast with the latest marketing trends? Have you been implementing effective strategies for measuring your success? If the answers to the above questions are no, do not lose heart. You are certainly not alone on this count. Several small businesses and SMEs do not even bother to find out if at all their business marketing tactics are working successfully. Here we would be examining some of the latest business marketing trends that are dominating the scenario today. You are advised to follow these strategies for gaining incredible business success.

Contents

1 Tune Your Market Strategy :
2 Plan, Plan, Plan
3 Tracking & Measuring :
4 Social Media Marketing Is Currently the Rage :
5 Virtual Reality Is Common :
6 More Dependence on Interactive Content :
7 Pinterest :
8 Artificial Intelligence :
9 Conclusion :

Tune Your Market Strategy :

A small segment of business owners is aware when their market strategies are tanking. This could happen due to lack of planning, poor planning, haphazard attempts at success and no foresight. Successful digital marketers know that a large portion of their budget must go into content marketing on blogs, social media, and emails and so on. Good content must be created and promoted so that the business is noticed and can take off.

Plan, Plan, Plan

Less than 40% of businesses have effective content marketing strategies in place. Some fail due to poor quality content, others because they don’t target their audience properly. A good marketer always tracks activity through each stage of the funnel and ensure that the strategy is fine-tuned when things go wrong.

Tracking & Measuring :

How to gain marketing success digitally for your SMEs could still seem to be a mystery for many of you. A huge percentage of small business entrepreneurs, as much as 46 percent to be precise, actually do not have any idea if the marketing strategies for their businesses are effectively working or not.

Thanks to the present cutting-edge technologies, you are in a position to keep on tracking all your marketing returns, expenses, and debt. For example, you could today find out exactly how much it would be costing your business for acquiring a new customer. You must consider all dollars diverted toward various areas of marketing including social media, website, blog writing, trade shows, direct mail, paid social, etc. you must consider factoring in all you have already spent on all these important marketing elements and then divide the amount by the number of new clients you acquire every month. Moreover, you must find out from exactly which marketing channel you are able to get new clients and more inquiries. It is imperative to consistently track ROI.

Social Media Marketing Is Currently the Rage :

As per a recent study, it has been predicted that 2018 is surely going to be the year of intense social media promotion and marketing. Among the SMEs, an impressive 71 percent is expected to gain new clients by using social media platforms effectively for marketing their brands. This present marketing trend must be given a lot of importance and most entrepreneurs are appreciating and understanding the effectiveness of social media marketing. Social media is certainly one of the hottest business marketing trends.

Facebook is obviously the prime choice for small businesses as 79% of entrepreneurs would be using Facebook in all their marketing endeavors. Will your business be benefitted if you incorporate the social media marketing plans into your business strategy?

According to some Facebook exponents, Facebook success is all about going mobile. If you wish to maximize the impact of Facebook in the marketing and promotion of your business, you must dedicate all your efforts at generating and delivering everything mobile-friendly.

Virtual Reality Is Common :

Virtual reality is gaining importance by the day and is, therefore, becoming a common marketing tool for both small and big brands. The actual challenge would be to utilize Virtual Reality or VR in such an effective way that it really makes sense for both your target audience and brand messaging in general. VR marketing actually is an emerging trend and now is the right time for exploring the options that are available to you and getting well ahead of the competition.

Pinterest :

Pinterest is actually regarded as a niche social networking site. However, it is forecasted to be a huge success. The best way of grabbing marketing attention is by utilizing Pinterest Lens and its versatility and functionality for engaging effectively with consumers and showcasing your mind-blowing style, products, and services.

Artificial Intelligence :

Early exponents of AI or Artificial Intelligence have categorically realized the efficacy of AI in boosting user engagement. However, incorporating AI into any site’s chatbox such as the Facebook messenger could be creating more creativity and it also helps you to understand clearly the target market of the brand. Artificial intelligence would be addressing consumer needs and issues with perfection and the same degree of efficacy as a human agent. Remember it would be quite effective and helpful if the artificial intelligence experience absolutely delights your customers in basically lighthearted and fun ways.

Conclusion :

This year marketing trends have focused on honesty and authenticity. The latest marketing trend is to focus on stark reality or brutal honesty and this marketing trend is winning a lot of acclaim and appreciation. Marketers could discuss their products and explain clearly how advantageous those products or services are. They must, at the same time, tell their target audience the scope for improvement and the flaws that may still exist. All these statements could be supported by truly objective customer reviews. Authenticity for brands is the hottest marketing trend today. Around 86 percent of the customers feel authenticity is of utmost importance while deciding and evaluating the brands. Around 60 percent of consumers believe that user-generated content is the best form of authentic content.

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Ariana Smith

I enjoy writing and I write quality guest posts on topics of my interest and passion. I have been doing this since my college days. My special interests are in health, fitness, food and following the latest trends in these areas. I am an editor at Content Rally.

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Trends That Shaped The Content Marketing Industry In 2022

Content marketing is the backbone of online advertising. It involves creating and publishing materials like blog posts, videos and images online to attract target audiences and encourage them to remain connected with a particular brand. For that reason, it has become indispensable to companies looking to grow and succeed. Recently, it has been evolving at an unprecedented rate. Many tactics or strategies that have been effective in the past may not achieve the same results in an ever-changing sector like this one. Firms are now teaming up with experts in life science content marketing to stay on track. For your company to stay ahead of its competition, it's important to keep up with the latest trend in 2022. Here’s a breakdown of the most significant ones: Top 7 Trends Of The Content Marketing Industry In 2022 1. The Rise Of Influencer Marketing Influencer marketing remains one of the most lucrative forms of promotion to this day. All signs indicate that it will probably stay that way in the foreseeable future. It's the practice of partnering with social media personalities, celebrities, or bloggers to generate interest in your brand. These people usually have millions of followers on various social media channels. When you get them to share your content with their own audiences, you tap into a market that sustains itself organically. In the right circumstances, this should provide you with numerous opportunities for conversion. But it takes more than just reaching out to a popular personality to get results. The trick with influencer marketing is finding someone who can actually help you connect with your target market. Businesses should do research to figure out what they’re going for by working with an influencer. The ideal one matches your marketing voice and tone and can reliably encourage their audiences to consider what you offer. 2. The Popularization and Optimization Of Voice Searches Since the beginning, business websites came with search bars to help users find specific information with ease. From there, user interface designers have tried and tested a variety of methods to improve the “type and click” format. The latest, and currently most popular, is voice search. This method of query input works much like a search bar. The difference is that, instead of typing keywords, users only have to speak into a microphone to issue commands or look up information. It removes a layer of effort needed to utilize a website’s or app’s functions. The use of voice search technology boomed for various reasons. For the most part, consumers saw it as a way to save time. All they have to do is speak to their devices to accomplish tasks. Furthermore, they can do it while driving, walking, or doing something else. The growing concern for accessibility also drove the popularization and optimization of voice search capabilities. Persons with physical or neurological disabilities can rely on it to access the same functions others use daily, allowing them to participate in an environment increasingly shaped by digital technology. 3. The Continuing Power Of Social Media Content The number of people using various social media platforms continues to grow by the day. There’s simply no going around the need to use them to produce a working online marketing strategy. One of the reasons why social media remains popular as a marketing method is that it allows businesses to connect with vast audiences beyond the limits of time and space. Their data-gathering capabilities also provide businesses with real-time insights into client behavior. Even though certain social media platforms have dominated the field, that has not stopped innovators from creating more. And yet, not every channel may be suitable for your business. For that reason, if you decide to create dedicated social media accounts for your business, you need to select the right platform. Currently popular platforms have subtle differences in the way they can further your marketing. Ideally, you should work with one that your target market frequents regularly while also offering content formats you can reliably use. Striking this balance is necessary to sustain your strategy in the long term. 4. The Domination Of Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is another trend that holds strong in 2022. Business owners have long used it to streamline various operations, and promotional work is no exception. For instance, by leveraging the power of AI, one can continuously collect data on consumer behavior. Using that, companies can design buyer personas that help them customize their marketing efforts better. Since AI can automate marketing processes and eliminate repetitive tasks, they are a useful investment for furthering your marketing operations. They also help you maximize the use of resources, aiding your efforts for business sustainability. 5. The Constant Need to Optimize Old Content Although publishing content online can be a game-changer to the success of a business, creating them requires a lot of work and time. For that reason, most businesses turn to an updating strategy. They work to optimize old content to better fit the current needs of their target market. Besides saving time and money, updating old content has many other advantages. For instance, it provides them with a regular base from which they can catch up to the latest search engine optimization (SEO) trends. If you don’t have a dedicated team for your online promotion efforts, this is a viable strategy you can use to generate engagement. 6. Video As The Reigning Format of Content The rise of video-centric platforms is a testament to the continuing power of video as a format. There are many reasons why most markets concentrate on videos more than other types of content nowadays. First of all, search engines love videos. Humans rely mostly on a vision for perception. So, formats that capitalize on visuals tend to rank high in search engine results pages. Videos also offer more in the way of convenience than plain images and text, combining both sounds and visuals to get messages across. Your business should consider utilizing it more in your promotional material if you need to engage your audience. 7. Search Engine Optimization Search engine optimization (SEO) is still part of the current arsenal of content production among businesses. It's not enough for a brand to produce content that aims to address its clients’ needs without making it easy for them to access. Such is the importance of SEO in achieving marketing milestones. There are various methods to utilize SEO. As always, the key to its successful use is finding a specific strategy that gets you the results you want. Are You Keeping Up? Undoubtedly, content marketing will remain necessary in the future as digital technology continues to shape our world. By no means is this an invitation to try and implement every single trend. It only serves as a roadmap for firms like yours to find their own way to achieve success. Find what works for you to stay ahead of the competition. Additionals: How to Get Into Content Marketing The Top 7 Content Marketing Challenges for 2022 Content Marketing Mistakes You Shouldn’t Be Making 4 points to consider when creating a Great Content Marketing Strategy

3 Easy Ways to Grow Your Email List

The email marketing industry is expanding and there is growing competition between brands: they all want to get people’s attention. Sometimes, acquiring more subscribers seems hard. If you are looking to grow your email list, we have three easy ways maybe you never thought of. Whether you offer a service, product or content is the product, use these tips to add more subscribers to your database and become more successful at email marketing. Why you should grow your email list There are good reasons to build your email database. It can be an instantaneous way to reach the people who want to hear from you. Also, it’s cheaper than advertising or mass mailings. Every marketer wants a large email list which is understandable. In general, the more people you reach, the better results and this has never been more true than with emails. The typical ROI for email is $42 for every $1 spent. However, before you try any email list growth strategy, remember it’s not always about the numbers. You want true engagement and a long-term relationship with your audience. To build that, focus on adding real subscribers to your list – people who genuinely want to connect with your brand. How do you do that? Let’s get into three ways to grow your email list without much effort. Is it easy for someone to sign up? Many organizations and freelancers have only one sign-up form and you’d be surprised how much you have to search the website to find that form. So, the first tip: make your email sign-up visible and easy to find. For instance, you could place it at the top of your website and not buried down by the copyright notice. Also, avoid making the text so small that someone can’t read it. Instead, let your signup form be the first thing people see when they land on your platform. Are you promoting your email list on your social media channels? Maybe you’ve been working hard to gain followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There’s certainly inherent value in this, but a lot of marketers make the mistake of not cross-promoting channels. Who’s to say that someone can’t follow you on Facebook and be a subscriber to your email list? Just remember that people will frequently leave social media channels for one reason or another. You don’t want them forgetting about your brand and what you offer, so do your best to get them on your list. Post periodically on social media and invite people to subscribe to your emails. Your newsletters’ content should have real value and be unique from your website or social media content. This is a great incentive to gain an email audience. Plus, you can think outside the box to gain new followers. Maybe you can run a contest or offer a freebie, such as an e-book to anyone who signs up – whatever you think would entice your audience. Do you include an email subscribe button in every email you send? Word of mouth is the best marketing. If someone on your list really likes your email and forwards it on to a friend, they need an easy way to subscribe. A “subscribe” button makes it simple by saving them the trouble of looking you up, going to your website, and finding your form. So, at the end of every email you send, include a call-to-action. It could be as simple as: “Did you get this email from a friend? Get yours” + “Subscribe” button. The more convenient you make it for people to subscribe, the faster your email list will grow! Also, it doesn’t hurt to encourage your subscribers to forward your email. Some of them will do that and that’s a great way to grow your audience. It’s not all about numbers Now that we’ve gone over a few easy ways to grow your email list, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not all about numbers. There is another aspect to growing your campaign: email list quality. Gathering lots of subscribers is great for email marketing, but you have to make sure those subscribers are real. You may be asking, “Well, why wouldn’t they be?” In the world of email marketing, there are quite a few types of emails that degrade your sender reputation. A sender reputation is a score that every email sender has. It’s the rating Internet Service Providers use to determine your behavior as an email sender. Some of the factors that influence your sender score are: your bounce rate your overall engagement: open and click-through rates are vital metrics the number of spam complaints and unsubscribes you get Bad email addresses you could have in your list All these factors are in direct connection with the quality of your email list. Unfortunately, every organization or marketer will acquire some bad email addresses over time. Some of the most damaging yet prevalent ones include: Fake email addresses: for a number of reasons, people sometimes provide fake email addresses. Sometimes they just want to take advantage of a freebie and have no intention of being a subscriber. Abuse emails: some people are malicious and others just careless. Abuse email owners have a habit of marking emails as spam, even those they signed up for. You don’t want these people on your list because they will hurt your sender reputation. Temporary email addresses: would you believe there are websites that exist for the sole purpose of generating temporary emails? These email addresses are sometimes called disposable because the person uses them for a day or two and never again. Then, they only cause your bounce rate to go up. On top of these, we can’t forget there’s always natural decay of the list. People simply change email addresses. Some people use their school or work email and they graduate or quit. You must get those email addresses off of your list. Use an email verifier to keep your database clean Thankfully, there is a healthy way to grow and maintain your list. The first thing is to never buy or trade email addresses to add to your list. First of all, it’s illegal to email people without their consent. Furthermore, a purchased list isn’t likely to result in anything positive and most likely the people you add will mark you as spam. The simplest way to keep your list healthy is to: The first clean it in bulk using an email verifier then, install an email verification API on your sign-up forms. Clean your list in bulk If you already have a substantial number of contacts in your list, but are not sure about their validity, run your list through a bulk email verifier. The process is simple and doesn’t take much time: you upload your list into the system and get it back clean within hours or even minutes. Install an email verification API This simple piece of software checks every new email address in real-time. It grants permission to good emailers and keeps out any of the problematic accounts mentioned above. Once your list is clean, consider adding the API to all your sign-up forms to ensure it stays in good shape. The sky’s the limit You would be surprised what a difference email marketing makes. It’s the most personal way to reach people and is an incredible tool to communicate the story of your brand and service. Using careful planning, creativity and email verification tools you are on the right path to growing your email list and getting good results. Read Also: How to Integrate Email Marketing With SEO Why Email Marketing is the BEST Digital Marketing Outreach in Singapore

Why Every Business Needs Digital Marketing

If you want your business to grow at a steady rate, you must be able to reach your target audience as quickly as possible. In this day and age, this isn’t possible unless you have an active social media presence that your customers know about. Today, a business without a sound digital marketing strategy is doomed to fail. Several types of research show that if your business, whether new or old, isn’t visible on social media, will become a flop. If you aren’t already tapping into the potential of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media marketing, you should seriously start thinking about the potential leads and customers that you’re losing because of it. Social media has changed people, the way they function, and the way they do business with each other. When social media was first setting its root, no one believed that it could be beneficial for the world of business. But today, in a matter of a few years, digital marketing has proved to be so influential that no business can do without it. The truth is that social media has become necessary and we incorporate it into our daily lives every chance we get. To keep up with the way businesses are revolutionizing because of social media, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms are coming up with new techniques. These platforms keep up with the demands of their users because they know that without these enhancement sad improvements, they would not only lose relevance but also their loyal users. Using social media platforms is essential for your business and will help you grow even further as a brand. When used right, this platform can be a cause for your company’s success and this is why it is growing even more popular as a tool for businesses around the world. If you think that these platforms for businesses are a passing fad or trend, think again and look around at the possibilities they have created for other businesses and brands. In fact, there are many English tuition Singapore companies that are benefiting from social media and getting students from all over the world. Here are a couple of interesting facts that will have you intrigued about social media and all it can do for you. 8 billion people use social media in one form or another Adults (18-34) are most likely to follow a brand on any social media 71% of customers with good experience with a brand are more likely to recommend it to others 50 million small businesses use Facebook to connect with their customers There are approximately 500 million tweets per day So now that you’re fully aware of the potential power that social media networking websites hold, let’s talk about why you need to benefit from this powerhouse and the benefits that it can bring to your business. In the next section, we’ll talk about the importance of implementing a good digital marketing strategy for your business. Why is Digital Marketing Essential for Your Business? Digital marketing for your business will come in handy on many fronts. When used correctly, it has the potential to change the fate of your business for the better and can bring you all-rounded success. So without further delay, let’s look at the several ways in which digital marketing can have a positive influence on your business or brand. Social Media Brings In Targeted Traffic and Boosts SEO : If you have a website that you spend a lot of energy and money building, you must also be looking for ways to promote it so actual customers visit and pay attention. Designing and developing a new page on your website may not be as challenging as having people visit it. However, if you do want your landing page to be noticed, you have to work on your social media because that makes a world of difference. When strategically placed, social media has proved to bring customers to websites that were previously only getting a handful of visitors. One of the things that help you bring traffic to your website is SEO. And digital marketing helps you with SEO as well. If you have a killer content strategy for your website’s SEO, it will help you in earning a spot at the top in search engines and proper social media marketing will help you drive it even further. Social Media Helps You Stay Ahead of Competitors : The biggest mistake you could make is to skip on the benefits of social media and let the competitors get the best of it. One of the things you need to be crystal clear about is that if your competitors are on social media (which they probably are), you need to join the bandwagon as well. If you don’t want to fall behind and play catch up later, you need to get serious about digital marketing the minute you start your business. This won’t just help you get recognition as a brand, but will also help you get the potential customers that you might have lost to competitors if you didn’t participate. Being active on social media networking websites can help you turn friends and followers into traffic for your website. If you’re an English tuition Singapore company, this particular tip can help you a lot. The best thing about social media and digital marketing for small businesses is that it brings equal benefits for all. Though a few brands will have bigger budgets than others, all companies will initially start off with equal footing when they enter the arena. You can find examples of many small businesses that made it big just because they were attentive, clever, and knew the best tactics in making their content catchy. Digital marketing will also help you with your competitors because unlike traditional media where you often miss news about your competitors and even your products, social media will help you keep track of everything. Social Media Strengthens Customer Relationships : Know why digital marketing and social media are so cool in today’s world? It’s because it gives you and your customers the to interact freely with each other and knows things that weren’t obvious. As a brand, it gives you the opportunity to show your human side to the public and target audience so they can feel more connected with you. It also tells you a lot about the customers’ likes and loves and also gives you the chance to get a sneak peek into their lives. If you play your cards right you can use these networking websites to connect with journalists and other influencers to give your business the much-needed boost. Another advantage of using social media to improve your brand is that your messages aren’t taken as marketing tactics. This is why customers are often a lot more receptive to them and are more likely to hear what you have to say. It also helps you to target and retarget ads according to location, industry, purchase history, and even education level. When you target ads according to these characteristics of the user, you’re a lot likelier to convert these people into solid leads and even sales. Social Media Improves Brand Image : Finally, though digital media has a lot of other perks, we’re going to talk about how it affects positively on your brand image. When your customers are facing problems with your product or services, you get to know about it immediately. This, in turn, gives you a chance to rectify the mistake without having to go through a long and tiring process. Several studies have shown that customers appreciate brands that respond positively to customer complaints and don’t run from their responsibilities. When you’re active on your social media and show a united front, it helps your brand build loyalty. Brands that have active profiles have a proven record of customers who’re loyal to the brand and their message. It will help you become a corporation and associate trust and reliability with your name. This is one of the best techniques for English tuition Singapore branding because it helps you get noticed. Digital media marketing is essential for your business because it helps you make the mark in this millennium. If you don’t have an active existence on social media, this is your chance to start. How Should You Get Started? If you haven’t started to represent your brand on social media, your brand doesn’t really exist. Digital marketing is important for your business because it makes you reach customers far and wide so you can start interacting with them in the best way possible. So now that you know most of the benefits of adding digital marketing to your brand’s marketing techniques, let’s look at a few quick ways you can get started. Set Your Goals : The most important decision you’ll need to make before stepping into digital marketing is the goal or objective you want to get out of it. Though this is an all-rounded marketing strategy, you need to specify if you’re trying to generate revenue or using it to provide customer service and build customer relationships. The reason why you need to answer this question is that the type of content you post or share will directly affect the outcome of your goals. Content is King : We have all heard it but no one really takes it seriously unless they’re in too deep with digital marketing. When you know what your customers are looking for and what they need from your social media profile, you need to make it a point to create content that’s informative and important to them. Remember not to give up because, with continual effort, you will come out successful. Also, bear in mind that content isn’t just about the same old ‘text’ and written information you provide. Instead, experiment with your artistic side and create cool memes, infographics, and other such visually appealing content to keep your audience busy and satisfied. Incorporate Your Marketing Strategies : All your social media accounts, as well as the other marketing strategies you use to promote your brand, should be integrated together. You should have a consistent tone of voice and cross-promote your campaigns both online and offline so the efforts work together without any glitch. However, one thing you must remember is to focus on the quality of digital marketing and not necessarily the quantity. Posting 10 things on social media that don’t do a lot for the customer will be of no use. Instead, focus on bringing in quality so you have 1000 highly engaged fans instead of 10,000 who aren’t interested in what you have to say. Have a Schedule : Once you have started your social media and have a good handle on it, you don’t need to spend a lot of time managing it. If you stick to a schedule and ensure that you devote that specific time for the marketing, you won’t skip on the activities that keep things going. So for instance, if you have an English tuition Singapore page on Facebook, you can spend an hour each day to look into it and answer queries for customers. Digital marketing is fun and can be made very easy if you simply know how to go about it. But don’t make the mistake of ignoring this essential part of your business because that’ll just make you and your brand down in the long run. Use these tips and find many others on the internet to know just how important it is to know the ABCs of digital marketing. Read Also : Should You Hire A Digital Marketing Agency? The Importance Of SEO Based Digital Marketing Services Social Media Marketing: Six Trends To Keep Your Eyes On