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The Biggest Digital Marketing Trends for 2017

By Jenna Bruce on Tue, Nov 01, 2016 @ 11:54 AM |

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2016 is almost over, which means it’s time to reflect on your marketing campaigns to determine what worked and what didn’t. It’s also time to think about upcoming digital marketing trends for 2017 so you can begin planning your marketing budgets for the first quarter.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the upcoming trends that are likely to shape digital marketing in the coming year.

More Companies Will Invest in Social AnalyticsMore companies will invest in social analytics

While some can’t remember a time before social media, the truth is, it’s still in its infancy. There are still great opportunities that will be presented by social media in the coming years.

But to fully leverage social media, you’ve got to collect data from your channels and analyze it. Currently, 70% of companies still are not doing this. But this is expected to change in 2017, as more CMOs, who are being held accountable more than ever before, focus their budgets and efforts on social campaigns.

Video Will Skyrocket

2016 was coined by industry experts as “The Year of Video Marketing,” and the use of video by marketers is expected to increase over the coming years. Statistics point to increased adoption of video marketing by businesses of all sizes as well as an increase in overall success rates of marketing campaigns. Consider these:

  • According to a report published by Forrester, including video in an email leads to a whopping 200-300% increase in click-through rate.
  • According to ComScore, 45.4% of users viewed at least one video online over the course of one month.
  • Unbounce reports that including video on a landing page can increase conversion by 80%.
  • YouTube reports mobile video consumption rises 100% every year.
  • According to ComScore, the average user spends over 16 minutes watching online video ads every month.
  • Forrester researcher Dr. James McQuivey estimates that one minute of video is equal to 1.8 million words.
  • According to Online Publishers Association, 80% of users recall a video ad they viewed in the past 30 days.
  • 65% of U.S. marketers plan to increase their mobile ad budgets to account for video according to eMarketer.
  • 87% of online marketers use video content according to Outbrain.

Source: Insivia.com

If you haven’t incorporated video into your campaigns yet, it’s time to get on board. Those marketers who focus some of their budget on video will be set to outpace the competition by delivering relevant and highly-engaging ads to their audience.

Cross-Device Communication

Marketing is challenging enough in this new digital landscape, but it’s about to get a bit more difficult. Consider that the average consumer is now connected through five addressable devices. This certainly offers marketing opportunities, but also marketing challenges. In the coming year, marketers will not only have to engage consumers but also track any actions they take across multiple devices.

Plan for more wearablesPlan for More Wearables

In 2016, 72% of the US population owned a smartphone. While smartphones won’t become obsolete anytime soon, they will be outpaced rather quickly. Wearables are giving smartphones a run for their money, and industry experts predict that by 2018, the global wearables market will reach $19 billion.  What does this mean for marketers in 2017? They need to start planning to produce and distribute content to fit that specific format so they can continue to target their audience.

Hiring the Right Talent

We know that big data is a game changer in media planning and other industries. Analyzing this data will require a certain skillset. It will no longer be enough to hire team members who specialize in web design or app development, CMOs will now have to ensure they have talent with technical acumen in order to leverage the data and technologies to reach their customers effectively and efficiently.

2017 will be like many new years before it: there will be new opportunities and new challenges. The marketers who will come out at the end of the year unscathed and in the black will be the ones who continue to look forward and embrace the changes as they come.

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