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5 Digital Advertising Trends for 2014

By Hannah Hill on Thu, Apr 03, 2014 @ 09:08 AM |

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The following is a guest post by Jenna Bruce.

Spring has finally arrived! Unless of course you live in New England where it won’t arrive for another two to three weeks. Nonetheless, in many parts of the country, people have officially begun that grand ol’ tradition of spring cleaning.

This time of year is also when advertisers can do their own version of spring cleaning: throwing out those campaigns and strategies that didn’t work, polishing the ones that did, and embracing new tactics and channels which offer the potential for tremendous business growth.

With that in mind, here are five digital advertising trends for 2014 you may want to consider adding to your marketing arsenal:

Social Media Diversification

Disclaimer: I’m about to date myself.

Remember when TV only offered a few channels? You were essentially limited to watching ABC, NBC, CBS or PBS. Then cable came along and offered other viewing options. Today, TV audiences literally have hundreds of channels at their viewing disposal.

5 Digital Advertising Trends for 2014The same thing is happening today with social media. Not too long ago your real choices of social marketing channels were Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But now networks like Pinterest and Instagram are big players, and there are countless new social channels entering the space each month. Some of these channels will never gain momentum and some will rise to the top. This ever-shifting social landscape makes it imperative that advertisers don’t put all their social networking eggs into one basket.

Social media diversification will help advertisers deal with constantly changing algorithms, terms of service and acquisitions, as well as give them a way to extend their brand reach.

Video Marketing

Video marketing isn’t a new concept, but with the introduction of Vine  which is expected to grow in popularity in the coming year, no doubt spurring countless copycat video sites – advertisers can easily convey brand messages in a uniquely creative and engaging way. Also, videos are increasingly being watched on mobile devices (and we all recognize the significant opportunities mobile marketing offers) and that’s a potent competitive advantage, able to instantly alter consumer behavior.

Location-based Marketing

Perhaps the most dynamic advertising development to emerge in recent years is location-based marketing, and this is sure to be one of the biggest digital advertising trends of 2014. Talk about target marketing – the GPS technology allows multimedia content to be tailored specifically to a particular geographical location and delivered directly to a prospect’s mobile device. According to a report by Pew Research, 91 percent of adult mobile phone users have their devices within arm’s reach 24/7. Also, social apps like Ban.jo, Path and Foursquare are helping this trend move along by providing vital consumer data.

Big Data

And speaking of data...5 Digital Advertising Trends for 2014

The focus in recent years has been how to collect and manage big data. The new thinking is how to make all that data useful and actionable and lead to consumer insights. Once advertisers can harness the power of data, they will have the ability to optimize their messaging and ensure it shows up in the right place and on the right device.

Multichannel Marketing

Digital technology has created what is now being called the “always on” consumer, and this modern consumer poses many a challenge to today’s marketers. On one hand, it’s far easier to reach potential customers because they are continually using their mobile devices, searching the web, watching videos and interacting on their favorite social media networks.

On the other hand, modern consumers hate being annoyed and will tune your message out in a heartbeat. In order to get them to trust you and buy, you need to have a continuous two-way conversation that offers them useful information within a personalized experience. This is where a multichannel strategy can help. Multichannel no longer means delivering a consistent message across multiple channels; with consumers being in control, multichannel marketing now has to mean combining messages and channels in a meaningful way that enhances the customer’s experience of your brand.

These five digital advertising trends will not only bring better experiences to the consumer but more successful campaigns to the marketer in 2014. That’s a win-win!

Download  The Smart Marketer's Guide to Local Digital Advertising Download the CMO's Guide to Integrating Print and Digital Media

Image credit: erlen.co.uk, akrayasolutions.com

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