Game-Changing Digital Marketing Trends in 2017

2017 is a remarkable year, not only in terms of digital marketing, but also in regards to the customer and the role that he/she plays in it. In fact, keeping up with the needs of the customer will become the epicenter of each and every trend this year.

Content Strategy

‘’Smart strategy’’ will become the key to successful marketing, as it gives orientation and freedom at the same time. Clear goals, defined KPIs and a documented strategy will become the foundation of a bullet-proof content marketing strategy, while its centerpiece will be customers’ pain-points.

Influencer Marketing

The idea behind digital marketing is to convey brand’s message in an emphatic fashion and reach out to maximum people. The influencers are the people with a good follower base who can help a brand get noticed. Companies are targeting influencers in their niche to spread their message and reaping the rewards for it.

Personalization

Through tailored messages, customized experiences and predictive marketing, brands are on the mission to create highly relevant experiences for individual prospects and customers.

Same-Day Delivery

Fast, immediate, received today, or, better, yesterday: that’s how customers want to deliver products now. By 2020, same-day delivery will account for a three-billion-worth market value, creating an untapped opportunity for e-commerce businesses.

Mobile Commerce

Mobile shoppers are constantly increasing in number. It’s predicted that in 2017 m-commerce will grow by 31%, expanding 200% faster than classic e-commerce.

Mobile E-Mail Marketing

Now that 65–70% of all emails are first opened on mobile devices, with rapid advice of m-commerce, this figure is likely to increase

Mobile SEO

Since Google made it clear that it will split its search index in the near future, brands will have to start optimizing for SEO depending on each and every device, not just desktop.

Digital Payment & Mobile Wallets

The good old concept of paying with paper bills and electronic cash is slowly but steadily being substituted by its ever-growing competitor: the virtual wallet. Starbucks, for example, has already reported that 20% of its payment transactions are handled via mobile devices and it’s about time that other brands will follow suit.

Purpose-Driven E-Commerce

More and more people are making a conscious choice to give preference to brands whose values and aspirations support a good cause. 88% of consumers are more loyal to brands that are socially and environmentally responsible, and what’s more, 84% of consumers immediately recommend those brands to their friends.

Social Commerce

Making the point-of-sale a flexible, omnipresent, need satisfaction approach and integrating social commerce into e-commerce strategies, will be on every online retailer’s agenda.

Real-Time, Actionable, Signal Driven Analytics

In order to actually be able to obtain a deep focus on the customer, the analytical foundation used by e-commerce companies as a basis for their marketing and sales strategies must change as well. This means that analytics needs to become faster, more accurate and more interpretable.

Long Live Storytelling

Storytelling will remain the pillar of all marketing efforts and will serve as a leading motif in the content marketing orchestra, in the form of a core story.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Such concepts as segmentation, marketing automation and content personalization (particularly essential in 2017) can only be explored to their fullest through the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Augmented Reality (AR)

When it comes to augmented reality, expect to see great results in the future; market value for AR applications in retail and e-commerce will reach $14.09 trillion by 2020, developing at crazy 96.9% annual growth rate.

Virtual Reality (VR)

VR will become even more important for delivering customer experiences in the next five years. And it’s promised to become more affordable as soon as 2018–2019.

Chatbots

With the rise of chatbots, it is very easy to answer enquiries about your products and service. A chatbot is a piece of smart software that can be used to answer FAQs for your business; it can also be used by customers for ordering products/services.

The Internet of Things

In 2017, everything can be turned on and off will be connected to the internet. With the increase of connectivity, the number of channels relevant to marketing will increase proportionally.

Videos in 360‎°

Facebook has already done it, the New York Times has done it, and many others soon will follow 360‎° videos. They will become mega-trend in 2017, as a ‘’light’’ version of virtual reality, so to speak.

Live-Streaming

With Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Snapchat, Periscope, and other platforms, the live streaming hype has literally explored — and it will continue to be explored in 2017. Since May 2016, the number of live broadcasts on Facebook, for instance, has already quadrupled, according to Mark Zuckerberg himself.