Top 5 Predictions for Digital Marketing in 2016

13 Jan Top 5 Predictions for Digital Marketing in 2016

With the new year comes the onslaught of 2016 predictions, resolutions, and affirmations. Truth be told, we gave up on resolutions a few years ago, after realizing that half-hearted pledges to ‘be better’ in the new year often fell short of their grandeur by February 1. Ok, ok, before you stop reading and opt for some positive, gag-worthy memes about ‘New Year, New You!’ bear with us. It’s not that we aren’t all about the positive upswing in 2016, in fact, that is exactly what we are about in 2016. The difference is, we want to set attainable goals for GFCL in the new year…something simple that we can hang our hats on today, tomorrow, and onward through winter, spring, summer and fall. So we humbly present: 2016, the year of #makeithappen!

What does that mean for you in 2016? For your business and brand, the year of #makeithappen means taking advantage of a new year by striking while the iron is hot. What’s hot right now you ask? We’ll start with the top five trends in digital marketing that you should be focused on to help your business #makeithappen:

1. Marketing First: The face of marketing is an ever-changing beast (or magical creature if you will) that can never be succinctly pinned down; however there is no denying that video is on the forefront of digital marketing in 2016. When we talk about video being on the forefront, we aren’t talking about stale ad videos, we’re talking about well-executed, regular installments of videos that reflect the ongoing story of your brand. Keeping your target audience engaged with your brand is exactly why it is important to partner with a digital marketing company that maintains the editorial sense to produce video content for your business on a regular basis.
2. Meaningful Content: We all know (or should know) by now that content is king. But if we ALL know that content is king, the result is a deluge of mediocre content. The key to reigning as the true king in the content domain is to craft meaningful content. All arrows are pointing towards compelling content in 2016, which means a highlight reel or business profile or product description is no longer enough, be it on your website or on social media. What will attract, and more importantly retain, customers in 2016 is storytelling – that is to take an element or story about your business and convey it to your audience in a meaningful way.
3. Omni-Channel: Once upon a time, businesses could get away with resting on their laurels and driving all of their traffic to one location. Friends, those days are long gone. You’re no long driving your customers to one source (i.e. a website); rather, you want to create an all-encompassing array of avenues for reaching your audience (i.e. email blasts, social media, vlogs/blogs, website, etc…). The key to dominating digital media in 2016 will be capturing your target audience’s attention at some point in that cycle, providing them with the story of your brand.
4. The Next Frontier: What’s the next frontier of video you ask? Simple…live video. We predict that 2016 is going to be a much more interactive year, with nearly every social media outlet making the shift towards live video. Periscope, Meerkat, Blab..live video feed is on the rise, followed closely by augmented reality. Facebook and Google have already thrown their hats into the ring, as has Microsoft, which puts augmented reality dead in our crosshairs.
5. Back from the Dead: The future doesn’t necessarily mean looking forward; in fact, in some cases the future lies in the past. Ok, enough mystical riddles, we’re talking about trends we see making a comeback in 2016: gifs and email marketing. We’ll start with email marketing. For any number of reasons, email marketing is still one of your strongest tools for reaching your clients in a targeted, effective manner. As such, it’s one of the best vessels for conveying the ongoing story of your brand. As for gifs? Well, they are still awesome and they will rise again as a method for personalizing your brand and sticking out in 2016.

Enough predictions for one day? We agree. As we #makeithappen in 2016 at GCFL, we have every intention of capitalizing on the wealth of ingenuity that digital marketing has to offer…and you should too! The reason we love our jobs so much is because we get to help other businesses tell their story in a compelling and unique way. We want to help you make it happen this year, one digital endeavor at a time. Cheers to a new year….now #makeithappen.