With the year drawing to a close, it is obvious that online marketing has continued its growth through 2015 with various changes to how a company can interact with potential customers, increase brand awareness and that marketing online needs to be a fundamental part for any businesses to have a successful marketing campaign. When considering the changes of 2015, it is time to take stock, and consider how marketing trends may continue or change into 2016, here is a few worth considering.
The Continued Growth of Social Media
The growth of online marketing as a functional method of reaching customers or potential customers has been down to the growth of social media platforms monetizing their services, or allowing adverts to directly feature prominently on a user’s timeline. The market leader, Facebook, allows for businesses to advertise directly to potential customers based upon the data that Facebook builds up on their interests over their continued usage. But differently, Facebook’s databases allow not only for generic advertising, but also marketing campaigns to be aimed at the likes and interest of a particular target audience based upon the information they have shared, pages they have visited or a whole range of other factors.
This targeting based upon sound information, gathered over a period of time, allows a company’s advertising to be tailored to people who may have a particular interest in the product or service they offer. Not only does this better target a potential customer to your brand, it also maximizes the return on your advertising expenditure by eliminating individuals whom would more than likely not be interested in the product or service. This gives social media a large advantage over more traditional online mass marketing campaigns. Services such as Twitter and Instagram also offer similar functions.
People Will Trust Search Engines
It is true that online shopping has become a credible, if not easier, alternative to shopping on the high street. eBay and Amazon are the two most obvious candidates here but there are more and more businesses which are setting up online to use the internet as a way of promoting a particular skill or idea as a way of earning more income. The easiest way for potential customers to find your business is through search engines such as Google or Yahoo, but also through site specific search engines which allow a user to browse specifically on the website they have visited. Therefore for smaller more niche businesses based in Sioux Falls, SEO is essential to ensuring your business is featured on these search engines.
The Internet Will Continue to Grow
As mobile technology develops and more people are online, the importance of online marketing for any business will continue to grow. Instead of being locally based with a limited market, global integration will make world trading simpler and more accessible to businesses. Facebook, again is leading the charge by funding internet installation worldwide.
With these predictions in mind, what do you think the trends will be, and how accurate will these three predictions be?
