Every year brings new technology and trends in marketing that can affect your franchise … for better or worse. Knowing what’s coming up in 2017 can help you plan your marketing strategy around it as well as get you brushed up on new tools that can help you find more customers even faster.
Video is Going to Get Even Bigger
Video marketing may have been up-and-coming a few years ago, but now it’s in the limelight. It’s especially important for your content and email marketing strategy: if you use emails to reach your customers, videos can increase your clickthrough rate 200-300%. That’s not insignificant!
How to Leverage It: If you’re already creating blog content, test out publishing a few videos a month there and seeing what response is. And on social media, mix up the photos you post of your products and company with videos to see if you get a boost in interaction with your followers.
People Will Expect You to Be on Social Media
Speaking of social media: it’s no longer an option. Consumers are now seeking out brands’ Facebook and Instagram accounts, so if you’re not on these sites, you’re missing out on serious opportunity to capitalize.
How to Leverage It: Being on social media is important, but being on the right social channels is key. Find out which ones your audience spends time on, then choose one or two to focus on. Remember: quality, not quantity.
Livestreaming is the New Hotness
We take video marketing one step further with livestreaming. Not to fear: this is nothing more complicated than videos being streamed on social sites in real time. Brands are finding interesting ways to use it, including livestreaming events for a first-person experience, product demonstrations, and question and answer sessions.
How to Leverage It: This is still a pretty new trend, so the sky’s the limit for your franchise. Test it out and see what resonates with your social audience. Just make sure to promote the livestream event in advance so you have an audience.
Mobile and Offline Marketing Merge
Did you catch the Pokemon Go craze earlier this year? Beyond the fact that kids and Millennials were flocking the streets to catch virtual monsters, what was interesting is that local businesses got in on the fun and used the mobile app as a marketing opportunity.
Whether Pokemon Go has any long-term longevity or not, expect to see more crossover in mobile apps and local marketing opportunities.
How to Leverage It: Stay on top of mobile trends that use geolocation. It may take some creative ingenuity, but if you can tie in promotions (think: Happy Hour prices for people who use the app), you can come out ahead with your franchise.
These are just a few of the marketing trends you can expect in the new year. Use them to refresh your marketing plan to ensure that you’re constantly relevant to your audience.
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