29 Mar Not Your Typical Marketing Trends Article…

Not Your Typical Marketing Trends Article…

It’s 2017. And let’s face it: In today’s crazy, chaotic business world and given the rapid advance of technology, marketing trends come. And marketing trends go. What’s popular and in fashion with marketers and small business owners today may very well be old news and “out to pasture” tomorrow…

Just because a new technology or idea or marketing tool is trendy doesn’t mean you should embrace it. Tools and technologies are tactics. You should focus on formulating and following a sound marketing strategy first and then focus on the tactics to help you carry out that strategy.

This will not be another “Top Digital Marketing Trends For 2017” article. It’s going to have a twist.

We’ll talk about a trio of current trends in online advertising that we believe can truly benefit you in your marketing efforts. And then we will go “old school”, and talk about some tactics and tools many think are outdated, but are in reality poised to make a big comeback, or maybe never lost their marketing effectiveness to begin with.

We’ll also talk about a critical step you need to take for effective marketing regardless of the trends.

Three Marketing Trends You Don’t Want To Ignore In 2017

Video

Video viewing is one of your audience’s most dominant online activities. And the popularity of online video continues to grow. Many consumers can’t seem to get enough of it. So doesn’t it make sense to include it in your mix of marketing activities?

Video presents a tremendous opportunity many marketers and business owners are missing out on. It presents an opportunity to engage consumers through the medium many of them prefer, showcasing your unique personality in the process.

Mobile

Mobile is everywhere. And its reach is growing. There’s a high likelihood you are reading this on a mobile device. There’s a very good chance your audience is seeing your marketing messages and content on a mobile device. So what should you do to engage them?

Keep in mind that mobile users are often checking you out while they are on the go. They are busy and easily distracted Have a mobile-friendly, responsive site with video and content that is short, to the point, and easy to read.

Although there is a place for long-form written content and video, mobile is not that place.

Infographics

Jerry Seinfeld said, “People have an infinite attention span if you are entertaining them.” And to quote legendary direct response marketing copywriter and consultant Dan Kennedy, “People buy more, and buy more happily when in good humor”.

Fun and entertainment in marketing. What a concept! What an overlooked, ignored concept!

Infographics may be just the tool you are looking for to help you grab and keep your audience’s attention, entertain and humor them and put them in a happy, buying frame of mind.

Infographics are a form of visual content marketing that have gained in popularity over the last few years. They typically feature eye-catching graphical backgrounds with bits of punchy, persuasive text. Information + graphics = infographics.

The right infographic, although not a replacement for text articles, is much more likely to get read than a text article.  People tend to be visual learners. And many people prefer bits of content to longer articles.

Infographics can allow you to quickly get your message to your audience without them having to do a lot of heavy reading.

Here’s a prime example of an infographic. By the way, this particular example makes a case for making video marketing a priority.

One thing you want to happen with your infographics – you want them to get shared. And you want the people they are shared with to visit your website and social profiles. So be sure and put your URL and contact information on them!

Everything Old Is New Again

Now, a lot of digital marketing, advertising and social media pundits are quick to pronounce certain marketing tools dead, that are indeed not dead. Even though these tools may not be as popular as they once were, they can still help you generate some powerful results.

Let’s talk about three of these tools – email, print, and direct mail, the original consumer marketing trends. Not only are they not dead, they can help you succeed in a big way.

In fact, print and direct mail may offer you some really great opportunities to reach your audience in a way that’s hard to do online, because of digital clutter and overload. A lot of your competitors have bought into the silly notion that they no longer work, so if you use them, you will have less competition.

Email:

To borrow from and paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of email marketing’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Consider these figures: In 2015, email was the number one sales driver for Black Friday, and 7 out of 10 consumers redeem email promotions.

And have you ever noticed that social media giants like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – platforms many of the pundits claim were supposed to replace email, continue to communicate with their account holders by email?

Print:

Many of the same digital experts who told us that email was dead are saying the same thing about print. They would be wrong. And Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute would seem to concur:

“…more brands will launch print magazines in 2017 as a way to cut through the clutter – a critical goal that has been proving increasingly difficult to do online. Look for as much print in 2017 as we saw before the great recession.”

People still read paper magazines and newspapers. As they do, if they see your ad, and the content is relevant to them, if it gives them hope you can solve a frustrating, lingering problem they are tired of dealing with, they will be interested. They won’t discount or disregard your message just because it wasn’t online.

Direct Mail:

Likewise with direct mail. More people have mailboxes than have email accounts or social media profiles. And they still check their mail. And marketers and business owners like you and I can still succeed with direct mail marketing and advertising , if we do it right.

Do This Regardless Of The Trends!

In marketing, trends, tools, and technologies come and go. But some things never change, including human nature. In 1930, before the Internet and even before TV, people bought products and services to help them solve problems and reach goals. They still do.

So even though we recommend you make use of the three hot digital marketing trends we discussed today, video, mobile, and infographics, as well as harnessing the power of tried and true channels such as email, print and direct mail, remember that you are dealing with people. So market and sell accordingly, regardless of the marketing and advertising tools you are using.

Focus your message on the reader and on helping him. Tell him the benefits you offer him. Don’t focus the bulk of your message on you, your company, or your product.

Get this crucial part of your marketing right, and it won’t matter which medium you use. You will still succeed.

And remember to visit our blog on a regular basis. We’ll give you valuable tips to help you get found online by your right audience and to turn more of them from visitors into buyers. We’ll also be doing a deep dive on each of the trends and tactics we talked about today.