10 Digital Marketing Trends for 2017, and why we need to be paying attention to the evolution of technology.
We have predicted The 10 biggest digital marketing trends for 2017 along with the help of some experts. We have taken a year’s worth of reading and research, along with advice from the experts & looked at the developments that seem to be gaining traction, and extrapolated some predictions for 2017.
1. Immersive Marketing
The success of content marketing has been a mixed bag. It has given consumers entertaining, informative content. It has also seen a lot of rushed content published in the race to expand content volumes.
This increased competition has seen market leaders and innovators look for new ways to engage their audience, and developments in various technologies are helping to drive this phenomenon.
Both Facebook and YouTube have introduced 360-degree video, and some brands have already begun experimenting with the format for an interesting and innovative experience. Take a look at this 360-degree promo for Star Wars: Rogue One, or this effort from GoPro.
Following on from the success of Pokemon Go, Pepsi developed an augmented reality ad. There have been some innovative, interactive campaigns on Snapchat this year, with sponsored filters being an obvious route.Marketing campaigns that push the boundaries like this cannot be universal, but it will be interesting to see how marketers continue to experiment in 2017. Live video can play a part in creating an immersive video too…
2. More Live Video
Live video has suddenly become the internet’s favorite shiny new toy. When Meerkat entered the market it was an entertaining novelty. Now, Twitter (via Periscope), Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram have all released live video offerings as well.
Many of these networks are promoting their live video quite heavily, and it’s something that will stand out in the saturated world of content, so I can see plenty of reasons why brands would want to get involved.
An early example was BuzzFeed’s live stream of two employees trying to explode a watermelon using rubber bands. The video has had a total of 11 million views.
I also expect the two worlds of live video and influencers to collide in 2017, with product placement and sponsorships becoming a regular feature of influencer videos.
3. Big Data
Big data has been around for a few years now, but getting the most out of all this data is still a challenge to many.
Market research firm Ovum estimates the big data market will increase from £1.3 billion in 2016 to £7.5 billion by 2020. As businesses mature and put new structures and roles in place, big data will begin to become increasingly useful and utilised.
Big data is becoming increasingly widely used. It is said to have played a large part in the outcome of the US election. Trumps marketing teams analysis knew where to focus fundraising efforts, target ‘persuadables’, and increase spend. The data was even used to deliver 4,000 individual digital ads. This messaging was continually tested and refined.
4. Increased Personalisation
Big data can have a variety of uses, one of them being personalised customer experience and marketing. The personalisation of Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify show how data can be used to improve the customer experience. This level of one-to-one marketing will slowly become more prevalent as brands weigh opportunity and cost and find ways of introducing it into their messaging.
In marketing, data has been used for the lighthearted but enjoyable campaigns such as Spotify’s “Thanks 2016, It’s been weird”, to Chelsea football club’s search for a new sponsor, which was a highly personalised campaign
5. Native Advertising
While native advertising may be an old method, market forces should increase its prominence in 2017. The diminishing penetration of many ads – through ad blockers, reduced social media organic reach, and the decline of banner ads – will see an increase of native advertising.
The Guardian newspaper has recently updated its native advertising platform to help brands find a home for their content. As Adam Foley, commercial strategy director, says “we have answered a genuine industry problem faced by advertisers and agencies who create their own branded content and struggle with a suitable home.”
6. Digital marketing trends that are on the list every year but still deserve to be there:
Mobile first
Probably on every digital marketing trends list since mobile phones first had internet capabilities, the relentless increase of users accessing the web through mobile means its importance continues.
In fact, this year there were two important markers for mobile: Google announcing a mobile-first web index, and the fact that mobile traffic has overtaken desktop for internet usage.
7. AR & VR
The progress is probably slower than people would like, as this is another trend that’s been on many a list. I’ve even talked about it in this post, and I do believe its use will increase, but it is unlikely to develop beyond a niche market in 2017. We have embraced it already with our very own Virtual Reality Google Cardboard Headset! We want to make recruitment an ‘Experience’ that can be seen and felt across many different platforms. Based on the feedback from our candidates its proving to be a real hit and something we will explore further this year!
8. More video
It feels like my entire Facebook feed is already taken up by video, but I’m sure there is room for more. Facebook has driven profits by embracing video, and is likely to continue. Twitter are banking on broadcasting football games to boost their revenue. It seems we can’t get enough of video, so expect the powers that be to serve up even more.
9. The Internet of Things
There are billions of connected devices, from thermostats to smart cars. And yet, the biggest Internet of Things news this year was the massive DDoS attack in October caused by weaponizing low-security connected devices.
The Internet of Things has some exciting early uses. There are industries that are seeing a lot of value from IoT, but for most people it’s a slow crawl. Developments will continue to creep into our lives, but it feels like people are expecting too much too soon.
10 . Wearables
The tech will improve, the prices will go down, and more people will embrace wearables. I just can’t see it becoming a mainstream concern by the time the year is out. Having said that, usage will slowly continue to rise.
Those are our predictions for the biggest digital marketing trends for 2017. If none of them come to fruition we can break out the Tarot cards next year.
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