Getting to the top of the search engine result pages is more difficult than ever before. Google has become wise to the short cuts that have been taken in the past. The search engine is constantly updating its algorithms, such as Penguin and Panda, to ensure high quality websites feature at the top of the result pages. In this post we predict the latest marketing trends for 2014. After all, the Internet is ever-changing, and thus you need to ensure you are constantly up-to-date with the latest trends if you want to stay ahead of your competition.
Content Marketing
Content marketing may not be new, but it will become more and more dominant as the year progresses. Not only is content pivotal when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO), but it also plays a massive role in ensuring you reach the right audience and create a loyal consumer base. Gone are the days where SEO content merely consisted of low quality articles stuffed with as many keywords as possible. In 2014, it is all about providing informative, engaging, and impeccably written posts. By offering insightful content you empower the consumer, with the hope that they will then purchase from your company. This is a form of marketing that is not intrusive, which is one of the reasons why it works so well. Not only will quality flourish, but this year we will see greater emphasis placed on co-citation and co-occurrence.
Visual Sharing
The following digital tends took 2013 by storm; video marketing, mobile Internet, and social media. ‘Visual sharing’ essentially combines all three. A prime example of this would be Facebook’s introduction of video on Instagram. This offers an incredible opportunity for companies when it comes to customer engagement. Research shows, that most people prefer watching videos as opposed to other methods of gathering information. Consequently, you can really use video to reinforce your brand image. The social media sharing aspect intensifies the impact. Individuals will share your video and thus do all of the hard work for you.
Paid Social Advertising
Aside from the above two, another trend many companies will be embracing is Paid Social Advertising. Businesses know that their audience is most active on social media platforms, and consequently this is where they are likely to see the biggest return on their investment. On the other hand, it is likely that the money spent on display ads will fall.
Image-Centric Content
Last but not least, the final trend we predict to see flourish is image-centric content. The Internet is all about digesting information as quickly and easily as possible. This trend plays to that notion perfectly. All you need to do is look at the rise of picture-based apps and social websites to see the power of image-based content. People are going to be more likely to read an article if it is broken up with well-placed pictures, as it looks much easier to digest.
So, there you have it – our prediction of the top four Internet Marketing trends that everyone should be taking note of for the year ahead. As you can see, emphasis is increasingly being placed on content and social sharing – these two areas should make up a substantial proportion of your marketing strategy.
