Marketing Trends to Watch For 2017

This year was an amazing time for online marketing with improved visuals, motion graphics and upgraded technology. As we near the end of 2016, it is time to prepare for what lies ahead for both users and businesses alike, and how the marketing industry is going to change in 2017. From virtual reality to live video streaming, there are plenty of new ways to reach your customers with some of the marketing trends that will be buzzing in the upcoming year. Which trends should you add to your business? Explore our blog to learn about the top online marketing trends to incorporate for your business in 2017.

Live Video Streaming

Social media users are beginning to lean more towards in-the-moment content. This allows instant access to live events that they previously would not have been able to access otherwise. This year, Facebook first introduced a live streaming option for celebrities, and after its success, the feature became available to all users. As a result, video has been responsible for a lot of the growth enjoyed by Facebook this year and it consistently shows higher engagement than other formats. We can expect that in 2017, more brands will start to experiment with this new format by releasing engaging live content, conducting marketing around an event in real-time, or even by paying influencers to feature their products.

Native Advertising

Native advertising is one of the oldest marketing trends that continues to have steady success over the past few years. It is a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user’s environment. As consumers continue to steer away from most forms of conventional advertising, native advertising is becoming an effective way to get consumers’ attention. One of the great benefits of native advertising is that it does not disrupt the user experience. Plus, it offers helpful information in a format similar to the other content on the site, so users engage with it more.  Expect 2017 to bring newer and more improved forms of native advertising offered by major publishers.

Rise of Immersive Experience

We learned in 2016 that users are craving more immersive experiences, which means a desire for better visual and tangible digital experiences. Instead of just staring, swiping, and scrolling across a phone or laptop screen, consumers are responding positively to the introduction of Virtual reality. VR is expected to boom in 2017, allowing customers to experience a brand, rather than just hear about it. Features such as 360 videos, or live webinars give users feeling that they are living in the moment, which creates a more memorable marketing experience. The key to a successful virtual reality marketing campaign is to connect with people through good storytelling.

The Need for Data Visualization

Marketers rely heavily on data. Whether it is website analytics, social engagement or email response metrics, quantitative information tells us who is buying what, when, why, and what messaging is most effective for consumers. But data without visualization only tells half the story. Good visualization helps provide context, uncover patterns and discover insights within a business’s data. As the volume of marketing data increases, visualization is the best way to efficiently report, and make sense of that data. There are many data visualization tools currently on the market, but in 2017, every business is going to want to start utilizing them. This technology will be more sophisticated and a need for data analysis will be greater than ever.

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