Marketing is a way for a company to communicate with customers, in the hopes of selling a product or service to them. However, marketing involves more than what meets the eye, as companies are constantly trying to come up with new, innovative and enticing ways to attract customers.
In 2017, social media and other technology dominate, which means that marketing needs to change to be able to fit into this world.
Here is a look at marketing trends of 2017.
Start Using Native Advertising
Native advertising will reach across a number of online platforms this year, which makes it a trend to watch out for.
Native advertising is a form of paid advertising that is able to fit organically into the current offering. This form of advertising doesn't interrupt the experience of the user and they are not able to tell the difference between what is part of the site and what is paid advertising.
The content from native advertising is useful, interesting and is set to target a specific audience.
Chat with Chatbots
Our conversations are being changed by chatbots as they offer real-time engagement that is available to customers 24 hours a day.
Chatbots are able to answer customer queries and the responses make sense as they use data, which is based on how the human brain works. A chatbot is then a salesperson that is always on and ready.
Make it Personal
People have become more resistant to advertising because they are now able to spot a sales pitch or a piece of marketing and they are becoming overloaded. Targeting customers on a personal level helps marketers cut through this.
Marketers need to be able to reach a customer with personal and relevant content so they are able to get their attention.
Marketing tactics will then need to hone in on what customers want by tracking their interests, hobbies and browsing history.
Live Streaming is All the Rage
A video is able to communicate a message or emotion immediately to a viewer and in a more memorable way than words.
Live streaming videos allow you to reach the customer when you want to without waiting.
YouTube is the largest video-sharing site and Facebook has launched Facebook Live, which enables live broadcasts at your fingertips.
Marketers now have the freedom to create content and share it live from anywhere.
Augmented Reality is the Next Step
One of the biggest innovations that hit last year was augmented reality and Pokemon Go was a huge success.
Augmented reality will become part of the marketing mix in some way that will drive results and help marketers bring online into the real world.