Marketing Predictions for 2017

As we’re coming to a end of a year of eventful marketing, it’s time reflect on the last year’s marketing efforts and predict what’s coming for the next 12 months.

Mobile first isn’t just a cliché

The favourite saying for marketers and the web industry for 2016 must have been “mobile first”. This saying will still be the number one saying. Mobiles are the most popular device for browsing the internet, so it’s important to cater for it. If you’re not catering for this platform, you’re going to lose traffic. And your going to lose it fast. Every website will need to be mobile responsive but also be attractive and interesting to compete against the rest.

Videos are coming in big and bold

Videos aren’t a new thing however we have a feeling they are going to be become very popular. There has been a suggestion that 79% of all consumer internet traffic will be video and 50% of all mobile traffic is now already video based.

As well as websites, videos are becoming more popular across social media. With Facebook introducing live video and Instagram having the “Boomerang” app to allow users to create fun short videos. The social video platforms are already optimising feeds to improve the viewing experience. As well as keeping the users interested, videos are also very beneficial from a SEO point of view. Especially since Google, who owns YouTube, favours them in search results. Get your camera ready for 2017!

Content marketing to be more visual and creative

Moving into 2017, we predict content marketing to be less on the traditional side - more creative and visual. Especially since videos are now one of the most popular platforms, content marketing will need to be more interesting and eye catching to attract the users. I predict there is going to be a rise in the number of infographics to portray bulk amounts of information along with very creative graphic designs. Also, there will be a move towards animation – becoming one of the most popular imagery for social media and websites.

We are already see Gifs, animations and videos on our social media feeds attracting the most attention compared to the plain old text status.

It’s the year of retention marketing

We saw the big craze in content marketing and watching businesses grow in 2016. The aim was to attract new customers, generate more leads and/or build brand awareness. This year we are going to see less of the outgoing marketing campaign but more into the retention of these new contacts. It was a big year of growth and attracting new people therefore now, businesses will want to keep them.

So keep an eye out for newsletters, social media and e-campaigns. These are the most common method and we have a feeling these are going to be up a notch to compete against each other. We can’t wait to see the new and creative designs that will be coming to our newsfeeds and inboxes.

The SEO Competition is on!

We finally saw the Google Penguin 4.0 update arrive in October. It was a long 700 day wait but it was well worth it. The algorithm now devalues links rather than punishing the whole site, penguin isbaked into Google’s core algorithm, updating in real time.

With this new update, we are going to see many SEO marketers competing for the number one spot. The update will push SEO closer to real marketing.  As updates are completed in real time, SEO companies who says they can provide the service will be scammed out because of the update. This is great for everyone (apart from the scammy service providers of course). Everyone will be able to see their hard work pay off straight away and see their traffic increase.

From the update, many companies saw their rankings, page authority and traffic increase from their SEO efforts in the past. Also, it’s helping with company’s PPC ad improve as SEO is considered in the ad rankings.

The next year is going to be an important year for marketing and think it’s going to be a year of new designs and a creativity take over.

If you need any help in the new year for your marketing, we can help! We offer several different marketing services along with an innovate design team. Or if you’re looking for a new website or a mobile responsive site, our expert team of web developers can help. Get in touch with us today.