As another year ends we reflect on the past and look to the Digital Marketing future. 12 months ago we were planning for 2017, we predicted more data, more social media, Marketing Automation, an increase in video marketing and targeted content marketing.
Our Digital Marketing predictions were correct!
IBM reported that 90% of online data has been created in the last 2 years. They estimate by 2020 there will be 6,080 million years of video and 40 Zettabytes of data online.
81% of millennials check Twitter at least once a day. Facebook reported 1.6 billion daily visitors this year. 80% of time spent on social media is from a mobile device and over 400 million snaps are shared on Snapchat every day.
Social Media Today calculated over 500 million hours of Youtube videos were watched every day. 73% of B2B marketers say that video marketing positively impacts their digital marketing ROI.
So as we approach 2018, what do we think the future holds?
The latest buzz word is “Digital Transformation.” With an increase in available data, and developments in social media marketing, businesses are looking to invade the customer lifecycle. We have been profiling customers for years, setting clearly defined buyer personas into our Digital Marketing Strategy.
By combing data and Marketing Automation we can jump into the customer journey. To a certain extent we have been doing this with Remarketing and Pay Per Click tactics. Due to the volume of data that is now available and the strategies we can put in place, this process can be enhanced to be even more targeted and even more specific.
Marketing Automation has begun the process, allowing businesses to provide customers with information relevant to their interests and needs. Predictions are that this process is going to become even more fine-tuned, increasing leads, sales and ROI.
Businesses will not only be able to target specific customers and markets, they will be able to think like their customers and markets.
Social Media will soar
The power of Social Media is only set to increase. Every day the social media giants are finding new ways to reach audiences. Pizza Express have already trialed “chatbots” using the Facebook Messenger service, offering customers the chance to book tables, enquire about menus and engage with the brand. Pizza Express have reported great success. Marriot Hotels have been using them in a customer service capacity to respond to consumers.
Like most things in the digital world, Digital Marketing will always be evolving. With access to more data, digital marketing can be even more targeted and specific increasing accuracy and reducing costs.
It’s all about evolution
Here are a few fun techie facts to show just how much we have evolved over the years!
- The smallest ipod available holds about 480 songs – that’s equal to 32 cassette tapes.
- The Apollo space modules only had 4KB of memory in their guidance computers.
- In 2007, there were only 58 million Facebook users worldwide – total.
At eppiq, we pride ourselves on staying on top of new methods and techniques to provide the best quality Digital Marketing service. Get in touch today if you think we could help you.
