Top 5 Emerging Online Marketing Techniques for 2017

It’s great when you know what online marketing techniques will be important in this brand new year and which areas to focus your efforts on to improve digital experiences on desktop, mobile, or in-store.

According to Hostingfacts, there will be more internet traffic this year than all prior internet years combined.

Take a look at these key online marketing techniques that will give you the edge in 2017 and the future and how you can utilize virtual personal assistant services to help promote your brand and generate more revenue.

1. Content Marketing Trends are Still Going to Rule

A study from Smart Insights revealed that content marketing has been in the top 3 trends for the last 3 years. A team-up with HubSpot also shows that more businesses (40%) are now using a strategic approach when it comes to content in 2017.
As Joe Pulizzi, Founder of Content Marketing Institute puts it, “Determine the kind of content that interests the members of your community in a way that is useful to them.”

According to experts, the only way to get attention is through personalized content. Relevant content triggers the customer and pushes them to…

• Subscribe to your email list
• Build brand loyalty
• And encourages them to visit your website again

Top Online Content Marketing Trends for 2017

• More focus will be placed on live video, interactive content, visual content, virtual reality (VR), personalized and niche content, content promotion, and distribution.
• More businesses will seek out content writers and marketers
• World-renowned marketer Guy Kawasaki strongly suggests Live video
• John Jantsch, marketing consultant of Duct Tape Marketing believes that “Lead capture is personal – Driving traffic to your content is essential, but the ultimate payoff is capturing a lead for future content.”
• A shift towards writing longer, more in-depth quality content – 1500-2000 words with lots of value
• Most businesses will need a promotion and distribution strategy.
• “Virtual reality will be mainstream in a few years. This will change how we tell our stories and connect to customers in profound ways.” ~Mark Schaefer, author of The Content Code
• “2017 needs to be the year of doing what I call… Looking People in the Eye Digitally, which means Listening, Connecting, Relationships.” ~Ted Rubin, social marketing strategist, acting CMO of Brand Innovators

2. Videos will Dominate in Smartphones

The trend of video marketing has shot up in the past few years and will continue to increase in 2017.

Don’t know how to create compelling videos for your business? This is one of the tasks you can outsource to a virtual assistant (VA). Video-making tools like VideoBurst makes simple but professional videos to engage your viewers.

“Smartphone madness” is another thing. Just look around you—people are glued to their smartphones—in the office, streets, parking lots, buses, or just about everywhere. When combined, videos on smartphones are one of the most powerful ways of connecting with your customers.

What does it mean for you and your business? Take advantage of it and start building brand awareness! Customers are always on the go and mobile phones have become part of their everyday life resources for online shopping, banking, entertainment, etc.

3. Online Marketing Automation and Mobile SEO

Like content marketing, marketing automation has been in the top 3 trends for the last 5 years. This includes CRM, behavioral email marketing, and web personalization.

Virtual assistant companies are also starting to implement mobile SEO or Mobile marketing SEO techniques, which will be particularly important in 2017 with Google’s recent announcements about the mobile index and AMP.

Smart Insights have been covering these announcements and improvements in these posts:

• How Google’s mobile-only index will change search in 2017
• Google to start penalizing sites that use pop-ups
• Stop everything and implement AMP pages

4. Targeted Email for Sales and Marketing

Don’t ever think that email marketing is dead. Email is age-old digital technology that is here to stay. It is considered the most organic way of driving traffic. Remember, your job is to keep interested customers happy and engaged to have a strong and solid email list. Did you know that email is also the most effective medium for getting conversions even today?

5. Social Media Marketing Amplification

Social media including Social CRM and Social Customer Care is still a big hit. The good thing about it is that it is a great source to build good relationships with industry influencers and connect with them.

Social media marketing packages can help you set up a campaign on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Keep on bringing the best user engagement practices to gain more attention!

Social Media Research Statistics Summary

• Overall continued growth in social media usage.
• Reduced popularity of some social channels in some countries.

For example, Twitter and Facebook are in a lapse in many western markets while Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest are still expanding in usage.

• Trends are often controlled by the efforts of social networks to monetize.

For example, Facebook and Instagram, in particular, make changes such that businesses now need to “pay to play” to get the reach they need to have an impact.

Social media giants have continued to innovate in their targeting and remarketing options among other online marketing platforms that many of us are currently using.

Thus, it is imperative that you choose one marketing activity and sync it with virtual assistant services that you think will give your business the biggest incremental upgrade in leads and sales for this year and beyond.

So let the #NewYear sink in and start implementing each of these online marketing techniques that will be smoking hot in 2017!  If you need help, a Virtual Assistant can be a low-cost and effective solution to get you on the fast track to implementing these emerging digital marketing trends.  One of the most trusted virtual assistant companies in California that you can turn to is Virtual Assistant Talent. Call at 1-866-596-9041 or fill out our online no-obligation Phone Consultation Request Form today!

References:
www.smartinsights.com
www.writtent.com
www.entrepreneur.com