With only a few months left in 2015, it's time to start thinking about marketing predictions for 2016. As a CMO, you have your work cut out for you trying to keep up with the constant changes in marketing expectations. If you think this year seemed overwhelming keeping up with new marketing concepts online, 2016 may knock you over.
But this needn’t be the end of the world. Most of the foreseen changes are things you've perhaps already heard about in the realm of mobile technology. Other changes in the world of social media are possibly ones you didn't see coming from a business perspective, but can quickly adjust to incorporate.
Either way, you'll also find common marketing methods being used now changing in order to help something else. That's especially the case in the world of SEO and imagery on your site, where a marriage of the two further advances SEO.
New Horizons on Social Media
ClickZ reported recently that SnapChat may become the dominant social media site in 2016. While it may seem unbelievable when Twitter and Facebook seem to get all the mainstream attention, SnapChat has more of an immediacy compared to other social media sites.
It's the real-time marketing potential of SnapChat that has everyone's attention. And with many popular brands already starting to adopt it, it’s moving beyond the realm of tweens. Despite posts self-destructing after a short time, the ability to market your website to Millennials there is extremely valuable.
Of course, using SnapChat still depends on the type of demographic you want to reach. But it's an example of how reaching people faster is the name of the game when marketing your online business.
The Advent of Wearables and the Internet of Things
The Apple Watch has had lukewarm sales, though it's only the beginning for the potential of wearables. According to ClickZ, wearable technology may become the top mobile device to use for marketing, based again on the premise of more immediacy in marketing.
Marketing your website on a wearable poses its own problems, especially in formatting for a smaller screen. It means more focus on imagery and far less typography in order to capture prospective customers in the moment.
Beyond wearables, the potentials of marketing through the Internet of Things has expectations of more growth in 2016. Most likely, it's going to take another few years before such tactics go completely mainstream. Nevertheless, it's still worth looking into both wearables and Internet of Things devices now to see what the potential is for marketing your business and properly formatting your site and content.
More Strategic Marketing Content
Quality of content is an evergreen marketing value that only gets more and more emphasized each passing year. Remember, content is king! More strategic tactics in your marketing content will have more importance than ever next year, so you should take time to hone your content in the next few months. This includes content invoking trust in your overall business and in how you make your products.
The best way to approach this is through video content, as well as any content customized to what customers want. Studying customer personas this fall can help you better target your content on your website next year so you don't have to tweak things later during critical sales periods.
SEO and Quality Content
Google will continue to equate quality content with better SEO rankings. This takes into consideration several things, though using more interactive visual elements helps people stay on your site. When they do, Google deems your site full of quality content and therefore ranks you higher.
Keeping this in mind, working with your team or marketing agency to create quality content is more important than worrying about keywords. Of course, using long-tail or conversational keywords certainly still factors into the entire SEO picture.
Whatever 2016 will bring, it’s important to get a head-start on making changes that will improve your online visibility and marketing tactics through the next twelve months and beyond. If you don’t have the in-house capability to enact these changes, consider hiring someone who can help you make them and maintain them.