How Marketing in 2017 will Evolve with the IoT, Virtual Reality, Content Marketing, and More
Even though it’s only October , New Year's Eve will be here before we know it—and with a new year comes new possibilities for the field of marketing. Experts have started to make predictions on the best ways to advertise in 2017. Regardless of what new trends surface and rise in popularity, you can bet there some will succeed and some will flop. Read on to find out what you can expect for the marketing world in 2017 and how your business can take advantage.
The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept that everything with an “on/off” switch will at some point be connected to the Internet. This has amazing possibilities, but there are also some significant concerns (namely security). The IoT will also change the face of privacy and data sharing as we know it. But think about all the possibilities the IoT could bring to the field of marketing. If everything that can be connected is connected, that means many more devices have the potential to be used for marketing.
Virtual Reality is a Reality
The world of Virtual Reality (VR) is already growing, and it’s only expected to grow more in 2017. Jesse Schell, professor at the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center and CEO of Schell Games, predicts that 8 million gamer VR headsets will be sold in 2016, and that number will double every year after. VR certainly has the potential to become a very lucrative industry (one in which companies can take advantage of for marketing). Think of the possibilities for VR ads, or if you’re not ready for that, all the new platforms you can tap into to advertise. The possibilities are endless.
Hyper-Personalized Marketing will Continue to Grow
Facebook has already taken advantage of this concept by letting their users customize the types of advertisements they want to see, and more sites are projected to do the same. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software already has the ability to collect detailed personal data on users that you’d be lagging behind if you don’t use it to customize your marketing plan. This also means that business owners will have to get more creative because consumers will have more of a say over what types of ads they get to see—and you’ll want to make sure that yours makes the cut. This type of marketing is ultimately a good thing for business owners because it “allows marketing teams to send out the right message at the right time to the right person, which leads to better and higher conversions.”
Content will Become More Unique
Content formats are changing as brands are forced to get more creative. According to Convince and Convert, “visual content will become more important as search engines get better at reading and analyzing images to determine what your website is about.” Currently, 55 per cent of shoppers research on mobile devices, where visual content helps them narrow down their product choices. Expect more photo and image advertising in a variety of formats other than copy.
Content Marketing will Potentially Outshine Traditional Advertising
In addition to becoming more creative, content marketing has the potential to become even more popular than current modes of advertising. Unfortunately traditional ads have built a relationship of distrust with consumers; many users ignore ads and focus on the content they’re really interested in instead. This requires companies to pursue a different route in order to reach their target audience, namely content marketing. Companies are already spending more of their budget on this type of advertising, and this is only going to increase in 2017.
Video is on the Rise
According to Syndacast, 74 per cent of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video. This isn’t a shock considering internet speeds and the use of mobile devices are increasing, making it possible for people to stream videos on many different devices from pretty much anywhere. Currently, marketers who use video grow revenue 49 per cent faster than non-video users and four out of five shoppers say a video showing how a product or service works is important. You can only expect this popularity to grow as consumers expect more from brand advertising and the field of video continues to expand.
Conclusion
With a little preparation for the coming changes, you can keep up with highly-connected, creative, and hyper-personalized marketing strategies.
