Feeling like your marketing is so last year? Don’t fret, update your marketing plan with the hottest trends of 2015 that will produce stronger relationships between your customer and you!
Mobile is Hotter Than Ever
If you haven’t made mobile marketing a priority for your business, it needs to be on the top of your to-do list. So, why mobile marketing and why does your small business need it? Well to start off, 35% of the total web traffic in the U.S. comes from mobile phones and tablets and 66% of people read their emails on their smartphones. With mobile devices dominating the way we communicate, your business needs to be easily accessible on a variety of devices such as smartphones, tablets, and desktops. By creating a responsive website, it provides an optimal user experience for your audience on any device. 80% of mobile users delete emails that aren’t optimized for mobile screen, so make your website accessible for everyone on any device!
In fact, Google has recently announced that “starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact on our research results.” What this means for you is that the more mobile-friendly you make your website it, the better it will place in Google’s search results!
Marketers Are Becoming Writers
If you want to successfully market your business in 2015, it’s time to brush up on your writing skills. Organizations all over are coming to the realization that the quickest way to an audience’s heart is through valuable content. By presenting your audience with content that is relatable and interesting, a level of trust is formed between your audience and your business. Aside from creating valuable relationships, content marketing is a great boost for SEO search rankings for your website!
Let’s Get Personal
However, as more high quality content becomes available, audiences will be more selective with what they choose to read and watch. Gain a competitive advantage by personalizing your content. Not only will this set your business apart from others that are also producing content but it will humanize your company and make it easier for your audience to form a relationship with you!
Influenced by Social Media
Social media has proven itself to be much more valuable than just a platform to update followers on what you ate for lunch. It’s becoming the place for consumers to search for information and inspiration on what product to buy. 35% of consumers said they made a purchase that was influenced by social media and 43% of social media users said that they ended up buying a product that they shared or liked on social media. Now that we’ve established that social media is a pretty big influence on consumer purchasing behavior, how do you benefit from it? Increase business revenue by highlighting specific products or services that you offer rather than just your overall business. Also, make things “shareable” by including visuals!
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
If you take the same piece of content and post it on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, and so on, you’ll get widely different results. The lesson learned here is that you must customize your content for each network you utilize. Analyze your social media platforms and see the type of engagement you get from each one. From there, make plans to customize your content to appeal to the type of audience on a select platform.
We’re All Human
Organizations that go straight to sales pitch are being ignored by their audiences. Understand that your audience is not just a wallet, but a human that is looking for your business to help them solve their problem. Consumers don’t want to be told what to buy at an inconvenient time. They want to be connected with, educated by, and engaged by your business. Humanize your business by putting your customer’s wants and needs above your own and you will see relationships between your audience and your business come to life.
Well, there you have it! If you’re feeling like your marketing strategy is behind the times, these trends are the best way to get you up to date. Feeling overwhelmed or simply just don’t have time to do these yourself? Let us market your business for you!
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