Five Online Marketing Trends For 2014

To say the exciting, chaotic world of digital marketing is always changing would be a massive understatement. Every day, marketers like you and I are bombarded with news stories of developments, technological and otherwise, that we feel pressured to implement in our own business. We often feel that if we don't, we'll get left behind.

Well guess what. We can't hop on the bandwagon of every trend that comes along. We don't have time, energy or the mental focus for that. And the great news is that we don't have to.

But there are major trends in the online marketing world we'll want to be aware of. And there are those we'll indeed want to implement in our own businesses.

But remember this: Don't invest in some new technology or chase every new online marketing whim just because it's the “flavor of the month”. Decide beforehand on a sound, comprehensive, actionable marketing strategy, and follow that!

Be aware of the trends but only implement the ones that truly make sense for your business and the market you serve.

To help you be more aware of some significant marketing trends I feel you should be aware of, I've compiled the list below. I'm confident you will find it useful.

1. Content Marketing Is Big! And Getting Bigger

Of all the “trends” in digital marketing, none is bigger or more significant than content marketing. Content marketing may not actually be a trend, because it's definitely not new. It's been around for well over 100 years. But it's growing in popularity by leaps and bounds. And it's a tool that most, if not all marketing teams can benefit from.

Used in tandem with social media, it's a powerful tool for driving interested traffic to your website. It can boost your status as a thought leader in your niche. It can build top of mind awareness (TOMA) in your prospects' and current customers minds. It can drive new and repeat sales.

And done properly, content marketing has been shown to bring a greater ROI than paid search. So by all means, add content production and distribution to your list of must-do marketing activities. “Spice up” your content marketing and give it more strength by infusing it with great copywriting.

2. Investment In Display Ads Will Continue To Grow!

I'm not going to make the blanket statement that “interruption advertising doesn't work”. I'm convinced that if it is focused on the viewer who sees it, rather than on the company that pays for it, it can get his interest and attention.

But winning at display advertising can be a challenge, and this may be an uphill battle you don't want to fight.

Investment in online display ads is increasing. Even so, I think the case can be made that this medium doesn't produce solid results. But there is a new type of advertising that is not only growing by leaps and bounds, it has also proven to be quite effective: Facebook news feed retargeting ads.

These ads solve one of the biggest problems in online advertising today – getting audience attention. When people are on Facebook, they tend to be highly focused on their newsfeed, so a news feed ad they view as relevant has a very good chance of getting noticed and clicked on.

One study recently found that Facebook news feed retargeting ads had a click-through rate (CTR) 49 times higher than FB right-hand side ads and 21 times higher than standard web retargeting.

So this is a type of advertising that may be suitable for your business. But as we've said so many times on this blog, avoid “shiny object” syndrome. Facebook news feed retargeting ads are a potentially useful tool for some marketers in some situations. They aren't a solution to every marketing problem you'll experience.

And if you use them, use them as part of an online marketing plan that is comprehensive and well-put together. You'll still want to also use email marketing, social media, a great website designed to convert and perhaps mobile marketing.

3. Video and Images Will Become More Important 

With the growing amount of available content on the web, there's a heated battle for viewers' limited attention. So your content must get noticed if it's going to get read, responded to and shared.

Written content that includes memorable, compelling images, or content that's image-based, like infographics and content in the form of video is much more likely to get noticed and consumed than text-only content. Look for this trend to accelerate in 2014.

And of course, if you include a spoken marketing message in your video, or written content in your image, like you would in an infographic, the rules of effective copywriting and content marketing still apply.

4. Content Sharing Will Become More Popular

People love sharing online content with their social networks. Sharing is a big force behind the overwhelming growth and success of the social web. Content that has images or is image-based, like infographics is much more likely to get shared than straight text.

Here's an additional bonus: the more your content gets shared, the more likely is is to get ranked in search engines and give you an SEO boost.

5. Responsive Design Will Become More Critical For Marketing Success

Most, if not all marketers need to embrace mobile marketing. The infiltration of smartphones and tablet devices into our culture shows no sign of slowing down. According to one study, by 2017 mobile devices will make up 87 percent of the total sales of Internet-enabled technology.

And shoppers are demanding the ability to use their mobile devices to help them buy, both in e-commerce and local retail situations. And in order for you to attract prospects to your mobile marketing and keep them interested, you must provide them with a pleasant user experience. That means you need responsive design.

You need to optimize every part of your online marketing for your mobile user. If you provide him with a sub-par experience, chances are he won't forgive you and decide to look at your website or email on his home computer. No, chances are you'll lose him altogether.

So make all of your content, emails and webpages easily accessible from any device. Do this, and you could very well see your conversion rates skyrocket! If you don't embrace responsive design and mobile marketing in general, be prepared to get left behind and miss a lot of outstanding sales opportunities.

The End Goal

So what's the end goal of analyzing, implementing and trying to capitalize on trends in online marketing? More sales!

And to enjoy maximum success in your online or offline marketing activities, every part of your marketing “machine” needs to be running smoothly. And nowhere is this more important than with your landing pages.

Your landing page represents an online marketing “moment of truth”. You are seeking to persuade your page visitor to make a decision; your goal is to get him to say “YES!” to buying your product.

So if you are going to enjoy the conversion rate you want, your landing pages need to perform very well. You want persuasive copywriting and eye-catching, relevant images. You need an offer your prospects will respond to.

And why not give yourself the online marketing “special sauce” of a world-class landing page platform like Lander. Why Lander? Not only is Lander the easiest-to-use landing page platform in the Universe – it's a breeze to install and maintain, but it's loaded with features like

• Advanced A/B testing – helps you refine your online marketing approach so you can enjoy greater and greater results

• Mobile-optimized versions for all of our landing page templates – 30% of US consumers use their mobile devices while shopping. We can help you capture more sales from them

• Built-in video support – 52% of consumers say that online video makes them more confident in buying decisions

And here's the Lander “feature” you just might like the most: You can try any of our landing page templates and rate plans free of charge for up to 30 days!

Do you have any questions about how Lander can help you launch your online marketing results into the stratosphere? Contact us today or leave us a comment in the box below.

Happy Marketing!