As anyone who followed the UK Brexit referendum, the US Presidential election or even, to a lesser degree, the progress of Ed Balls to the later stages of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ will confirm, making predictions can be a tricky business. This is particularly true where technology is concerned. After all, how many people, hand on heart, can say that they put a bet on one of the biggest phenomena of 2016 involving crowds of people walking the streets whilst simultaneously playing a video game involving cute Japanese creatures (that’s Pokémon Go to anyone who’s spent most of the year hiding in a cave)?Nevertheless, it is part of our remit as a leading to stay on top of the trends which might be emerging during the next twelve months. Only by ensuring that we know what is coming down the line will we be able to offer our clients a fully rounded service, and that includes spotting the trends which don’t take off, as much as those that do. After all, the most well established digital platforms were once innovative start-ups, and tools such as email marketing, Google adwords and custom mobile apps might once have been regarded as gimmicks, are now pretty much taken for granted.
Bearing that in mind, we offer a few brief predictions for digital marketing trends which might emerge during 2017. We can’t guarantee that they’ll all come to fruition, but we do promise that we’ll keep a careful watch out for them either way, and will offer those that do emerge as part of the package which our clients can access.
Augmented and Virtual Reality
We’ve already mentioned Pokemon Go but, as well as being lots of fun and getting hard core gamers up and out into the fresh air for a while, it also underlined the possibilities offered by augmented and virtual reality. How about an app which enables customers to see the furniture they’re wearing in place in an image of their home, or a headset which lets you take a ‘walk’ round a holiday spot you’re thinking of booking? The limits are literally as wide as you can imagine.
Live Video Streaming
Turn your branding and advertising into an event by streaming content live. Video streaming is becoming more and more of a feature of social media, thanks to a combination of broadband availability and more advanced smart devices. When the first Presidential Debate of last year was streamed live across multiple platforms all over the world, the form genuinely entered the mainstream.
Personalisation
The sheer weight of content pumped out across all digital channels will mean that much of what is produced is lost in the ‘background noise’. Brands and businesses will be able to combat this, and make sure that their content cuts through, by making increasing use of big data to finely hone the personal nature of their content.
Mobile
Mobile has already overtaken desktop as most people’s online access point of choice, and this process is only going to accelerate. Combine this with search engine algorithms which concentrate on websites optimised for mobile access, and you have a situation in which being fully responsive to mobile search is a necessity, rather than an option.
Wearable
As wearable devices and the internet of things become mainstream, so advertisers will increasingly become able to target content to both the individuals previous history and their current location. This means that marketing content which is useful in real time will become every bit as important as content which simply sells.
As one of London’s leadings, we pride ourselves in our forward thinking and staying up-to-date with the most recent trends. If you are looking to take your business to the next level, contact us at PRM London or contact your local for a consultation and review to improve your business’ marketing strategies.
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