This Year’s Notable Marketing Trends

Image courtesy of www.jeffbullas.com
Image courtesy of www.jeffbullas.com

Marketing is an ever-changing landscape effected by cultural, political, and technological changes. What works today may not work one year from now, or even one month from now. Old trends will die out and new trends will hit the mainstream. Below is a list of trends that are expected to see continued growth throughout the rest of 2014 and into the new year.

Real Time Social Media Marketing
We have mentioned Oreo Cookies many times, and with good reason. Oreo’s “You can still dunk in the dark” Twitter post last year during the Super Bowl blackout, had a major impact on Social Media marketing. No longer were brands keeping their messaging focus solely on their products and brands. Now brands are using pop culture and topical information to reach larger audiences.

This trend helps brands to stay relevant because of the nature of the posts. However, many companies are using these real time posts to gain respect from audiences who have become impressed with the clever ways in which brands have made themselves relevant with the news subjects and the timeliness of the posts.

Increased Accuracy of Custom Online Advertising
The Google machine is always watching us. Every word we type and every website we visit is recorded and analyzed in order to help advertisers target the right products and services for us. Although there is debate over the privacy issue that is caused by this, marketers are sure to benefit from the increased accuracy. New technologies and upgraded algorithms will help websites hone in on the right advertisements for us. What this means is that online marketing will become even more important. More and more websites will offer premium advertising plans as browsers become more efficient at gathering user information.

Quick Information
We are all glued to our phones when walking anywhere. However, because we are using this time to travel and to remain entertained, brands need to find ways to share worthwhile information in an efficient manner. Infographics have become increasingly popular over the past few years because they are a brilliant mix of information and pictures. They are also a means for easy information transfer. Regular pictures and short videos also do very well. Websites like Vine, Pinterest, and Instagram have made quick information transfer very easy and accessible for audiences.

Augmented Reality and Wearable Technology
As of now, Google Glass hasn’t become a mainstream product. However, smart phones have begun to adopt augmented reality. Map applications have been utilizing this new technology, however the opportunities are endless. Augmented reality will help consumers become more engaged with brands supporting it.

Research Changes
Competition between brands is ever growing. Companies are constantly making changes in attempts to get an edge on the competition. One significant change is the way in which marketing research is being conducted. Information gathering on browsers is becoming more and more accurate every day.  However, many organizations are also tracking other sources of information. Some of the most notable new tracking styles are QR codes, RFID codes, location services on the phone, and live transaction tracking. This allows for brands to find out even more about the purchasing behaviors of their consumers. Ethnographic research has become very popular because the data collected is more qualitative. Unfortunately, technology is not advanced enough to where qualitative data can be collected and analyzed by an automated system, making the analysis laborious.

When brands are not able to keep up with new marketing trends, their business suffers. Consumers are constantly evolving in the fast paced world of Social Media. Therefore, in order to properly reach consumers, brands need to adapt their marketing techniques to meet and exceed consumer expectations.

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