As the year draws to a close, 2013 promises many new opportunities and challenges for marketing professionals. Many of the trends that have been seen in recent years may finally come to fruition, and many emerging frontiers in marketing may finally take center stage. Marketing professionals who are looking ahead will recognize the growing dominance of mobile and social media, but may be surprised at the resurgence of traditional marketing channels like direct mail.
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Mobile will overshadow many other marketing channels. As the cellphone market transitions more to smartphones, more businesses will be investing more heavily in mobile marketing. In 2012, almost $2.6 billion was spent on mobile marketing and this is expected to grow yearly until it reaches $5.04 billion in 2015, according to Acquity Group. With almost 90% of cellphone users switching to a smartphone with internet capacity, the mobile market does offer a wide range of opportunities that companies are eager to take advantage of.
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Collaborative marketing will grow in influence. Social media has changed the dynamic within the marketing industry with consumers now taking a significant role in how products are marketed. This increased collaboration between marketing professionals and consumers is expected to produce more content driven promotional campaigns that use stories, videos and testimonials that are end-user generated.
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Personalized ads will increase. The use of more powerful computing resources is allowing marketers to tailor ads to the individual. Using apps like Foursquare and Google Local can help marketing programs deliver customized ad experiences to mobile and desktop devices that are more likely to be converted into sales. Although some consumers may lament the invasion of privacy, many more marketing entities will be using gathered personal information to direct unique promotional experiences to individuals.
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Direct mail will take on greater importance. The use of direct mail will increase although not in a stand-alone role. Direct mail will become an important component of comprehensive marketing strategies. Fliers and coupons will retain importance in consolidating customer relationships that may have been initiated through other marketing channels. The ROI of direct mail ensures that it will still be a worthwhile investment for many businesses.
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Big Data will finally arrive. As more companies invest in updated business intelligence infrastructure, the capacity to draw information from multiple marketing channels and integrate it into a broad marketing strategy should finally be possible. The biggest advantage Big Data will provide is with social media; more analytical tools to determine the desires of social media users will prove critical to marketing initiatives.
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Photos will vie with video. Videos have long been considered the premier visual medium for marketing, but with the enormous interest in Pinterest and Instagram, there is renewed enthusiasm about photos and static images. With Pinterest growing 500 percent in popularity, and more businesses using it as a platform for building legitimate links through picture sharing, expect photos to become critical to marketing campaigns in the coming year.
The coming year promises to make marketing an exciting one ripe with new possibilities! Marketing moves rapidly but expect many of the trends we have seen in past years finally reach the point of feasibility. As the mobile market reaches the masses, and social media marketing becomes more manageable, the opportunities for marketing professionals should also reach new heights.
