Online Marketing Trends in 2014

No one can deny the profound impact of the Internet on marketing due to the way it facilitates information sharing. We find that today, more businesses prefer publishing their own original content instead of embedding their ads within the content of others. This offers additional benefits like audience growth and product branding.

Looking at these trends, here’s what we think the online marketing scenario in 2014 will be.

1. Content Marketing Will Rule

 

Companies can establish authority and gain consumer trust by regularly creating useful, relevant content using various channels. This allows them to build rapport with demographics and develop a loyal following.

Businesses can use channels like social media, eNewletters and articles on company websites to build their reputations. This trend implies that traditional marketing techniques like radio and television ads are losing their efficacy. It appears more feasible to focus on inbound marketing by creating engaging and valuable content.

2. More Diversity for Social Media Marketing

Previously there weren’t too many social media platforms that businesses could use for marketing campaigns. Today, new sites are coming up all the time and some are quite popular. These offer a plethora of additional options for producing great content using a variety of media.

As a result, businesses are branching out and experimenting with multiple platforms in an attempt to reach out to more customers. Diversification often proves fruitful because it helps build brand equity.

3. Image-Rich Content Will Win

Since consumers almost drown in the deluge of advertisements, they will not look at stuff that’s difficult to digest. The common characteristic of successful blog posts is the strategic placement of pictures to emphasize points. We doubt conventional textual content will ever get completely replaced. But it’s quite clear that the incorporation of images can add value to a marketing campaign.

4. More Will Not Be Better

Today, consumer preference is shifting towards simple marketing messages instead of deeper ones. Users prefer an uncluttered, clean and aesthetically minimal style.

Now innovative marketers are moving away from ads that shout “look at me”. They know that consumers do not like to be overwhelmed by the hype and are toning down their campaigns.

Hyper-connectivity and highly-digitized lives offer too many flashy and complicated sensory inputs and consumers are tired of this. Because of this, the coming year is likely to see simpler marketing strategies do better. Successful strategies will be those that promote products that simplify consumer lives and even just improve customer experience.

5. Content for Mobiles Will Be Mandatory

With the growing usage of tablets and smartphones, companies must create mobile-friendly content. This might involve creating alternate mobile versions of websites or using responsive web designs to give mobile users a positive experience. Without this, customers may move towards competitors who offer this convenience and businesses can face dire consequences.

6. Others

We feel that the effectiveness of ad retargeting is likely to grow. Once users leave a site, the products they saw will be shown again in the ads on different websites. Psychological studies have shown that repeated exposure to brand logos and names creates trust and familiarity.

We also think that social signals and SEO will get further intertwined. Since search engines strive to provide relevant and high quality content, they would give importance to the number of times an article, blog post, or product page is shared.

 

Top Tips to Build Strong Email B2B Relationships

Many B2B businesses rely on email as an important channel for marketing to their customers, both current and prospective. B2B email campaigns communicate and build relationships with prospects, gather important data and help boost marketing ROI. However, building relationships can be difficult. Email provides many opportunities that many companies fail to take advantage of.

An email marketing campaign is an important part of a B2B marketing strategy. Here some tips to build and maintain effective relationships with customers:

Segmentation- When you’re trying to build B2B relationships using email, segmentation is particularly important. For instance, if your company sells software, chances are you'd want to send a different email to a CIO than you would a technical lead responsible for deploying and maintaining your solution. Look at all data, such as who opened the email, how long they spent on the site, and if they downloaded the offer. This will allow you to create strategies in segmentation using behavioral data.

Mix it up- Creating different styles and methods in your email campaigns will enhance their performance. Test things like different delivery times and surveys, to name a few.

Follow up- Following up is essential if you want to build relationships and give potential clients a sneak peek at how you work. If there aren’t follow up emails to queries and complaints, what’s the point of an email strategy? You can get valuable feedback through following up. It also lets prospects know that you want to keep communication active and open.

Be personal- You can be personal in your B2B email correspondence and tailor the emails based on services the potential client has bought in the past. You can also use information such as company size to cater emails to prospective clients. Using inclusive language will make them feel important, and they may do business with you.

Don't simply sell- You want to build B2B relationships versus selling all of the time. Sure, you want to drive sales, but you shouldn’t just sell. You can use email to provide free advice for potential clients or offer help with purchased services. The emails should be informative and interesting, not salesy and stuffy.

Show skills and knowledge- You need to showcase your knowledge and skills with a compelling yet original message. Demonstrate your expertise and appeal to your clients to build relationships.    

The key to B2B relationships via email is to deliver thoughtful messages to potential customers. You need to know who your clients are, what they want or need, and how your products and services can be of use to them.