Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Valentina Starčević, Lider
Marketing today is a whole new ballgame. Smart branding, knowledge of the target group and content creation are the basis of marketing, while solid tactics and advertising by mail should be improved.
The game is now driven by new players: advertising on social networks, new media and digital marketing. Advertisers obviously have to re-learn things, because it’s a revolution, not an evolution, out there. Who would have thought that taxi drivers would be destroyed by a mobile app, Uber, and that Apple would create problems for the music industry – as marketing expert Jeff Bullas wrote on his blog. He added that advertisers need to be quick, agile, constantly focused on learning and innovation, and that they must leave a large part of the business past behind them. If the implementation of change doesn’t start immediately, he warns, the failure to accept the trends of digital advertising could kill your business.
Old habits
But old habits die hard. Bullas believes that advertising via mass media is no longer as effective as before, because it doesn’t connect with the new generations – who don’t watch television, but YouTube. He recalls the words of respected English economist John Maynard Keynes: “The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones.” It will therefore take time before advertisers shake the old habits that don’t work in the new environment.
Bullas explained that technology is one of the biggest challenges that must be introduced in digital marketing. In order to overcome this, it is necessary to involve those who understand it. It is necessary to find someone who understands advertising on Facebook without breaking the budget, an expert in optimizing web sites, and data scientists who will increase the number of those who convert from site visitors into customers. But digital marketing also opens up countless opportunities. It’s about reaching a large market, accessing the technology that helps your business, using the data that reveals what works and what doesn’t, and enabling the free spread of ads on social networks.
Who’s the Boss
Bullas says there’s no question but that your business rivals will use digital advertising, so it is high time to show them who’s boss. This ruthless fight will be waged not only with existing companies, but with new ones as well. Here are the 15 trends in digital advertising that he says must be adopted so as not to jeopardize your business in 2016:
- Focus on ROI – Social networks are now just another digital channel to be paid for. They are excellent for traffic, creating brand awareness and customer engagement. We need to stop just chasing social media, because it’s actually a nuisance, and focus on what’s important – the data on traffic, sharing and clicking on the ‘like’ button are hollow. We must return to return on investment.
- The continuing rise in the importance of digital assets – In the past advertising was just seen as an expense. But in the future, it should be seen more as an investment in your online authority. Expensive advertisements that had a lifetime of 30 seconds, never to be seen again, are being replaced by online videos that can be viewed this year and in the future, whenever. Your website is your most important digital asset. It’s the one you own and have the most control over. Google, Facebook and Twitter don’t have control here. It’s also important that it’s updated daily, so that visitors return over and over again. Search ranking position is the next factor, and it should be noted that it’s better to use organic search than paid (which artificially gives you a higher spot). Organic search can significantly increase traffic if the site contains content interesting to visitors. You also can’t neglect supporters on the social networks, and the investment in them is long-term.
- Thinking global instead of local – Your competition is no longer just local. Amazon is the global competitor of corner book stores around the world. Every corner of the world can now be reached with a tweet, an email or a blog post that is shared on social.
- Followers create the story of the brand – Customers and followers can create a lot more by data transfer and talking about the brand than anyone could pay for. Even the great Coca-Cola understands this. Minecraft taught members at its annual conference how to record a video; they then made almost all the videos on Minecraft on YouTube. Minecraft probably didn’t spend any money on the usual advertising. Why would they, when they know how social networks function.
- The rise of the robots – Marketing used to be just an art. Now it is being amplified and optimized by technology and science. Digital marketing platforms provide automation tools that allow you to publish and market at scale: email, tweets, Facebook posts, or paid digital advertising for targeted groups on Facebook.
- The great comeback of the email – It didn’t end up in the dustbin. On the contrary, it is alive and kicking, despite Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber. It’s cheap, and for advertisers it will continue to be crucial for access to new customers.
- Personalization – Creating content that reveals what customers want when they are on the mailing list. There are many opportunities in digital marketing technologies from email to marketing software for achieving personalized advertising.
- The data scientist is your next hire – Data today rule the game. The Web is showing us what works and what doesn’t. There is no guesswork. Buzzfeed, New Viral and Upworthy succeeded thanks to the data on which they based their decisions. Therefore, you must trust the data, not intuition.
- Smartphone is No. 1 – Although it seems that mobile phones have become the secondary screen, it is not so. It’s enough to see that 75 percent of Facebook’s revenue comes from mobile advertising. More than three billion new internet users in the next five years will access sites via smartphones.
- Powerful digital platforms for all business – As the cost of technology drops, the access to powerful software has become a reality for all. When entrepreneurs accept software such as Infusionsoft, Market or Hubspot, they have to learn how to use them well.
- The rise of paid social media advertising – Social networks were free. Now, things have changed. Facebook for example earned a huge amount of money in 2015. It is necessary to know exactly whether the invested money paid off. That’s why advertising on the internet and data scientists are a perfect fit.
- Advertising through influencers – Nike pays Tiger Woods and many other athletes for one thing. To help them reach the right audience. Online influencers and niche bloggers now offer this for brands to reach targeted global audiences. They offer not only global reach but credibility and trust.
- Virtual reality is real – Although it’s still early, the extraordinary evolution of virtual reality and big investors such as Google and Facebook with its Oculus Rift acquisition for $2 billion are setting the stage for immersive marketing.
- Wearable technology takes its first steps – As the web becomes noisier and more crowded the use of wearable technology by marketers will be tested. Reaching new customers will become even harder and marketers will need to find different ways to reach them.
- Mobile apps for all businessmen – The price for an app development used to be very high. But now the cost is low because the technology has improved. As smartphones take the reins of internet offer, companies will increasingly realize that apps are no longer an option, but a necessity.