It’s that time of year again. Everyone’s posting what worked (or didn’t work) in 2015 and what to expect in 2016. We’ve done this in the past, asserting 2015 will be the year of data driven marketing, and whether or not it was or wasn’t doesn’t really come up again. So let’s change it up. Instead of looking into a crystal ball and attempting to predict which marketing strategy or tactic will take center stage in the next year, let’s make some solid marketing predictions for 2016 based upon facts.
Social media spending (advertising) will increase. Whoever said social media was free didn’t know what they were talking about – or they never promoted a business on a network! Earlier in 2015 it was projected by eMarketer that global ad spending on social media will rise more than 33 percent to $23.68 billion, with Facebook as the top earner. This isn’t changing any time soon and, if anything, the amount spent on social advertising will increase in 2016.
Continued focus on mobile advertising. eMarketer also projects the global mobile ad spend to top $100 billion next year. Consumers are using their smartphones and tablets more than ever to do product research and make purchases. Smart brands make sure they can be found in all the right places regardless of the device.
Email is still important. Email is, perhaps surprisingly, more affordable than social media and mobile advertising. With email marketing, brands can control their message and how it is conveyed to their audience of choice. Email is 40x more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter. For real.
Data does matter. So we nailed it in 2014, we won’t brag! When it comes to marketing, there is an abundance of data available. Smart marketers are allowing their data to drive their marketing decisions when it comes to developing the method (what, how, where) to winning marketing strategies.
Content is still king. Content marketing is critical to any business looking to expand their online audience. The most effective B2B marketers spend 39% of their marketing budgets on content. Do you?
The customer lifecycle defines the marketing strategy. Similar to data, the customer lifecycle or buyer journey should define the marketing strategy for each customer or persona. For example, customers should receive different marketing than prospects and new customers should be marketed to differently than loyal customers. Data helps define the lifecycle. Lifecycle determines the strategy.
There you have it. In 2016, marketers will continue to spend a large portion of their budgets on social media and mobile advertising, content marketing will continue to be a major focus (and potential headache) across industries, email will still be an effective marketing tool, and data along with the customer lifecycle will define the marketing strategy.
Remember, a new year is on the way and the possibilities are endless. Will you succeed in 2016?
