The World Wide Web has greatly transformed over the last few years and it has revolutionised the way people do business. Digital marketing has become a force that cannot be denied and revenues from online advertising, particularly mobile ads, have increased considerably. This article will present some of the most interesting digital trends for business advertising in 2012 and beyond.
Magnetic Content
This trend has been present since last year, but it will definitely take the spotlight in 2012 and 2013. Magnetic content is meant to replace traditional methods of advertising online. Its goal is to engage customers beyond traditional advertising and therefore encourage loyalty and increased brand awereness. The purpose of magnetic content is to blur the lines between advertising and content, both online and offline such as using live events, short films, reality games and exciting, worthwhile material that promotes products and services. These various messages can be shared and spread via social networking and directly through consumers’ mobile devices via e.g.QR Codes. Numerous big companies have started using this advertising strategy, including Ford and Macy’s, and they are already starting to see the benefits of magnetic content. Ads may be not be a thing of the past just yet but as marketers increasingly focus on creating valuable and relevant interactive content, which has the ability to draw in customers, traditional advertising could well be treated with less interest as previously.
Video Leads
Online video advertising has been on the rise for some time now, and it will continue to do so in the future. eMarketer estimates that, by 2015, approximately $7.11 billion will be spent on this type of online advertising. For 2012, it is expected that online video advertising will bring marketers the highest revenue, taking into account all types of online marketing. However, video advertising does have its downsides. Most advertising agencies have stated that there are obstacles such as high prices, limited reach, and lack of targeting, which must be overcome. Despite this, the future of video advertising in 2012 looks bright. Amongst the factors that will contribute to the future success of video advertising we can find: pricing models, such as cost-per-view, the use of interactive ads, magnetic content, and personalized videos.
The Era of smartphones
Since the number of smartphones and tablets users has drastically increased over the last years, marketers have started focusing their advertising campaigns on this industry. Consumers have showed more interest in online shopping using their mobile devices and connecting with products via technologies like qrcodes using their phones. Because of this, revenues from mobile payments have been on the rise and it is expected that this trend will continue. One of the most important reasons for the success of mobile advertising is that it enables customers to make purchases from the comfort of their own homes. Mobile ecommerce also offer customers the flexibility to make purchases directly for example by scanning an product page with their device.
These were some of the more interesting digital trends of 2012 and probably for many more years to come. If you are looking for new ways to advertise your company and most crucially engage consumers then you will probably benefit from using any of the techniques presented above.