e-book: “everything you need to know about 2015’s digital marketing trends, simplified”
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Everything You Need to Know About 2015’s Digital Marketing Trends, Simplified. What are the major digital marketing trends of 2015?There are countless digital gurus who chime in on this question based on little more than hunches. However, there are others who take a more rigorous approach, devoting extensive time and resources to identifying real shifts in the landscape.
Three pieces of research in particular—Mary Meeker’s 2015 Internet Trends Report, Social Media Examiner’s Industry Report, and Salesforce’s 2015 State of Marketing Report—stand out as providing truly useful, data-based insights for marketers.
The problem for busy professionals is that each of these reports is dauntingly deep, with hundreds of slides and charts. If you don’t have time to sort through it all—which could very well take up the rest of your year—we’ve done it for you and pulled together an overview of the highlights in this e-book.
In particular, we're covering the most important digital trends in three key areas:
1. Content 2. Social Media 3. Future Developments
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Section 1Content Trends 2015
1. User-generated media is massive. 2. Digital video is going small—and vertical. 3. Don’t underestimate the continued power of blogs. 4. New ad formats are taking off.
Section 2Social Media Trends 2015
1. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have become essential tools. 2. Pinterest is much deeper and more diverse than you think it is. 3. Facebook has already become a huge video platform. 4. E-commerce integration is getting much better. 5. Messaging apps are massively popular.
Section 3Future Trends to Watch
1. Mobile advertising will claim its fair share of ad spend. 2. Twitter and YouTube will grow as marketing channels. 3. Facebook will get a bigger share of marketing budgets. 4. Expect a lot of future Internet innovation from China. 5. Demographics are fundamentally changing the workplace. 6. Technology is set to expand to other sectors.
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Overview
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Content Trends 2015 What’s the state of content on the Internet?
To start with, it has become an essential tool for businesses, with 62% of marketers saying they increased their content spend in 2015.
It’s also changing rapidly, with platforms and formats evolving as consumers’ tastes and consumption habits shift. Here are four particularly important content trends from the reports:
1. User-generated media is massive. The importance of user-generated content is nothing new. For years people have been talking about how it’s transforming everything from restaurant reviews to information discovery.
However, this year the steady stream of content created by amateurs has become a flood. This trend can be seen across platforms and content types: Twitch (live-stream video) has seen its active user base jump by 122%, SoundCloud (audio curation) now has 100 million tracks, and Wattpad (written essays/stories) is averaging 40 million monthly unique videos.
Moreover, many of Snapchat’s Live Stories, which aggregate user videos and photos from events, are garnering incredibly large audiences—including 40 million viewers during Coachella. To put that in perspective, the 2003 American Idol finale, which was the most-watched episode in the show’s history, attracted 38 million viewers.
Section 1
62% of marketers increased their content spend in 2015
Snapchat’s live Coachella story attracted 40 million viewers
“The steady stream of content created by amateurs has become a flood.”
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2. Digital video is going small—and vertical. Remember when video was watched mainly on televisions, with their big screens and horizontal orientations? Thanks to the rise of mobile devices, that’s quickly changing.
Just five years ago, only 5% of video viewing in the United States occurred on mobile devices. Today that share is up to 29% and quickly rising.
What’s important keep in mind that mobile phones not only have smaller screens, but also are also often held vertically. That has huge implications for both content creators and advertisers.
For example, full-screen, vertically oriented video ads on Snapchat have a 9x higher click-through rate compared with regular horizontal video ads.
3. Don’t underestimate the continued power of blogs. Emerging content types understandably tend to get a lot of buzz, but, while experimenting with them is essential, it is also important to pay attention to established channels. In particular, blogs continue to be highly effective for most marketers.
Nearly half of digital marketers (45%) rank blogs as the most important content they create—ahead of visual pieces (34%), videos (19%), and podcasts (2%). B2B marketers see them as an especially important channel, with 57% ranking blogs as the most important content type they create.
Moreover, marketers remain bullish on the future of the medium: 56% say they have increased their spend on blogging this year.
45% of marketers rank blogs as the most important content they create
29% of video viewing in the U.S. occurs on mobile devices
Vertical video ads on Snapchat have
a 9x higher click-through rate than horizontal video ads
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4. New ad formats are taking off. When it comes to digital ads, change seems to come in fits and starts, with many new unit types often appearing at the same time. In 2015, we’re in the midst one of these times of rapid innovation.
Thanks to the rise of mobile and video, as well as new platforms willing to push boundaries, everyone—including brands, advertisers, and consumers—is set to benefit from higher-quality, innovative, more-engaging ads.
Some examples of forward-thinking ad types include Pinterest’s Cinematic Pins, which adapt to a viewer’s screen; the Vessel platform’s 5-second ads, which are the perfect length to accompany short-form videos; and Google’s Local Inventory Ads, which bridge the gap between brick-and-mortar businesses and e-commerce. Millennials currently number about 80 million strong, spend approximately $600 billion a year (expected to rise to $2.5 trillion in 2015), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2020, they will comprise 40% of the U.S. workforce. Suffice it to say, travel marketers can’t afford to ignore this critical market. But how do you influence Millennials’ travel decisions when Millennials don’t respond to traditional marketing methods? For starters, you take a radically different approach to earning their business—one that’s less about marketing and more about befriending. Millennials engage with brands similar to the way they engage with their friends, sharing information about their purchases through social media. The goal is to make your product or service worthy of their conversation.
“We’re in the midst of a time of rapid innovation.”
Millennials number80 million strong and spend $600 billion / year
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Social Media Trends 2015 What are the big social media trends of 2015? Which platforms and features should marketers be paying close attention to?
Because the networks are new, and evolving rapidly, there are a host of recent changes, both big and small. However, five in particular stand out as being key to watch:
1. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have become essential tools. According to a survey of 3,720 marketers from around the world, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are the platforms currently being used most to engage consumers.
The survey found that 93% of marketers are using Facebook as a marketing tool, the most of any social media network; Twitter is second (79% of marketers use), followed by LinkedIn (71%).
When asked to pick which social network is most important for their business, most B2C marketers choose Facebook (65%); Twitter is second (10%), followed by LinkedIn (9%).
B2B marketers rank LinkedIn as the most important social network for their business (41%), followed by Facebook (30%) and Twitter (19%).
Section 2
93% of marketers are using Facebook as a marketing tool
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2. Pinterest is much deeper and more diverse than you think it is. Most marketers are already well aware that Pinterest is an excellent way to connect with certain demographics (most prominently women) interested in certain topics (most commonly fashion, beauty, and food).
However, there is also significant interest from users in other verticals, and that the platform is quickly becoming content-rich in many “non core” areas. For example, in the past year, the number of car and motorcycle pins is up 118% year-over-year, and the number of men’s fashion pins is up 96%.
This increased depth may explain why 23% of marketers who do not currently use Pinterest plan to test pilot programs on the platform in the next 12 months.
3. Facebook has already become a huge video platform. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that he expects the social network’s News Feed to be mostly video in five years. Turns out he may not have to wait that long.
Over the past year, use of video on the platform has spiked dramatically thanks to a concerted effort by the company to encourage both uploading and viewing.
So, how big is Facebook’s video audience? In the first quarter of 2015, the company averaged 4 billion views per day, up from 1 billion in 3Q14. Moreover, half of the platform’s daily active users watch at least one video per day.
Facebook is averaging 4 billion video views per day
23% of marketers not using Pinterest plan to test pilot programs
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These numbers are just slightly below YouTube, which also currently also averages around 4 billion views per day. For marketers, this is great news, since it means there are now two sophisticated social video platforms that allow brands to reach audiences at scale.
4. E-commerce integration is getting much better. One of the challenges that digital marketers have long struggled with is connecting social engagement to purchase action, especially on mobile devices.
That issue may soon be a thing of the past, since many of the big social networks—including Facebook and Twitter—are integrating buy buttons directly into their mobile paid ad units.
On top of that, quickly paying while mobile browsing in social apps is becoming easier as systems like PayPal, Buy With Google, and Apple Pay continue to expand their reach.
These developments may explain why 64% of marketers now see social as a critical enabler of products and services, compared with just 25% last year.
5. Messaging apps are massively popular. Another important social media takeaway from the reports is that marketers who ignore messaging apps do so at their own peril.
Why? Because in our increasingly mobile-first world, these applications are becoming the cornerstone of communication, especially for younger consumers.
To put this shift into perspective: 6 of the top 10 apps most used globally are now messaging apps (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, LINE, Viber, KakaoTalk, and WeChat),
6 out of 10 apps most used globally are messaging apps
64% of marketers see social as a critical enabler of products and services
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Future Trends to WatchWhat's in store for digital in the next few years? Quite a lot, according to the research. The reports we examined highlighted dozens of developments, from a predicted jump in commercial drone use to the idea that digital notifications will become omnipresent.
While all these predictions are fascinating, these six stand out as being potentially transformative and impactful to businesses in the near future:
1. Mobile advertising will claim its fair share of ad spend. Here’s one prediction almost certain to come true: mobile ad spend growth is going to increase dramatically.
Why? Mainly because of this simple fact: Americans currently devote 24% of their media time to using mobile devices, yet only 8% of ad spend goes to mobile. In the United States, that represents a $25 billion opportunity.
Moreover, that (huge!) number doesn’t even include international markets, nor future mobile growth rates.
Section 3
Americans spend 24% of their media time using mobile devices, yet only 8% of ad spend goes to mobile
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2. Twitter and YouTube will grow as marketing channels. When marketers were asked which social networks they plan to increase their use of, two came out on top: Twitter and YouTube.
Some 65.8% of marketers surveyed say they plan to increase their use of Twitter in the future, the most-planned bump of any social media network. YouTube, however, was (very) close behind, with 65.79% of marketers saying they plan to increase their use of the video platform.
This interest is part of a larger bet on social by digital marketers: 70% say they plan to increase their budgets on social media marketing.
3. Facebook will get a bigger share of marketing budgets. While Twitter and YouTube are the networks social media marketing experts are most interested in using more, Facebook comes out on top in terms of future ad spend.
Some 53% of marketers say they want to increase their Facebook advertising spend in the coming year, the biggest number for any digital channel; Google ads are next (38% plan to increase spend), followed by Twitter (31%), LinkedIn (29%), and YouTube (26%).
Again, these figures are part of a wider optimism about social: 72% of marketers plan to increase their spend on social media advertising in the future, the largest share for any digital channel.
70% of marketers plan to increase their budgets on social media marketing
53% will increase their Facebook advertising
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4. Expect a lot of future Internet innovation from China. In our increasingly globalized world, it’s important to keep in mind that Silicon Valley does not have a monopoly on innovation.
There are a number of other countries with rapidly growing tech scenes, the most important of which may be China.
Companies in China are increasingly pushing digital boundaries, sometimes in areas where the U.S. lags. A few examples include: Tencent's WeChat has pioneered how to promote digital gifts at scale, with 1 billion “red envelopes” sent on Chinese New Year’s Eve; sites such as Mogujie and Meilishuo are already successfully integrating content, community, and e-commerce; mobile manufacturers such as Xiaomi are shipping huge numbers of units and now control a majority of the domestic market.
5. Demographics are fundamentally changing the workplace. Trends aren’t just external, they also occur within companies. In the coming years, businesses should be prepared for big changes because the workforce itself is changing.
Younger workers are more likely to live in urban areas, more likely to be immigrants, and more likely to marry later compared with their older colleagues.
Companies in China are increasingly pushing digital boundaries.
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This year, Millennials became the largest generation in the workforce (35% of all U.S. workers), which means employers need to be especially aware of their motivations and pet peeves. In particular, they need to understand that Millennials deeply value things like meaningful work, and don’t value higher pay as much as other workers.
6. Technology is set to expand to other sectors. Here’s a startling idea: The impact of the Internet has been extraordinary and broad, but, in many ways, it’s still just the beginning.
While consumer life has been transformed by digital, many other sectors of the economy—such as business, government, military, education, and healthcare—are still mainly functioning in the same ways as they have for decades.
As Internet access and tools expand, these areas will be impacted much more deeply.
In other words: There’s much more change to come.
“This year Millennials became the largest generation in the workforce.”
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This is an incredible time for digital, with platforms, content types, social media networks, and advertising solutions rapidly evolving.While staying current with all these changes may feel daunting, it’s also worth it. Why? Because these digital shifts have a direct impact on engagement and revenue. In fact, 27% of marketers say remaining up to date with current technology and trends is one of their most pressing business challenges—ahead of budgetary restraints, talent acquisition, and even keeping up with competitors.
Of course, given the speed at which things change, even the trends highlighted in this report will soon be dated. That’s okay; part of what makes digital so powerful are its unexpected, radical transformations. Ultimately, part of the fun is all wondering together: what’s next?
Sourceshttp://www.kpcb.com/internet-trendshttp://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/report/https://www.salesforce.com/form/marketingcloud/conf/2015-state-of-marketing.jsp
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