Looking Ahead: Marketing Trends For 2016

With the rise of company blogs and video messaging across multiple industries, “content marketing” was the marketing buzzword of the year. As a result, search algorithms and online audiences continue to rank useful and relevant content as more valuable than ever before.

Looking ahead to the changing marketing landscape, the continuous evolution of technology will bring exciting new trends in 2016. While we count down the weeks to January, here’s our forecast:

1. Integration of social media
   It is clear that social media is here to stay and is an effective way for businesses to engage with target audiences. While we don’t foresee the end of social media any time soon, it has and will continue to become such an integral part of the marketing mix that no one will specifically categorize it as “social media marketing”.

Think about other tech-related trends in recent years; no one mentions going online as a trend anymore, because everyone is always connected to the web. In 2016, we believe the conversation around social will shift from discussing it as a trend to viewing it as a necessity.

2. Mobile will dominate desktop
   Year over year, we’ve seen a rise in mobile applications. In fact, 42 percent of all online video views in Q1 2015 were on mobile devices. The rising trend of audiences across industries using mobile devices instead of desktops is sure to continue throughout the next year. It is more important than ever to optimize your website and social channels for mobile and not keep it as an afterthought.

3. Visual content
   With the rise of mobile use and social media’s secured position as an effective marketing channel, developing visual content will also become an integral piece of successful marketing strategies. It’s estimated that 80 percent of all internet traffic will be comprised of video by 2019. Expect leaders in all industries to make their brands’ stories more compelling to both B2C and B2B audiences through the use of infographics and video platforms.