By Hillary Bressler- CEO of .Com Marketing
Internet marketing as we know it is changing, and changing at a more rapid pace than I have seen it in the last 15 years. This change is very exciting and very frightening at the same time as it is moving just too fast for the average human to consume and the average or above average marketer to keep up with. Companies that “get this” will be ahead of the game, the companies that ignore these trends, will be out of business soon. Harsh, but it is true. This article reviews some of these exciting trends that will transform our lives we hope for the better.
As I always say, “if you’re not on Google then you’re not online,” is ringing true more in 2011 than ever before. Internet marketing is becoming more complex for businesses to stay ahead of the game, but it is becoming easier for consumers to surf, find, and buy. In 2011, we can add “if you’re not on Facebook or providing mobile friendly sites and platforms to your consumers then you’re also not online“.
It is 2011, and although we may not be driving around in a flying car as once promised like the Jetsons, the fact that we can purchase a product from our phone as we are walking our dog is pretty amazing. We welcome the change and I look forward to ditching my wallet, in exchange for the e-wallet that my mobile phone will become this year.
Here are the top 11 trends that we will see more of in 2011.
1. Hello Tablets
Gone are the days of searching the web at home on our PCs or in a Wi-Fi hotspot with our laptops. With the use of tablets (iPad) and Smartphones, there is no limit to where users are comfortably searching the web. The iPad owns the majority of market share for tablets, but more tablets will be hitting the stores in 2011.
2. Goodbye Cash Register
This year, how you use your mobile phone will change. Customers are now spending and storing their money online and accessing it via mobile devices. USA Today reported that 16 percent of shoppers used their Smartphones this past 2010 holiday shopping season, and an amazing 39 percent of people ages 18 to 29 reported using their Smartphones to do all of their online shopping. Overall, one in five Smartphone users make purchases on their mobile devices. In 2011, mobile marketing will expand far beyond text messaging and making phone calls. For businesses, it is imperative to make sure your site is showing up on Google, now that 48 percent of people surveyed said they search the web with their mobile phones. These people are out and about, in their car, looking for you. Be there, or lose that potential customer.
Moreover, mobile reach is far larger than most people think. Mobile reach goes far beyond the smart phone, but also includes the following:
• SMS text messaging
• Mobile apps
• mCommerce
• MP3 music players
• Handheld video games
• Tablet computers
• GPS devices
• Car technology management
• e-book readers
Why focus on mobile? “More people will connect to the internet via mobile
devices than desktop PC’s by 2015.” Mobile sales projections were expected to hit $2.5 billion in 2010 but by 2015 that number is expected to be $24 billion, or 8.5 percent of all ecommerce. And if you want to reach the best of the best shoppers, mobile customers are the top demographic targets; affluent, tech savvy, urban, younger and generally more active shoppers.
Mobile usage is becoming more about data, than voice. The average cell phone user uses their phone 70 percent of the time for voice, whereas the average iPhone uses their phone 45 percent of the time for voice. Hence, this is why these phones are smart. And this takes us to number three.
(Mobile Marketing Association, May 2010), (comscore 2010), (Mary Meeker, Analyst, Morgan Stanley, 2010), (2015 – Coda Research 2010), (PayPal, 2010).
3. Design For Mobility
As users are going to access information wherever and whenever, we will see an increase in businesses designing not only mobile sites, but designing content across all mobile platforms. When the world just got comfortable designing websites, these new platforms will demand to be created as well. A mobile website does not come cheap if well done, so good mobile developers will be most useful in the next 24 months. Not only that, but apps for the iPhone are not compatible with a BlackBerry nor Android phone, nor the Windows Phone 7 that came out in Fall of 2010. Design for how the user is accessing your information for the best possible conversion. Those that are first will prosper.
4. Real World is Augmented By A Computer
The newest tactic to engage customers is a cool new technology called, Augmented Reality (AR). AR is the term used when a physical real-world environment is modified (augmented) by a computer. We will begin to see many companies utilizing AR, as Hallmark did for their holiday greeting cards, where you can hold up your card to your webcam on your computer and the card comes to life. How cool! http://www.hallmark.com/online/webcam-greetings.aspx . Or how Holland Tourism uses it for Geo-location marketing which allows smartphone users to hold up their phone and it will give them directions, history of a building, and even show where the closest restrooms are located all over a filter on your phone that shows you in real time.
5. Social Media Earns Its Place at the Marketing Strategy Table
In 2011, social media will take prominence in companies’ overall marketing strategies. If your business isn’t utilizing Facebook, Twitter or other forms of social media such as blogging, then you are missing out on a very important opportunity.
Currently Facebook has:
- More than 500 million active users
- 50 percent of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
- Average user has 130 friends
- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
Social media is here to stay which means it would be wise to put a lot more of your marketing dollars into a structured and well planned social media campaign. Companies that have confidence in their brand, engage in social media. We will begin to see more of a holistic approach to social media in every department. Look for an increase in collaboration in communication. If you are a company that does not believe in social media, then do a search on Google and see all of your competition’s social media listings coming up in the top rankings, which brings us to number six.
6. SMO, is the new SEO
It took some time but the major search engines are recognizing the power of social media and have started to index a lot of the social media content on the web and most often the search engines are ranking them high on the search engines. Social Media Optimization or SMO, is a new acronym. This is yet another Search Engine Optimization (SEO) opportunity for your company. Make sure your SEO marketers are up on SMO and that your social updates are rich with keywords as search engines are often ranking social content high in the SERPS (search engine results pages).
7. The Future of Customer Service is Here
In 2010, social media took a sharp turn from just being an area of the web where a company could post its latest specials and happenings, to an area where customers are reaching out for help. Companies will be assisting customers and solving problems even more this year via social media. Look at Comcast’s Frank Ellison, who Newsweek Magazine called the most famous customer service representative in the world. Follow their lead, and you will understand how this works. Make sure your associates are well trained in providing customer service through all of your social media outlets. Bad customer service on social media will be the death of a company as it creates that digital footprint of that bad experience. Also make sure that your social media is not in the hands of the newbie on the block as we have seen case studies from major brands that put the kid in the corner cubicle in charge of social media and their brand was hurt from inexperience in how to respond to a customer.
8. Shift in Who We Trust
Over the course of 2011, social media will ever increasingly influence what or whom prospects buy or use. According to a consumer survey done by Nielson, 78 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations, while only 14 percent trust advertising. More and more people will only buy based on recommendations not advertisements. I don’t know about you, but I won’t stay in a hotel, buy a refrigerator or hire a new doctor without reading reviews online first. Fellow CEO’s, we are not out of the clear, a site called www.glassdoor.com rates CEO’s of large to small companies.
9. Near Field Communication
Near Field Communication (NFC), which enables the exchange of data within four inches, will be a tech buzz word for 2011. NFC chips will allow phones to act as electronic wallets, wirelessly send photos and documents to printers, and pick up information from tags on ads. An upcoming version of Android will have NFC, and the next iPhone will likely have it. Watch for NFC to become a marketing tool, with consumers not quite sure what it is but wanting it anyway. (100 Things To Watch in 2011- JWT)
10. Online Advertising Will Reach It’s Golden Age
Online advertising as we know it will reach its golden age, finally. With the increase in mobile, and the decrease in newspaper/magazine/TV, we will see a lift in spending in the online advertising sector that is well deserved. For example, 31 percent of all media time is spent watching TV, while TV enjoys 39% of overall advertising spend. While 28 percent of all media time is spent surfing the web, and it only received 13 percent of all advertising dollars spent. More and more dollars are being shifted from traditional media to digital media. The clutter is low, the targeting is so amazing it is almost big brotherish, and the conversions are traceable down to the penny. ( NA Technolographics and Yahoo! Investor Day). Look for banners to do more. Banners that have live video, Facebook integration, let users bookmark the ad for later viewing, and card linked discounts that are automatically linked to your credit card.
11. Apps for Businesses
Remember when the hottest mobile apps were, “Shaky Your Booty”, “Hillbilly Pickup” and “A Stupid Button”? Those days are over, and we are beginning to see a new crop of business apps that are used to improve productivity and increase reach. Apps such as Workday, were you can review and approve HR and business management processes, including personal hires, expense reports and time off requests. Oracle Business Indicators is a business app where you can access financial, HR, supply chain and CRM analytics. These apps are amazing, cheaper, better and will decrease our dependency on PC’s. If you have yet to check these out for your business, then 2011 is the year to bring apps into your business life and stop fooling around with foolish apps like “Pick A Booger” app.
These trends are creating a seismic shift in the way people buy and the way companies market themselves. Is your business ready for the inevitable changes in revenue generation, customer interaction, buyer behavior, and channel marketing strategies that these internet marketing and mobile trends bring? If not, there is no better day than tomorrow.
This article is written by Hillary Bressler, CEO and Founder of .Com Marketing, an internet marketing firm specializing in helping companies drive sales and leads through search engine marketing, social media, e-mail and online media buys. For information on how .Com Marketing can help you with your 2011 internet marketing plan or to book Hillary Bressler as a guest speaker for your upcoming convention please call (407) 774-4606 or Bressler@commarketing.com.
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