2014 Network Marketing of the 7 major trends in the picture or LED

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At the end of last year, I made a number of predictions about internet marketing in the 2014. If you have not read this article, you can click here to read it. In view of the obvious transformation to the set of customer-style marketing, I have considered the impact that the trend of search engine optimization (SEO), social media and content marketing may have on the enterprise in the coming year.

As we move into the 2014, I think it would be useful to assess how much of my predictions are true: Which of my predictions are right and which of my predictions are wrong.

Here are seven online marketing forecasts I've put forward to see how these predictions compare to what we've seen so far this year.

Forecast 1: Content marketing will be larger than ever

In my first article, I predicted that content marketing-using valuable content to attract customers and customers, prestige and trust-was the direction of business in the 2014. Using blog posts, newsletters, social media, video and other customer-generated marketing practices, businesses can build relationships, prestige and trust among their customers, and eventually increase sales.

By the middle of 2014, we are still seeing corporate budgets shifting from traditional marketing methods such as television and magazine advertising to a set of customer-style marketing strategies. However, according to research by the Forrester research firm, companies are struggling to achieve business results through their content marketing strategies. In fact, only 14% of companies reported that their marketing strategy was "very effective".

Companies are also struggling to assess the ROI of their content-marketing campaigns, making the strategy a corporate-wide support, a particularly headache for online marketers in 2014. Businesses need to continue to look for ways to match their content marketing with their overall corporate goals in order to assess and prove their effectiveness in the broader goals of the enterprise.

Finally, lack of training may at least be part of the reason that content marketing does not have the potential to function in some businesses. Aaron Kahlow, founder of online Marketing Cato, said the lack of well-trained staff was a serious hurdle: "There are not enough trained content marketers to do the legwork at the moment." But training in this area is a priority, and this is a very common issue, from the bottom up to the chief marketing officer. ”

Forecast 2: Social media marketing will need to diversify

In my previous post, I think companies will increasingly use a variety of social networking platforms-not just Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. New social platforms emerge every few months, and businesses need to constantly assess which platforms are best for their time and budget.

When deciding which platforms to put in, it's important to identify the active areas of your target market and the platforms your competitors are using successfully. According to the 2014 Social Media Marketing report, released by media company Social, the popular social media giants are still in the lead in corporate popularity: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are still the most commonly used platforms for marketers.

Keep in mind that while you should use at least one of the three social networks to maintain exposure, use a smaller social network-if the network is perfect for your audience or business-it could lead to greater ROI. Continue to test and evaluate your company's impact on each social platform and determine which platforms will help you achieve your goals best.

Forecast 3: Image-centric content will dominate

Recently, 70% of marketers say they plan to increase the use of pictures in 2014, with image-centric content becoming a central part of most marketing plans. Using eye-catching and carefully placed images in your blogs and social media posts, and using information graphs to attract visitors and increase the number of inbound links, these are now common practices for companies that understand the importance of pictures.

If companies want to reach specific demographic groups – such as women and teens – they will need to continue to expand their influence on Pinterest and Instagram social platforms.

Forecast 4: Easy to win

The trend towards simplicity in marketing is the subject of an article I recently wrote, please click on the simple Secrets of Apple's marketing success. In this article, I discuss how consumers are getting bored with flashy, sophisticated web sites and advertising bombing.

In my opinion, the constant attempt to "exaggerate the better" in marketing is totally unsustainable: "More and more marketers are finding that offering more--more advertising, more complexity, more information--doesn't work as it used to." "It is estimated that average Americans see every day in different places of advertising or marketing information ranging from 250 to thousands of, if your marketing strategy is" bigger and more eye-catching, then you simply can not keep pace with the changes in the Times. Instead, brands need to think strategically about how to stand out in the chaos.

The "Snack Hacks" activity of Oreo (Oreo) is a good example of how the brand simplified their marketing content in 2014: Using the vine service to showcase a series of concise short videos (only 6 seconds), with simple ideas that sparked concern Most of the videos have only one person standing in front of a plain white background. No flashy or complex video collection, no big budget. This is a perfect example of how the company stands out from the noise.

Forecast 5: Easy to move-side browsing content will be essential

I have predicted that marketers will need to think strategically about how to navigate their content using mobile devices. As I discussed earlier, mobile content strategies should be an important part of any business owner's marketing plan, and I also wrote a detailed description of how to develop a mobile optimization content marketing strategy.

Sadly, it seems that many companies do not understand this. In fact, according to marketing company Exact Target's 2014 marketing status report, 42% of respondents said they "rarely or never" used mobile response designs for their business emails.

The figure is impressive enough, but 24% of respondents said they had 31% to 50% of them open their emails on mobile devices. Obviously, marketers have a disconnect between the knowledge of the importance of mobile devices and the work they actually do.

It's one thing to understand the popularity of mobile devices, but it's another thing to think strategically about how to keep up with the times and then actually implement change. Business owners need to translate their understanding of mobile devices into practical action, making short, practical content to facilitate reading on mobile devices, focusing on compelling headlines, attracting the attention of "color rush" users, and ensuring that they can use mobile devices to access Web sites and open messages.

Forecast 6: Ad redirection will improve effectiveness

I have predicted that ad redirection-using browser cookies to advertise to users who have previously visited the site-is becoming more popular and more effective.

This forecast seems to hit the point, especially given Twitter's recent takeover of TapCommerce, a mobile ad redirect company. TapCommerce's software enables advertisers to "reactivate" existing users by contacting the users who previously downloaded their applications.

After Twitter announced the acquisition, they wrote: "Consumers are starting to use their phones, not just installing and using apps, but buying virtual worlds and real-world products and services." Advertisers actively invest to attract new users, but reactivating existing or previous users can also bring attractive returns on investment. ”

It would be interesting to see the advertising redirect continue to grow and change in the coming year, especially in the mobile arena.

Forecast 7: Search engine optimization and social signals will be more closely intertwined

I have previously written about the direct and indirect benefits of social signaling and their growing importance in natural search results. I wrote: "While it is difficult to predict the evolution of algorithms in the future, social networks enjoy a great opportunity to catch up with or surpass traditional inbound links by the end of 2014." ”

I wrote in a recent article, "is Google using the social networking signals from Facebook and Twitter on the rankings" (Does Google use Social signals from Facebook and Twitter on its rankings?) In the article, according to Matt Katz (Matt Cutts) released in the first half of this year Google Webmaster video address the issue. Is the answer surprising? According to Matt Katz, social networking signals do not have any impact on search rankings and may never be.

Although many marketers have provided evidence that Zane sharing in social media is a ranking factor, but Katz says there is a positive correlation between the two, not causation: "There is a lot of praise on Facebook that we have a great number of pages on the search page; But this is a positive correlation, not a causal relationship. On the contrary, it is likely that there is something really valuable, because the content is valuable to get the praise of many people on Facebook, many people decided to link to this page. ’”

In other words, while social cues may not work as we thought, the indirect benefits of social media to rankings are undeniable: the more people see and share your content, the more inbound links you attract, the more brand effects you create. The more inbound links you win, the better your natural search rankings will be.

Marketers should constantly look for new and creative ways to attract new users in social media, not only to improve brand awareness and user interaction, but also to indirectly influence search rankings.

Conclusion

All in all, in addition to the role that social signals play in natural search rankings, nothing unexpected has happened since I first published my article. In the second half of 2014, I will continue to observe and report on internet marketing trends and news and updates.

By the middle of 2014, we are still seeing corporate budgets shifting from traditional marketing methods such as television and magazine advertising to a set of customer-style marketing strategies. However, according to research by the Forrester research firm, companies are struggling to achieve business results through their content marketing strategies. In fact, only 14% of companies reported that their marketing strategy was "very effective".

Companies are also struggling to assess the ROI of their content-marketing campaigns, making the strategy a corporate-wide support, a particularly headache for online marketers in 2014. Businesses need to continue to look for ways to match their content marketing with their overall corporate goals in order to assess and prove their effectiveness in the broader goals of the enterprise.

Finally, lack of training may at least be part of the reason that content marketing does not have the potential to function in some businesses. Aaron Kahlow, founder of online Marketing Cato, said the lack of well-trained staff was a serious hurdle: "There are not enough trained content marketers to do the legwork at the moment." But training in this area is a priority, and this is a very common issue, from the bottom up to the chief marketing officer. ”

Meng Jie Ice School Chen Yuelin